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From: Aidan Kehoe <kehoea@parhasard.net>
Newsgroups: sci.lang
Subject: Re: national lowercase day (14 october)
Date: Tue, 15 Oct 2024 18:53:24 +0100
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 Ar an cúigiú lá déag de mí Deireadh Fómhair, scríobh Jeff Barnett: 

 > > I wonder have any studies been done comparing uneducated German-speakers
 > > to uneducated English-speakers and the skill in determining parts of
 > > speech. It wouldn’t shock me if the English-speakers were worse at it,
 > > given less need to decline nouns and adjectives. I suppose these days it
 > > would have to be done on pre-literate children.
 > 
 > Not trying to be snide but, .... There are some questions about how, when,
 > and if our American children do become literate. I suppose that many other
 > countries are asking the same sorts of questions about their youngsters. The
 > electronics and media influences might be even stronger than those of
 > linguistic differences.

Local experience is that Irish Travellers (who have the lifestyle and social
pathologies of Gypsies, but echt-Irish genetics) were routinely illiterate
until smartphones came along, and now it’s unusual to come across a younger
Irish Traveller who is unable to read and write. A welcome change that has
happened in my lifetime (I’m 43). Was your feeling that literacy has declined?

-- 
‘As I sat looking up at the Guinness ad, I could never figure out /
How your man stayed up on the surfboard after fourteen pints of stout’
(C. Moore)