Handwriting will no longer be taught in Finnish schools(2)

Should we bother teaching handwriting?

我們應(yīng)該把精力花在教學(xué)生寫字上嗎？

As prevalent as keyboards are, handwriting isn't obsolete quite yet, so it remains important to teach letter formation to young children.

雖然鍵盤大行其道,但是手寫至今也還未過時,所以將字母編排教給幼兒依然重要.

The letters of the alphabet are complex abstract symbols and children can't begin to write their letters until they can draw a circle. If they can't draw a circle then they can't form letters like a, b, d, o, p, q.

字母表中的字母是復(fù)雜而抽象的符號,只有等孩子們可以畫圓圈時,他們才可以開始書寫字母.如果他們不會畫圈,那么他們便寫不出a、b、d、o、p、q這些字母來.

This ability to draw an enclosed shape is a very important marker of both cognitive and physical development, and it is a skill that emerges from their scribbles. So drawing, scribbling and playing with crayons and pencils are an important part of learning to hand write.

畫封閉圖形的能力是認(rèn)知和身體發(fā)展的重要標(biāo)志,這項技能從涂鴉開始形成.所以畫畫、涂鴉和擺弄蠟筆與鉛筆是學(xué)習(xí)寫字的重要部分.

An old-fashioned anachronism?

手寫過時了？

The history of handwriting has always been one of convenience and change according to the writing technologies available.

方便省事和根據(jù)已有書寫技術(shù)產(chǎn)生的演變共同譜寫出了手寫體的發(fā)展史.

In our first alphabets, Phoenician, Greek and Roman, the letters were angular due to the writing technologies of the day - chisels, granite, marble and clay. The first writing was from right to left across the page – a more natural direction for the chiseller.

在最早的字母表——腓尼基、希臘和羅馬字母表中,由于當(dāng)時的手寫技術(shù)為鏨子、花崗巖、大理石和粘土,字母呈一定的角度.最初人們寫字的方向是從右到左的,對鑿工來說,這一順序來得更自然.

But when ink and paper came along, moving from right to left was too messy for right handed writers and the direction of our writing changed from left to right. (To the chagrin of all left handers, until the invention of the fast drying ballpoint pen!)

人類發(fā)明了紙和墨之后,對習(xí)慣于用右手寫字的人來說從右到左寫字太麻煩了,于是書寫的方向就變成了從左到右（但這也讓左撇子們惱怒不已,這種情況直到人類發(fā)明了速干圓珠筆之后才得以改變.）

It wasn't just directionality that changed as we made the shift from stone to paper. Pen and ink made it easier to produce curves rather than angles, and the shape of our letters changed accordingly.

在我們的書寫載體從石頭到紙張演變的過程中,改變的不僅僅是書寫的方向.筆墨讓畫弧線變得比畫角度容易,字母的形狀也由此改變.

The technology of the fountain pen meant directionality of strokes became important. Down strokes were important because the shape of the nib and flow of the ink didn't easily allow for upstrokes.

鋼筆的發(fā)明讓筆畫的方向性變得重要起來.要知道鋼筆尖和墨水的流動是不利于寫向上的筆畫的,因此向下的筆畫很重要.

The invention of the ballpoint pen meant we no longer relied on ink refills, and nib shapes. Felt tip pens meant that even gravity no longer played a role in the way we write. Yet children still complete pages of handwriting exercises based on the technology of the fountain pen and ink.

圓珠筆的發(fā)明意味著我們不再需要勤換墨水,不再受筆尖形狀的限制.簽字筆意味著甚至連重力都不再影響我們書寫的方式.然而,小孩子仍然需要用鋼筆來完成一頁又一頁的書寫練習(xí).

Handwriting vs writing

手寫vs寫作

Handwriting is often wrongly conflated with writing ability. You only need to glance at the handwritten manuscripts of our greatest writers to know there isn't a link between handwriting skills and literacy skills.