Because writing has become so important in our culture, we sometimes think of it as more real than speech. A little thought, however, will show why speech is primary and writing secondary to language. Human beings have been writing at least 5,000 years, but they have been talking for much longer, doubtless ever since there have been human beings. When writing developed, it was derived from and represented speech, although imperfectly. Even today, there are spoken languages that have no written form. Furthermore, we all learn to talk well before we learn to write; any child who is not severely handicapped physically or mentally will learn to talk: a normal man cannot be prevented from doing so. On the other hand, it takes a special effort to learn to write; in the past, many intelligent and useful members of society did not acquire the skill, and even today many who speak languages with writing systems never learn to read or write while some who learn the rudiments of those skills do so imperfectly.

To affirm the primacy of speech over writing is not to disparage the later. One advantage writing has over speech is that it is more permanent and makes possible the records that any civilization must have. Thus, if speaking makes us human, writing makes us civilized.

According to the author, one mark of a civilized society is that if ..............

Câu hỏi liên quan

• According to the passage, approximately how many non-native users of English are there in the world today?

• It can be inferred from the passage that limestone deposits serve as the basis of .................

• In order to show that learning to write requires effort, the author gives the example of ............

ZUNIA12

• Why do most visitors come to Cambridge?

• The phrase “For example,” line 19, introduces a sentence that gives examples of ........

• According to the writer, why is the choice of your second job important?

• According to the passage, which animals appear most often on the cave walls?

• The purpose of the passage is to __________.

• According to the passage, today’s Thanksgiving ..........

• Which of the following might be the topic of the next paragraph?

• Which of the following is NOT true about the tea production process?

• When she decided to give up Facebook ..............

• How many orchid seeds are typically pollinated at one time?

• People thought Merlin was a dreamer because he ..............

• You can be happy if your surgeon can operate because it means  .................

• The word “they" in paragraph 5 refers to ................

• The word “checked” in the second paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.

• Which of the followings is NOT an evidence of monitoring studying?

• Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as full-time university students?

• What does the author say in paragraph 1 regarding most species in Earth’s history?