Everyday we do it, all of us, we communicate. Whether verbal or non verbal, since time immemorial man has exchanged vital information integral to our survival, persistence and evolution.Archaeologists have continuously unearthed artifacts scarred by human hands with symbols and hieroglyphs detailing lifestyles and cultures of that time. Ultimately, these symbols were incorporated into our culture and passed from generation to generation where systems of codes were developed mapping specific shapes to respective meaning. Combinations of these meanings were then used to relate ideas and concepts as simple or as complex as required; a most basic survival tool still used today.Written verbal communication has evolved over time, breaking geographical boundaries and specialising to suit individual communities of persons comprising innumerous cultures spanning the entire globe. It has been used to build bridges of hope and friendship, relations of love and peace while simultaneously instigating hate, chaos and war. To communicate via written verbal communication is particular to each and every individual. Simply put, no two people communicate the same way. This uniqueness could not be more easily identified than in the way we write; like our fingerprints, our handwriting is exclusive to us. So why is there such an emphasis on 'good handwriting'? And more importantly, what constitutes 'good handwriting'? I mean for a man like the great Mahatma Gandhi to recognise the importance of good handwriting in his autobiography, means that there must be some value to this dying ability.
Society has set a bar which must be met and surpassed in order to be deemed educated, that is the bar of literacy. In its most basic definition, literacy is the ability to read and write. However, the definition does not specify to what level of legibility one must write. After all, we've all been to a doctor's office for an illness and walked out with a prescription only readable by those extremely gifted pharmacists. Ironically, from the days of kindergarten and pre-school, special emphasis is placed on penmanship and developing impeccable writing styles, beginning with 'fat line' copy books and working towards 'normal copy-books' as we master control of the pen. After all, an illegible masterpiece by Shakespeare may probably have not been understood and appreciated by his admirers. Therefore it's safe to say that most people begin to design their own 'fonts' somewhere between Primary school and adulthood. Why?Different opinions have been thrown into the ring as to why this may be so. Technological advancements have been suggested as being a root cause mainly because at the push of a single button, perfect letters can be formed without the subjectivity of guessing individual letters written by different people. The formation of the global village has mandated that information be easily communicated in an efficient, understandable manner. Regardless of the varying languages, all letters within one alphabet are expected to look the same despite location and use, in order to prevent miscommunication of the information. The pros to using technology may therefore outweigh the cons simply due to the significant risk of miscommunication. It's most likely why a teacher requests typed assignments to ensure legibility and clarity of portrayed ideas.
Our dependence on a keyboard therefore deteriorates our learned capacity to write. After all writing is not an inert human ability. In an increasingly fast paced world, information is expected to be collected and reproduced at a moment's notice. Shorthand and note taking are now components of meetings and educational sessions where persons are expected to keep pace with the lecturer while writing valuable points. And so speed writing was born. This form of writing leaves no room for the dotted 'i' and crossed 't' mainly because the aim is to collect the information without missing parts and leaving holes.So what happens should technology crash and we're jolted back to the days of letter writing? If it weren't for examinations, most persons would stop writing before they finished school, but then again who knows what the future holds? One thing is for certain, when push comes to shove man will have to do what we do best and adapt. We're going to learn to write all over again. So as for having a good handwriting, maybe we should keep it around.
