Re: OT More pens (was Re: Phoneme winnowing continues)

Christophe wrote:
(en réponse à Kendra)
> !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> "Handwriting was hardly taught"? To me, it's identical to say "writing was
> hardly taught". In France, when we learn to write, we learn handwriting!
As I understand it, Kendra  is referring to the progression print (called
writing or printing I guess) > cursive (called handwriting). As far as I
recall, we printed up until about 4th grade (age 10), then learned cursive,
to be used from then on. The printing we learned was basically what you are
seeing in this email-- except no serifs, and the "a" and "g" were simpler,
and "t" had no curve at the bottom.

I can distinctly remember being quite unable to read cursive (connected)
script until I'd learned its secrets.

The problem in days before inexpensive fountain pens, and pre-ballpoints,
was that there were only 2 options-- pencil or penholder-with-nib.  The
latter was an improvement over the quill, in that you didn't have to first
catch a goose etc....Nibs cost maybe a penny.  But as I mentioned (in a post
that hasn't yet reappeared), use of the pen required more control, I
suppose, than little hands were capable of.  (Another name was
"scratch-pen", very accurate).

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