"The shift to written culture always resulted from a desire or a willingness to break down the barriers of a compartmentalized society and a will to join a larger community. Linguistic considerations closely connected to the will of the governing powers played an important role as well. With printing, victory always went to the strongest forces, whose idiom the authorities used as a vehicle, ineluctably setting up a written language that contrasted with the diversity of spoken dialects. When that happened, the cultures embodied in the languages that had been thrust aside might show some resistance or foster brutal reactions, but they were threatened with near-extinction." Henri-Jean Martin, The History and Power of Writing, 343.
Dear Students,
What do you think of Martin's ideas in the paragraph above? Is this still true? Is this a function of print, a function of language, or another function altogether? Write for about five minutes and be ready for discussion.
Your Teacher,
Casey
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