2. INTRODUCTION
• Literacy is the ability to read and write one's
own name and further for knowledge and
interest, write coherently, and think critically
about the written word. The inability to do so
is called illiteracy or analphabetism. Visual
literacy includes in addition the ability to
understand all forms of communication, be it
body language, pictures, maps, or video.
3. Ancient and medieval literacy
• In ancient times, literacy in its restricted sense
was always confined to a small elite.Although
some ruling elite were illiterate, literacy was
an important distinguishing mark of the elite,
and communications skills were politically
important.
4. Literacy in Asia (China)
• The PRC conducts standardized testing to assess
proficiency in Putonghua but it is primarily for
foreigners or those needing to demonstrate
professional proficiency in the Beijing dialect. Literacy
in logographic languages like Chinese has been graded
on the number of characters in the speaker's lexicon,
with a few thousand considered the minimum for
practical literacy. Similar tests exist in other countries
where Chinese is an official language. Chinese can be
expressed phonetically and alphabetically but Chinese
speakers prefer the Chinese logographic system.
5. Economic impact
• Many policy analysts consider literacy rates as
a crucial measure of the value of a
region's human capital. For example literate
people can be more easily trained than
illiterate people - and generally have a higher
socio-economic status;[33] thus they enjoy
better health and employment prospects.
Literacy increases job opportunities and
access to higher education.
