In chapter one of A
History of Reading by Alberto Manguel, I find it very interesting how he
dissects words and letters into their most basic form; simply the forms they
shape on the page. This should be common for children or learners of a new and
foreign language. However, I believe this is a phenomenon we generally take for
granted. To actually learn how to say a word based simply on lines on a sheet
of paper is incredible and took thousands of years to develop. This, too,
places Latin alphabets apart from their Asian counterpoints, where pictorial
representation is key. Without these letterforms, I think it’s easy to pay too
little attention to the artistry of the written language itself which is not
only beautiful, but can tell us a lot about how our ancestors view language,
which in turn shapes how we view language in the present and the future.
I am currently learning Japanese and experiencing learning to read all over again is an amazing experience. I agree that the simple experience of learning the letters, that like you said took thousands of years to develop, is enthralling. The scripts of a language are an art in and of themselves, and Manguel really seems to capture that idea and remind readers of their first experiences with that art.
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