In this section of reading, we looked at, very generally speaking, reading and writing. What's interesting to me is how different writing is from speaking. Apart from the obvious differences, Crystal makes a point of showing just how divided language and speech actually are. Spelling, abbreviations, capital letters, special symbols, punctuation and spatial organization are some of the ways in which writing separates itself from speech. Just as we have phonemes, we also have graphemes e.g. <c>, <b> or <?>. There are twenty six graphemes that makes up the alphabet in the English language along with many other special symbols. Looking at the charts, it is intriguing to see how pictograms slowly developed into symbols and then letters. I also find it fascinating how many similarities there are between the older languages. Looking at the chart on page 114, we can see that from starting with Phoenician and going to Greek, almost all the languages in between have at least one similar character with another language in that group.
I always thought that reading was a mixture of both sight and speech. I did not know that there was a debate surrounding the two. I think that to say reading it done exclusively by sight or exclusively by speech is incorrect. Crystal makes legitimate points arguing for and against each view and I don't see why it is such a problem to simply say that they both contribute to reading. Crystal makes the point that if we come across a word we have never seen before, we will most likely sound it out before continuing to read; however, I find that if someone is really trying to concentrate on reading a magazine, for example, they will whisper out every word. If two strangers start a conversation near me while I'm reading a book, I will begin to sound out each word rapidly while I read to hold my concentration. The again, maybe that's just ADD.
Learning how to read and write are two giant tasks for young children. When this is hampered by a disability it makes the process excruciating. I found the topic of dyslexia towards the end of the reading quite interesting. I have know what dyslexia was since I was young because my cousin has it. I never really understood what it was other than that she lots of trouble reading. After reading through the different types presented by Crystal, I know realize how serious of a problem it can be. yet, what is there to be done about it. How do we determine if someone actually has dyslexia or whether their intelligence level is simply lower and what treatments are there, if any?
In the last section, Crystal talks about the computer-mediated communication medium (CMC). This book was written in 2005 and since then, CMC has developed exponentially. I think that Crystal's analysis of CMC as a mixture of both speech and writing is correct. He also classifies it as "a new species of communication." I thought that speaking a writing were pretty much it but we truly have entered a new stage of communication. Netspeak, texting, email etc. These all represent a brand new form of communication and will shape new generations. Any baby born after 2000 will more technological apt than any kid born in the 90's by leaps and bounds. It will be interesting to see how CMC evolves in the next decade.
I have not done an artifact yet but I do like the idea of using a Voki if I can figure it out. Possibly reading from a children's book so I can document my progress on pronunciation.
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