Literacy/Literacies

Literacy is commonly understood as the ability to read and write. Since the early 20th century, theorists have expanded this definition of literacy. The emergence of literacy is tied to the first languages, which began as a need to communicate between human beings. Once migrations had resulted in the presence of humans around the world, approximately 10,000 languages were in existence. Numeracy provides some of the first evidence of writing, tracing back to 8000 BCE. With the advent of writing, with its standardizing effect, many languages dwindled and ultimately disappeared altogether. Writing systems with token markings were used to support tracking of information for trade, production, and governance. Early examples of written literacy, where only a few literate people governed, also demonstrated how literacy originated ...