Orality and Literacy second half:

I enjoyed reading this book, Orality and Literacy by Walter J. Ong. It was a tiny bit boring for my taste but it had some good information about today's different forms of language and communication. In the second half he talks a lot about the writing aspect of language and how it is definitely a technology.
Also he touches on the form of writing that is printed and that print is a very important form that both reinforces and transforms the effects of writing on thought and expression. I think Ong makes some very interesting points throughout his book which is what makes it a good read. The first thing that caught my attention/interest what when he says "writing establishes what has been called 'context-free' language or 'autonomous' discourse." He explains this to be discourse that cannot be directly questioned or contested as oral speech can be because written discourse has been detached from its author. I believe what he means in this part of the book is that information that is in writing such as in textbooks or anything really, is always believed by the reader to be true. Readers do not stop to think who the author is and whether they could be wrong or not, they just assume that everything they are reading is true and cannot be false because it has been published in writing. I think this was a really good point that he made because until now I have pretty much thought the same way about all my textbooks for example that I have read for school.

Another thing is when he considers writing as a technology and explains that this is because it calls for the use of many tools and other equipment. The tools and equipment include pens, pencils, ink, paper, etc.  He says that “technologies are not mere exterior aids but also interior transformations of consciousness, and never more than when they affect the word.” I am not exactly sure what Ong might mean by this statement but I am going to guess that he means technology is not just a tool that we use for school or jobs but technology teaches us and helps us to understand things and has expanded the language realm.

Chelsea Taylor