I think another wrinkle in the story of European literacy is the shift from Latin to the vernaculars. The Ethiopian highlands have a long history of literacy in Ge'ez but it was mostly restricted to the clergy and/or the elite. Statecraft, starting with Emperor Tewodros II, had an important role in the shift toward written Amharic in the 19th century.
In the mid 18th century, the Scottish traveler James Bruce had this to say on the subject: "On the contrary, there is an old law in this country, handed down by tradition only, that whoever should attempt to translate the holy scripture into Amharic, or any other language, his throat should be cut after the manner in which they kill sheep, his family sold to slavery, and his house razed to the ground; and, whether the fear of this law was true or feigned, it was a great obstacle to me in getting those translations of the Song of Solomon made which I intend for specimens of the different languages of those distinct nations." Other writers like William Jowett, Samuel Gobat, and Nathaniel Pearce concurred.
I'm a bit surprised you didn't talk about the Reformation and the role of Protestantism in bringing about mass literacy. The rise of literacy and comprehensive education in Protestant states forced the Catholic Church to expand its own schools to educate the masses.
Should we make streaming sports and tv shows in english, hindi, arabic, Urdu, indonesian, portuguese, french with subtitles/closed captions free to encourage fluency in languages with lots of writing and directly facilitate reading practice?
Oliver, you always give me a "good think" with humor and fact. Many thanks!
Amazing work! Love your writing
The question about how long the girl sleeps is only straightforward if you know that daylight savings time did not start or end during the night.
I think another wrinkle in the story of European literacy is the shift from Latin to the vernaculars. The Ethiopian highlands have a long history of literacy in Ge'ez but it was mostly restricted to the clergy and/or the elite. Statecraft, starting with Emperor Tewodros II, had an important role in the shift toward written Amharic in the 19th century.
In the mid 18th century, the Scottish traveler James Bruce had this to say on the subject: "On the contrary, there is an old law in this country, handed down by tradition only, that whoever should attempt to translate the holy scripture into Amharic, or any other language, his throat should be cut after the manner in which they kill sheep, his family sold to slavery, and his house razed to the ground; and, whether the fear of this law was true or feigned, it was a great obstacle to me in getting those translations of the Song of Solomon made which I intend for specimens of the different languages of those distinct nations." Other writers like William Jowett, Samuel Gobat, and Nathaniel Pearce concurred.
A great piece.
I'm a bit surprised you didn't talk about the Reformation and the role of Protestantism in bringing about mass literacy. The rise of literacy and comprehensive education in Protestant states forced the Catholic Church to expand its own schools to educate the masses.
Should we make streaming sports and tv shows in english, hindi, arabic, Urdu, indonesian, portuguese, french with subtitles/closed captions free to encourage fluency in languages with lots of writing and directly facilitate reading practice?