William Cope
Reda Sadki
May Thet Khine Nyein
Eugenia Arvanitis
Pinakini Shah
Jonathan deHaan
Alessandra Coutinho Fernandes
Ketan HeinLiteracy Teaching and Learning MOOC’s Updates
Section 1c: The Coming of Writing
Writing first arrives on the human scene about 5,000 years ago. Over the next few thousand years, writing is invented separately in four separate places: Mesopotamia, India, China and Central America. The printing press, invented in 1450, makes writing an integral part of human societies. From the mid nineteenth century, modern societies set universal literacy as their objective. However, even today, approximately 1 billion people cannot read or write in the ways valued by modern societies and schools.
But literacy is a complicated thing. It spells the death of many small languages. It comes at the same time as mass, institutionalized inequality.
To explore these themes further, read the texts in the 'Starting to Write' section of our supporting materials website.
Comment: From your reading and video viewing, what are the most significant things about the coming of writing - the good and the not-so-good?
Almost like any other new concept, society needed to accept writing. In the early days of writing in symbols like Sumerian cuneiform, different cultures have borrowed and adapted parts of language to create their own. Humans in those cultures have had to determine if it was beneficial to them to have official scribes to create the language. However, if we look at the English language now, there have been many words added to the dictionary more recently based on societal and cultural usage. As a high school teacher, it is wild to see students trying to use different words to make their own slang. Some of these words stick, but some of them do not make sense to adults. In this case, there won't be new definitions added to the dictionary based on these interactions, but the students use this jargon in their everyday oral language.
Some of the most significant insights related to the coming of writing are: 1) the evolution of written language from being the exclusive tool of communication of the elite and the religious priests for controlling power in ancient times to becoming a mass tool of communication in modern times through educational institutes to equip individuals to function socially in their pursuit of daily living and earning. 2) understanding of the threat of endangerment and loss of smaller languages due to the homogenization of mass, common languages.
It is truly a wonderful thing that the evolution in our world can contribute to the greater effect of change. For example in writing in history there is no doubt that the people are creative in exploring and finding alternatives that can help them on their own. In the current state that we are living in, the progression of writing is dominantly impactful and even helps every individual to develop as a person.
The written form of the laguage allowed us stardardize the words and their meanings. But most important, what writing gave us was a way to preserve knowledge and transmit it on to the future. However writing was used for many centuries as a tool to oppress the masses through the forbiden knowledges and just important people had the opportunity to learn to write and with that to read.
Here in the Philippines we have atleast over 120 languages spoken, due to the fact that we have been colonized by different countries before and also having 7,107 islands. Meaning more Physical isolation and smaller groups. With that being said, we also had our very first writing system called Baybayin coming from our ancestors. Then it evolved to what we are using now, despite being modernized now, Baybayin/Alibata is still evident to today's culture and never forgotten. Luckily, it is still being taught and preserved.
Back to the video, about the invention of writing.. It truly is amazing how the system of writing evolved. From writings on walls, stones to what we use now pen and paper even digital notebooks/notepads.
Here in the Philippines we have atleast over 120 languages spoken, due to the fact that we have been colonized by different countries before and also having 7,107 islands. Meaning more Physical isolation and smaller groups. With that being said, we also had our very first writing system called Baybayin coming from our ancestors. Then it evolved to what we are using now, despite being modernized now, Baybayin/Alibata is still evident to today's culture and never forgotten. Luckily, it is still being taught and preserved.
Back to the video, about the invention of writing.. It truly is amazing how the system of writing evolved. From writings on walls, stones to what we use now pen and paper even digital notebooks/notepads.
Here in the Philippines we have atleast over 120 languages spoken, due to the fact that we have been colonized by different countries before and also having 7,107 islands. Meaning more Physical isolation and smaller groups. With that being said, we also had our very first writing system called Baybayin coming from our ancestors. Then it evolved to what we are using now, despite being modernized now, Baybayin/Alibata is still evident to today's culture and never forgotten. Luckily, it is still being taught and preserved.
Back to the video, about the invention of writing.. It truly is amazing how the system of writing evolved. From writings on walls, stones to what we use now pen and paper even digital notebooks/notepads.
After listening to Dr Cope and Dr Kalantzis lecture on writing (above), I start to unlearn what I learn in terms of language acquisition. In my years of teaching, I had previously believed that second language learners should learn how to read first before they can start writing in their second language. I had always thought that reading from books written by published authors help second language learners become exposed to proper sentence structures.
On the contrary, language learning experts have said, Writing practice helps you think and speak in the foreign language. As you continue practicing, you are able to quickly form new thoughts in the other language. The practice eventually leads to proficiency in the language because you have developed a deeper understanding of it.
Handwriting the language that we are learning allows us to think and practice the language.Learners' ability to create full sentences helps when they eventually engage in actual conversation because they have already learned the grammar rules. Learners then can have the ability to develop your own style of structuring sentences and communicating.
Writing is the physical manifestation of a spoken language. The Sumerians first invented writing as a means of long-distance communication which was necessitated by trade. With the rise of the cities in Mesopotamia and the need for resources that were lacking in the region, long-distance trade developed and, with it, the need to be able to communicate across the expanses between cities or regions. This new means of communication allowed scribes to record the events of their times as well as their religious beliefs and, in time, to create an art form that was not possible before the written word: literature.
Of cause I agree with the following statements: 1. Writing provided oppurtunity to keep records of occurrences in weather, daily life, medicine and cure for hunger, and death, civil discussion of painfull subjects, and oppurtunity to teach young everything at once. 2. Created inequality, nationalism, and borders, record keeping of history-wars.
3. Produced effect of better life for majority of the population.
All of these things are a need of human, of cause the consequence that some humans feel the need to be superior or different.... does create problems in ethical consideration.... however may be with writing humans take out their aggression and competitive side and then act as better human being that care what and how people eat..... and where they sleep, and what could be done to help..... One has to agree, we humans have the need to share... and if were still sitting in natural caves sharing or not sharing meats and fish that lost it's nutrient due to low quality, the life would have been significantly less enjoyable.