Article published In: Units of Language – Units of Writing
Edited by Terry Joyce and David Roberts
[Written Language & Literacy 15:2] 2012
► pp. 153–164
Literacy, rationality, and logic
The historical and developmental origins of logical discourse
Published online: 10 August 2012
https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.15.2.02ols
https://doi.org/10.1075/wll.15.2.02ols
This paper examines the claim that writing turns the implicit properties of spoken language into visible objects suited to reflection and analysis. It examines this hypothesis through an analysis of relational terms including ‘and’, ‘or’, and ‘not’, their meanings and uses in ordinary conversational contexts, and the changes that occur when these terms are recruited for systematic logical thinking. Keywords: literate rationality; literacy hypothesis; written register; relational term; logical thinking; logical discourse; metalinguistic judgement
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