2 - Literacy and orality

Summary

‘Literacy’ has a multiplicity of levels and meanings. It also has a history, as does its interaction with oral communication. But how important is literacy to a society? What effects does writing have? How does the coming of writing change a society which has previously relied entirely on oral communication and tradition?

The wider significance of writing is much debated. Influential theories have seen it as a fundamental agent of change — change either to the workings of society or to the mentality of individuals. Is it, or is it not, such a powerful agent? The debate could be said to have been focused — if not actually triggered off — by the example of ancient Greece. But it encompasses anthropological and more modern or more ancient historical data, as well as psychological research. It is difficult to characterize the broad state of play at the moment. The extreme picture of literacy as a catalyst for certain changes has been much criticized. Most historians and anthropologists seem happier with a more relativist concept of literacy, which allows for diverse implications in diverse societies and periods; psychologists tend towards the fundamentalist view. The controversy is certainly showing no signs of dying down. From our point of view, I would single out two main trends in recent studies.