Origin of Word: A Short History in Writing

Prior to the written word, cultures utilized verbal conversations to tell stories, practice religion, solve governmental issues, and teach others. This led to the development of specific relics to spark a memory, such as carved sticks and stones, braded ropes, or colorful beads. According to Cultural Anthropology: The Human Challenge, The Iroquois Indian orators used wampum belts during speeches in place of note cards. Without the invention of a written language within their culture, they would attach white and bluish purple shells to the belt. These shells would symbolize important memories or treatise with other nations.

Nearly 5000 years ago the Egyptians began using hieroglyphics as a writing system. “Inscriptions discovered in Egypt’s western desert suggest that our alphabet was invented almost 4000 years ago by Semitic-speaking peoples in that region”(1). As archaeologist pondered the pictographs of Egyptians, they began to realize, the Semites acquired quite a few symbols from Egyptian hieroglyphics to represent different phonetics within its language. An example of this would be the hieroglyphic symbol for “ox.” The Semitic word for “ox,” is aleph. The hieroglyphic symbol for “ox” is the horned head of the animal and looks similar to an inverted letter “A.” This type of conversion goes on to develop a Semitic alphabet from the hieroglyphics of Egyptians, thus leading to a Semitic writing system.

Throughout the next thousand years this system of writing was taken in by Phoenicians, whom the Greeks adopted their writing system from(1). Subsequent to this adoption, the Greeks invented the term, “alphabet,” which represents the two first letters of the Greek’s writing system, alpha and beta. For centuries following this adoption by the Greeks, their alphabet made its way throughout the European colonies, changing along the way. This led to the possibility of cultures being able to write their stories, letters, speeches, and treatise.

While the written language has made its alterations and advancements throughout history, still illiteracy plagues the globe. In reference to the United Nations Education, Science, and Cultural Organization, “today one in five adults is still not literate and about two-thirds of them are women while 67.4 million children are out of school.” Illiteracy is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly. Being literate allows an individual a sense of empowerment; it gives struggling communities a means of educating their young and develops strong trans-cultural communications. Literacy plays a major role in the betterment of child mortality and cultural advancement. Without being literate one wouldn’t be able to learn via the vast amount of information spread throughout the world. With this being said, join in and help your fellow community. Rid the world of illiteracy and ensure the betterment of our future generations.

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” ~Anne Frank

1. Willianm A. Haviland, Harald E. L. Prins, Bunny Mc Bride, Dana Walrath. “Cultureal Anthropology: The Human Challenge”, Thirteenth Editio. Cenage Learning. 2011.