Writing and Literacy Chapter 7. What is this sign?
-
Upload
neal-washington -
Category
Documents
-
view
214 -
download
0
Transcript of Writing and Literacy Chapter 7. What is this sign?
What is this sign?
It is called the universal sign for “women” but is it really universal?
Do all women wear dresses?
Contacting Other Planets
This plate was designed for Pioneer 10 in case other life forms found it
Do you think other life forms (or even other cultures of humans) would interpret it the same way?
Symbols
So, symbols are arbitrary
Even sounds can be symbols
What sound do these words have in common?SureShoreMachineMotion Is the sound spelled the same in each word?
Writing
Writing is also symbolic
It is a way to record language by visible marks
Speech is basic, but reading and writing are more complex and require more learning
Complete writing systems Can record all thoughts and words
Partial writing systems Limited by what it can convey by cultural understandings NASA plaque
Writing
A phonetic sign is a graphic representation of one or more sounds of a languageThe example of the four words earlier
A semantic sign is a graphic representation of a specific idea or meaning <2> means ‘two’ <4> can mean ‘four’ or ‘for’ (in texting)
Writing
Are languages with few phonetic or semantic signs less evolved or less valuable than those with many?
Writing
Pictrographic writing uses pictures or images to represent things
Ex: the women sign
Rebus writing uses one picture to represent two or more words that sound the sameThis lets you move beyond limitations of pictographsExample: picture of an eye can stand for eye or I
Writing
Syllabic writing uses graphic signs to represent individual syllables
‘cat’ has one, so one sign
‘caterpillar’ has four, so four signs
This is a significant step in the development of writing styels
Example: Japanese, Chinese, Mayan
Writing
Logosyllabic writing combines the logographic and syllabic forms
Example: modern Chinese
The words for ‘sheep’ and ‘ocean’ sound the same, so you can use the same sign for each; however, if you add a sign for ‘water,’ then you specify ocean and not sheep.
Writing
Alphabetic writing uses graphic signs to represent individual consonants and vowels
We probably got our alphabet from ancient Phonecians
Our first two letters are a and b
In ancient Greek they are alpha and beta
In Hebrew they are aleph and bet
Literacy
What does it mean if someone is literate?
Illiterate?
What are social judgments that come with being illiterate?
Does being literate involve reading, writing, and speaking?
Literacy
The autonomous approach to literacy says that reading and writing go together and are different from speaking
But many think that being literate should include being able to explain what you read or write
But do people have the same interpretations of what they read or write?
Literacy
Different interpretations are the heart of the practice approach to literacy
Literacy is a set of behaviors that exists in a cultural context
Remember the article on reading Shakespeare to the African tribe?
Literacy and Orality
Refresher on the word orality: the ability to hear and speak
There are many cultures without written language
Literacy and orality are different
Look at pg. 219
Literacy and Orality
Are oral languages not literate? Do they not have understanding of their world? Be careful of judgments
Literacy and Power
Literacy can create different conditions in which certain kinds of literacy are rewarded (seen as ‘proper’) and other kinds are less acceptable
They key is that one kind of literacy is not inherently better than another, but that one may be more appropriate or expected in a specific situation
Literacy and Power: Colonialism
In a society, who should have the right to learn to read and write?
Mayan had their own writing system, but Spanish conquistadores expected the people they conquered to be illiterate and uncivilized
They labeled the writing as pagan and “dictated by the Devil” and their job was to convert them, which meant destroying their language
What other ways has Colonialism affected indigenous languages?