Reading Aloud 5 in order to attain their meaning. The tablets’ elusive secrets ­ were only unlocked when approached as a story. This story ultimately became known as The Epic of Gilgamesh (Delistraty 2014). The hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt date back to around 2900 BCE and are noted as one of the first alphabetic systems known to ­ humans (Mendoza 2015). The early forms of symbolic communication of ideas helped convey accurate messages over time but ­ were ­limited in scope and precision of interpretation. The Written Tradition Circa 1050 BCE, the first alphabetic language based on sound was devel- oped by the Phoenicians. In China, 305 to 1050 CE, the first printing presses ­ were evolving from relying on wooden blocks to clay as a means of reproduc- tion. In 1450 CE the first newspapers appeared in Eu­rope, followed within five years by the Johannes Gutenberg printing press with movable type. The movement ­toward mass media proliferation had begun to take shape, giving humanity the ability to replicate and share thoughts via the printed word. This evolution brought about conditions that ­ were favorable for humankind to have increased access to reading materials and ultimately the opportunity to be more literate as a society. The increased level of literacy was still low by mod- ern standards, around 10 to 20 ­ percent. This low level of literacy set the stage for read-­aloud’s rocky road to the pre­sent day. Reading Aloud Rocks the Ages! What is it about verbally sharing the written word that resonates so strongly with our internal humanity? Reading aloud is a part of ­human societal evolu- tion, finding its roots in oral storytelling tradition. During the past 5,000 years of written language, solo reading was a relatively new concept. The Greeks, Eu­ro­pean monks, and ­those literate during the Dark Ages always read aloud. Not every­one was literate or in possession of reading materials, so to read aloud was the common practice and helped to share knowledge. Reading aloud strengthened community ties and handed down knowledge between genera- tions. Day commented that during medieval times ­ those who read aloud ­ were revered members of royal courts (2013). Ultimately, ­ there is ­ human intimacy to the shared read-­aloud experience. During the time when reading aloud was a primary form of entertainment, ­ people ­ were able to deliver the stories as ensemble groups in segments and share them over time. Historian Robert Darnton wrote, “For the common ­ people in early modern Eu­rope, reading was a social activity. It took place in workshops, barns, and taverns. It was almost always oral but not necessarily edifying” (Ha 2017). Often ­ there might be rhetorical training for boys, although this was primarily to support the community socially, not for the educational
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