Phonocentrism is the belief that sounds and speech are inherently superior to, or more primary than, written language or sign language. Those who espouse phonocentric views maintain that spoken language is the primary and most fundamental method of communication whereas writing is merely a derived method of capturing speech. Many also believe that spoken language is inherently richer and more intuitive than written language. Some writers have argued that philosophers such as Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Ferdinand de Saussure have promoted phonocentric views. Walter Ong, who has also expressed support for the idea of phonocentrism, has argued that the culture of the United States is particularly non-phonocentric. Some philosophers and linguists, notably including the philosopher Jacques Derrida, have used the term "phonocentrism" to criticize what they see as a disdain for written language. Derrida has argued that phonocentrism developed because the immediacy of speech has been regarded as closer to the presence of subjects than writing. He believed that the binary opposition between speech and writing is a form of logocentrism. Advocates of phonocentrism The philosopher John Searle has argued that Plato expressed some skepticism about the value of writing relative to speech. The rhetorician and philosopher Walter Ong also believes that Plato was phonocentric. He argues that Plato had a clear preference for "orality over writing." and that Plato's belief in phonocentrism was both contrived and defended textually, and is therefore paradoxical. Rousseau also held views that have since been characterized as phonocentric. He discussed the topic in Essay on the Origin of Languages. He believed that speech was a more natural form of communication than writing, which he viewed as a somewhat parasitic and unhealthy derivation of speech. The linguist Leonard Bloomfield has also expressed the belief that spoken languages are the primary form of language, and that written languages should be viewed as derived from them. He argued that "writing is not language, but merely a way of recording language." Saussure believed that speech should be treated as the primary topic of linguistics. He believed that writing was given too much attention in the field of linguistics. In Course in General Linguistics, Saussure argued that "language and writing are two distinct systems of signs." He believed that both systems influenced each other, but that writing could obscure language. He argued that writing obscures how pronunciation forms because of its influence on pronunciation. Saussure drew a distinction between