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 (as far as we can tell from surviving evidence) for at least 5000 years; but they have been talking for much longer, doubtless ever since there have been human beings.

When writing did develop, 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 human child who is not severely handicapped physically or mentally will learn to talk: a normal human being 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 only imperfectly.

To affirm the primacy of speech over writing is not, however, to disparage the latter. 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 “advantage” in the last paragraph most closely means .................

Câu hỏi liên quan

• It is stated in the passage that extreme weather is ..............

• Did the town people believe the story of the five men about their meeting with Bigfoot?

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

ZUNIA12

• The word "graze" in the passage is closest in meaning to_________.

• The word "espouse” is contextually closest in meaning to "_______"

• The best title for this pasage would be .............

•  It is mentioned in the passage that before the electric lamp was invented, ..............

• The word formulaic is closest in meaning to___________.

• Which of the following best describes the organization of the passage?

• The purpose of the projects mentioned is .................

• Which of the following statements is true of the U.S. Department of Transportation?

• According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT ................

• Which of the following is a kind of petal?

• Why did the author write the passage?

• What surprised John most about the flight?

• According to the passage, when James Monroe came to the White House, it had been .......

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

• Approximately when did English begin to be used beyond England?

• Which of the following is NOT given as a name for the third type of cooperation?

• The passage is mainly about ..................