Serendipity ...
... I happened to be having a conversation about this issue only yesterday...
The same old fonts, the same styles of presentation; with so much of the text that we read being in print form, isn't there a threat that somewhere we are being de-skilled both as readers and writers? Of course, this may lead to a different understanding of what it is to be literate, but what about those very important calligraphic forms of writing such as Nastaʿlīq and Kanji?
I do join up when I write, but don't get to write so much because of the emphasis on electronic communication. Anyway, I'll make a point of uploading an example sometime soon Inshallah.
... Is the ancient art form of handwriting dying out?
... I happened to be having a conversation about this issue only yesterday...
The same old fonts, the same styles of presentation; with so much of the text that we read being in print form, isn't there a threat that somewhere we are being de-skilled both as readers and writers? Of course, this may lead to a different understanding of what it is to be literate, but what about those very important calligraphic forms of writing such as Nastaʿlīq and Kanji?
I do join up when I write, but don't get to write so much because of the emphasis on electronic communication. Anyway, I'll make a point of uploading an example sometime soon Inshallah.
full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7907888.stm
... Is the ancient art form of handwriting dying out?
A century from now, our handwriting may only be legible to experts.
For some, that is already the case. But writer Kitty Burns Florey says the art of handwriting is declining so fast that ordinary, joined-up script may become as hard to read as a medieval manuscript.
"When your great-great-grandchildren find that letter of yours in the attic, they'll have to take it to a specialist, an old guy at the library who would decipher the strange symbols for them," says Ms Florey, author of the newly-published Script and Scribble: The Rise and Fall of Handwriting.
She argues that children - if not this generation then one soon to come - may grow up using only a crude form of printing for the rare occasions in life they need to communicate by pen.
It's funny, I've often talked about this with my step-mum who wonders if we might lose the ability to handwrite legibly in a few generations. I tend to disagree. In fact I wonder if maybe we will see a return to beautiful penmanship when handwriting becomes an artform rather than a necessity. If we want to quickly write we can use a computer to type or have our speech transcribed but a pen is for something else, something special and our handwriting will become more considered and artistic than at present. Maybe we'll even see a return to learning 'penmanship' as they used to in schools in Victorian times and as they still do in some places (like HK) where the alphabet isn't paramount.
ReplyDeleteInteresting reflection Rachel, thanks for your comments - I'm not sure that Victorian schools are quite what I had in mind. Representative of a time that was perhaps a little too austere and before the principle of universal education became the norm. (Still not the norm in some parts of the world nor always effective in those parts of the world where it is said to be in place).
ReplyDeleteThat said, many occupations DO require Fine Motor Skills and although FMS can be developed irrespective of writing, I know that in as much as being able to write in a legible style (correct letter formation etc.) pencil and pen skills when working with children are about fine motor manipulation.
I like the point about penmanship being akin to an artform, that's precisely my point about handwriting. Although not always possible for long documents, handwriting is a key skill that could be paid more attention to in our print obsessed society - it's so much more individual that Times New Roman or Helvetica.
I've wondered about the same thing. Will there come a generation, some time very soon, that will not know how to use the pen at all? Will the letters we write today really need close deciphering, that even by experts, in order to be understood?
ReplyDeleteAnd IF that does happen, will it be a sad thing? ... or will it be something like, eh, it was bound to happen one day? Perhaps we'll have more and new talents then?
I like Rachel's thought: "In fact I wonder if maybe we will see a return to beautiful penmanship when handwriting becomes an art form rather than a necessity."
Yes, that's a strong possibility.
Qrratugai
ReplyDeleteWriting or Art? - Can you get more artistic than the beautiful calligraphic forms from around the Islamic world?
It all seems to go against the grain of modern education and I would love to have that skill.