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.

The word “doubtless” in the passage mostly means ...............

Câu hỏi liên quan

• According to the passage, when did "the Lord of the Rings" trilogy become popular with young people?

• The word “splendors” in the passage could be best replaced by which of the following?

• The expression “is based on” in the first paragraph could be best replaced by ..............

ZUNIA12

• The author states that the reason that infants need to avoid certain foods related to allergies has to do with the infant's ___________ .

• What is the purpose of the passage?

• Which of the following is NOT true about carbon-14?

• All of the following statements are TRUE about visual learners EXCEPT ...............

• What is the author's main purpose?

• The word “them” in the last paragraph refers to _____.

• According to the passage, what is TRUE about origin of tea drinking?

• The word “astonished” in paragraph 4 can be best replaced by__________.

• What is the main idea of this passage?

• A main difference between tsunamis in Japan and in Hawaii is that tsunamis in Japan are more likely to _________ .

• What might be the most suitable title for this reading passage?

• The orchid is unique because of ......

• According to the passage, the doers of education are  .....................

• The underlined pronoun “they”refers to ...............

• Algae remnants found in Africa are________.

• Why did John read about aeroplane?

• What does the author probably mean by using the expression “children interrupt their education to go to school” (lines 2-3) ?