It was a technological innovation that allowed for speedier, clearer communication. For centuries, in many languages, it was taught to school children worldwide as a foundational skill for an educated person. The most adept at it became skilled operators, essential to government, science and education. What is it? Cursive handwriting, also known, depending on your country, as joined-up writing, print script, running writing or handwriting: all terms arising from the idea that letters are joined together. The term "cursive" itself arises from a Latin word, meaning to run.
Cursive handwriting was an innovation because it maximized the rate at which a writer could transcribe. At the same time, the standardization of script allowed everyone to read it. As the printed word became more important, it was nevertheless the cornerstone of an adult identity: the moment when we learned to "sign" our names in one fluid stroke.
For a generation that grew up with cursive, perhaps the last such generation, it may seem like an overstatement but cursive allowed for clear, rapid, standardized communication. For anyone who went through elementary school before the turn of the century (yes, I do mean the 21st century) it was a rite of passage to begin learning script, a mystery of childhood initiation.
You may remember remembering learning to decode books about Babar the Elephant, the text of which was printed in a flowing, cursive hand, or practicing pages of letters, your page tilted to the side to develop the correct slant. If you are a lefty you might remember the problematic logistics of not smearing the ink as you learned to write. Or perhaps you remember the moment when you got to the letter in the alphabet that was "your" letter: the letter of your first name. Cursive was more than just a way to write, it was a ritual that culminated in being presented with a special pen when you had attained some significant educational achievement: a graduation or a professional job.
Originally, there were several methods to teach children cursive: in the US, Palmer method was the most popular. Palmer was a systematized approach to learning writing, first developed in the 19th century. It emphasized using large muscles of the arm, instead of the smaller muscles of the hand. Until the 1950s it was the primary method for teaching script to children. Gradually though, it was replaced by other methods, including an emphasis on manuscript writing first. Now the writing of cursive has faded from the curriculum, to the extent that many teenagers can no longer decode it, or "sign" their names in script. Local politicians have decried the loss, calling for a return to teaching script.
There is an energy and vitality to texting, emailing and all the myriad methods of communicating that we wouldn't want to let go. We love the ways in which young people engage with language, but there is something missing. Cursive allowed all of us to personalize the things we wrote with the aesthetic style of our own transcription. Handwriting, our take on the formation of letters, was a individual adaptation of a communal standard: our own personal stamp on the things we said. Where will we be when it is gone forever?
We would liked to have ended this article with a clever quote in script, but alas, the software does not allow me to render script. It seems that, like our school children, my computer doesn't know cursive.
Object (Im)Permanence is brought to you with continued support by Robert E. Hill Realty, a full service realtor that has been serving Riverdale since the days of the Palmer Method.