In the article, The Consequences of Literacy, Goody and Watt, explore the significant, development and movement of literacy from “man as animal” to “man as talking and writing animal” (p.1). It discusses the benefits of moving from orality to a written culture, Goody and Watt note that “the intrinsic nature of oral communication has a considerable effect upon both the content and the transmission of the cultural repertoire” (p.2). This quote sets a context for understanding what they see as the value of language as an important component for culture and its development. It is language that allows man to transmit knowledge to the other, and it is language that provides the basis for writing. For example, Language, culture, oral communication, social tradition, and the development of writing also play a key part in how people think.
Language is important because it enables man to achieve a form of social organization whose complexity were different in kind from that of animals. The essay also talks about how they decide if cultures was literate or non-literate. What defines a literate and non literate culture. Language develop different in separate cultures because words were built around the cultures personal experience and daily interaction. Oral communication is superior to written communication because it is less vague and easily adaptable. It is also said that Non-literate society forget advances they make, which makes language an writing an important asset to learning and knowledge.
This is good, but what are your original five terms?