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What is a word or phrase describing the prioritization of or preference for written language over spoken language?

Example 1:

They have a [insert word/phrase here]. They continue to write their language exclusively using a millennia-old literary form that has long diverged from their spoken language.

Example 2:

Ali learned to write fluently in a dozen languages, but he did not bother to learn how to pronounce most of the words he writes. He has a [insert word/phrase here].

My first guess was "graphological bias," but that doesn't seem correct, as Google phrase match search returns only two results for that phrase.

2
  • Graphophilia as opposed to orality.
    – Kris
    Feb 6, 2020 at 9:02
  • Perhaps "They have a literary sense of language", might get the idea across - though "literary" has other more commonly understood senses.
    – WS2
    Feb 27, 2020 at 14:24

2 Answers 2

1

That's called ‘graphocentrism’:

Graphocentrism or scriptism is a typically unconscious interpretative bias in which writing is privileged over speech. [Wikipedia]

The opposite is phonocentrism which is the belief that speech is superior to writing.

-1

If you don't mind alliteration...

They have a penchant for primitive print. They continue to write their language exclusively using a millennia-old literary form that has long diverged from their spoken language.

penchant - (n.) - a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something

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