The Interface Between the Written and the Oral

by Jack Goody

Book Overview

Whilst the fundamental significance of the spoken language for human interaction is widely acknowledged, that of writing is less well known, and in this wide-ranging series of essays Jack Goody examines in depth the complex and often confused relationship between oral and literate modes of communication. He considers the interface between the written and the oral in three cultures or societies with and without writing, and that within the linguistic...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521337941
• ISBN13: 9780521337946
• Release Date: November 1987
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Comprehensive And Readable

'The Interface Between the Written and the Oral' is a comprehensive look at the development of writing in general and alphabets in particular, oral poetry in ancient Greece and Modern Africa, oral transmission of (written) Vedas, the impact of writing on recently oral cultures in West Africa, and the impact of writing on our own abilities of thought and organization. Perhaps the most disheartening, but nonetheless informative section, deals with the counterintuitive measures that social scientists have come up with to measure the impact of literacy. They seem to be lacking in common sense. Goody, however, is full of common sense, and this book is excellent reading!

Image you could live without your computer!

It is a MUST for everyone who is trying to understand how tools change our lives! The author discribes what writting is and how people can be rational without it. The fascinated world of a coexistance between ritual and literary knowledge stocking will be revealed. I'm sure you will reach for the author's previous work "Domestication of the Savage Mind" to know more.