1. Writing and Literacy Chapter 7

2. What is this sign?

3. It is called the universal sign for “women” but is it really universal? Do all women wear dresses?

4. What is this sign? What about some traditional men’s clothing?

5. 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?

7. Symbols So, symbols are arbitrary Even sounds can be symbols What sound do these words have in common? Sure Shore Machine Motion Is the sound spelled the same in each word?

8. Writing Is this the place writing was invented? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItsRI4IyyDY

9. 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

10. Writing A phonetic sign is a graphic representation of one or more sounds of a language The example of the four words earlier A semantic sign is a graphic representation of a specific idea or meaning means ‘two’ can mean ‘four’ or ‘for’ (in texting)

11. Writing Are languages with few phonetic or semantic signs less evolved or less valuable than those with many?

12. 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 same This lets you move beyond limitations of pictographs Example: picture of an eye can stand for eye or I

14. Writing Logographic writing uses graphic signs to represent words or ideas Ex: Mayan

15. Writing

16. 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

17. Japanese Hiragana:

18. 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.

19. 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

20. Writing A final, interesting, example is Khipus (Inca) Language read by tying knots in cords

21. 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?

22. 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?

23. 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?

24. 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

25. Literacy and Orality Are oral languages not literate? Do they not have understanding of their world? Be careful of judgments

26. 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

27. 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?

28. Literacy and Power: Colonialism