Reading without Spacing or Punctuation
The various dialects of Ancient Greek each had their own minor differences, but the language as a whole has certain characteristics that remain consistent regardless of dialect. One of these characteristics is the lack of spacing between words and the lack of punctuation. Since they relied heavily on oral transmission of texts (some scholars believe that even Socrates could not read or write! (Fielding, 2001)) the focus was on how something would be said, rather than how it would be read. Today this approach seems chaotic and inspires panic among first year students of the language, myself included. The concept of a language with very little to define the beginning and end points of words, sentences, or ideas, is overwhelming to modern thinking and understanding of how language works.
Impact on Reading
Before these adjustments, reading was a much more challenging task as an oral reader needed to be able to read ahead and determine where one word ended and the next began with essentially no guidance from the text itself. This meant that their eyes had to move much more than those of a modern reader and, as a result, the effort and work that went into reading a text aloud were much higher (Saenger, 1997). Reading aloud was, however, the main mode of communicating texts, as silent reading was not what the texts were intended for; it was not a common practice for people to read silently on their room, rather reading was a sort of performance. In fact, Saint Augustine describes Ambrose's reading in his Confessions: "his eyes scanned the page and his heart explored the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still" (6.3; 1961, pg. 114). This sight both confused and inspired Augustine, who believed it was a sign of Ambrose seeking to avoid discussing the concepts he read about with all of his visitors. His reaction to this strange sight shows us how uncommon silent reading was within the Greek world and reinforces their use of punctuation only as a means of determining where a reader ought to breathe. Even when alone, most people in the Ancient world would read aloud (Hillas, 1996), leaving silent reading to evolve later in history as text and literacy increased and spread throughout Europe.
Continue to Medieval Punctuation.
Site by Meggan Crawford
Created for ETEC 540, University of British Columbia
Impact on Reading
Before these adjustments, reading was a much more challenging task as an oral reader needed to be able to read ahead and determine where one word ended and the next began with essentially no guidance from the text itself. This meant that their eyes had to move much more than those of a modern reader and, as a result, the effort and work that went into reading a text aloud were much higher (Saenger, 1997). Reading aloud was, however, the main mode of communicating texts, as silent reading was not what the texts were intended for; it was not a common practice for people to read silently on their room, rather reading was a sort of performance. In fact, Saint Augustine describes Ambrose's reading in his Confessions: "his eyes scanned the page and his heart explored the meaning, but his voice was silent and his tongue was still" (6.3; 1961, pg. 114). This sight both confused and inspired Augustine, who believed it was a sign of Ambrose seeking to avoid discussing the concepts he read about with all of his visitors. His reaction to this strange sight shows us how uncommon silent reading was within the Greek world and reinforces their use of punctuation only as a means of determining where a reader ought to breathe. Even when alone, most people in the Ancient world would read aloud (Hillas, 1996), leaving silent reading to evolve later in history as text and literacy increased and spread throughout Europe.
Continue to Medieval Punctuation.
Site by Meggan Crawford
Created for ETEC 540, University of British Columbia