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Writing As A Form Of Communication

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Writing is a form of communication that utilizes symbols to express an idea or thought. The earliest form of writing began with pictographs, which were symbols of objects used to portray an idea. Thus, writing started with the Sumerians of Mesopotamia, who carved the first known pictographs in stone in approximately 35000 BC. Eventually, the pictograph developed into phonetic writing, where the symbols no longer just expressed an idea, but rather a sound. This development was a significant one, as information could now reach new audience’s, distant from its original source and unrestrained by it. Hence, phonetic writing coincided with the creation of writing systems such as the Alphabet. However, what makes writing and all forms of communication distinct is that they are necessary for cultural innovation, which is in turn necessary for the advancement of mankind. With phonetically written information it became easy to spread ideas and keep more detailed records of not only agriculture, but of populations and religious texts. Moreover, writing eventually came to be a symbol of status. If a person was literate, they were most likely a scribe or a member of the privileged class. In this way, literacy became a distinction of where you belonged in society. An example of this can be seen in America where slaves were not allowed to be able to read or write. Slave masters feared that their literacy would make a slave incompetent due to the fact they would be able to become aware of

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