Die Verschriftlichung von Kulturen: Skizze einer Forschung

• Published in: Sociologus 1986-01, Vol.36 (1), p.65-78
• Main Author: Elwert, Georg
• Format: Article
• Language: ger
• ISSN: 0038-0377; 1865-5106

The social transformations possible through the literacy process (Verschriftlichung) are considerable: selectivity of channels of communication, depersonalisation of social control, anonymisation and historical extension of knowledge diffusion, expansion of commodity economy. Seen together these transformations connected to the literacy process point to a cumulation point of social evolution. The failure of schooled or de-schooled adult literacy in some present day third world countries can be explained by the relative inefficiency of written communication when confronted with some features of oral culture. The literacy process can only succeed if several structural social and cultural conditions are given. Some of these may be already established (linguistic standardisation, e.g.). Most of them are created in a positive feedback as part of the process, namely linguistic transformations (the stabilisation of causal/conditional clauses and local/adverbial constructions), the symbolisation of knowledge types formerly not coded in language (visual recognition, mastership of physical movements). The relative inefficiency and even ridiculousness of the new written language demands the creation of oral institutions around written texts which stabilize the written language in esteem (through prominent oral use and in form). The comparative analysis of present day and historical literacy processes shows that institutional transformations are conditions for the stability of a literate culture.