this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2023
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The written word. Just think about how much that has completely revolutionized communication all around the world. We can receive firsthand accounts of events from thousands of years in the past, on the other side of the world, from a civilization that hasn't existed since the Pyramids. We can learn the sagas and myths of countless cultures around the world. There's a good reason that the very act of writing itself was considered magical for eons. In many ways, it still is.
On dhat note, dhe English language is kwite inkonsistent on letter pronunsiashion. I think it kould do widh a refresher on how letters work or just do a round of simplifikashion on sounds instead of being a Frankenstein fokusing on where the word kame from.
Ah, but see, the beauty of the English language is that 50% of the time we don't actually care whether something is spelled properly unless it's formal academic writing or something official. We can make do with whatever, and guesstimate our way through almost anything!
Yeah I read that other person's comment no problem. Language is cool.
Yeah, it IS cool! Even cooler is learning how language and words has evolved over time. A word you thought you knew might have had completely different meaning a few years or a century ago, and often gives a hint about the culture back then. If I redid my life, I would love to have become a language researcher.
The written word is well and good, but writing and reading didn't become common among everyone until some figured out how to mass-produce writings. The modern world, easy access to education, and many battles for equality and freedom, they couldn't have happened without printed books. We can learn about the sagas and myths of countless cultures around the world without being a noble or a monk or a scribe, and without knowing the original language. So.. Books. The magic in writing became so much more powerful with books.
Youd still need writing invented first