Before written language, the world was in a phase called pre-history. Spoken language were used thousands of years before languages began to be written. People have been now using written language for many millennia. Writing isn't only one of the world's favorite things to do or just something you see every day, but it is also something that changed the way we communicate, and the world.
Writing is the visual recording language and it is peculiar to the human species (education.yahoo.com). Instead of making pictures (pictographs) on clay, scribes saw it was easier to make small symbols instead of a whole picture (Walker C.B.F). Sumerians developed a writing system that influenced other languages and together they become known as cuneiform (ancientscripts.com). Cuneiform means "wedge-shape," from the Latin cuneus, meaning "wedge." (crystalinks.com). It is one of the earliest forms of written expression. The Sumerians were one of the earliest urban societies to emerge in the world, in Southern Mesopotamia more than 5000 years ago (ancientscripts.com).
Numeric system for Sumerians was decimal and sexagesimal, meaning they were based on the numbers ten and sixty (Walker C.B.F). The word "sexagesimal" comes from the Latin word "sexagesimus" meaning sixtieth (Dictionary.com). Our money system today is decimal based, using cents and dollars. Our time system is sexagesimal based, using sixty seconds in a minute, sixty minutes in an hour, and so on.
Cuneiforms were written on clay tablets on which symbols were often drawn with a blunt reed called a stylus (crystalinks.com). The stylus was a wedge-tipped stylus and was used to push into the clay to create wedge shaped (cuneiform) signs (crystalinks.com). The cuneiform could be fired in a kiln if wished to keep permanent, but could just be recycled if it wasn't needed permanently (Wikipedia.org)
Literacy was not wide spread in Mesopotamia. The scribes like any craftsmen, had to undergo training, and having completed their training and become entitled to call themselves dusar, "scribe" (Walker C.B.F). According to McKay (1995), Cuneiform was so complicated that only professional scribes actually mastered the system by studying it for many years. Scribes were very important at this time. Scribes used cuneiform to contact their gods.
The story of decipherment of cuneiform starts in the eighteenth century with travellers visiting the ruins of Persepolis, in modern day Iran (walker C.B.F). The direction of writing was originally from top to bottom, but for reasons unknown, it changed to left to right very early on (ancientscripts.com). Not only was the direction change, but all the symbols were flipped a full 90 degrees at that time (Wikipedia.org). Many languages today are still written from left to right. Cuneiform writing was replaced by the Phoenician alphabet. It eventually became extinct by the second century AD.
Writing enables the transmission of ideas over vast distances of time and space and is a prerequisite of complex civilization (education.yahoo.com). There are many things that would have never happened if writing wouldn't have been invented. Knowing how our ancestors lived would be much harder. We wouldn't remember any historical events or anything from the past. Important documents such as the Declaration of the Independence or the Bible would never have been written. Writing enabled humankind to record things.
Writing has evolved in many ways to make it easier to understand. About one in five people today, concentrated mostly in Third World nations, are illiterate. Before it wasn't for the masses, it was only for upper classes (livescience.com). Writing today isn't only for priests; it is for anyone who wishes to learn. Reading lets us not only enjoy writing, but it enables us to learn new things.
Without writing where would we be today? Written language changed the world forever, and was one of our big leaps into Human evolution. It closed that big gap between pre-history and where we are today.
Spoken languages were used thousands of years before languages began to be written.
People have been now using written language for many millennia .---Is this a word?
Writing is the visual recorded language and it is peculiar to the human species (education.yahoo.com).
The stylus was a wedge-tipped stylus, and was used to push into the clay to create wedge shaped (cuneiform) signs (crystalinks.com).
The scribes, like any craftsmen, had to undergo training, and having completed their training andbecame entitled to call themselves dusar, "scribe" (Walker C.B.F).
The story of decipherment of cuneiform starts in the eighteenth century with travelers visiting the ruins of Persepolis, in modern day Iran (walker C.B.F).
The direction of writing was originally from top to bottom, but for reasons unknown, it changed to left to right very early on (ancientscripts.com).
Not only was there a direction change, but all the symbols were flipped a full 90 degrees at that time (Wikipedia.org).
There are many things that would have never happened if writing wouldn't havehad not been invented.
Important documents such as the Declaration of the Independence or the Bible would never have been written.
Writing has enabled humankind to record things.
Interesting essay! I hope this helps!
:)
