Written Discourse- Lecture 4 Week 5

The lecture on written discourse was an interesting learning experience. The differences in writing by different ethnic groups made me wonder how many variations there are out there in the world, as there are so many forms of written discourse out there both ancient and modern, with some lost to time itself. The basis of the various forms of essay made me thought of possibilities why some cultures wrte the way they do.

The course of events that first made written discourse needed and feasible took different routes in each civilization. As such, the form of discourse written would differ greatly when writing about similar topics across various culture. While it may be argued that the need for a written form of language may be be argued to be fundamentally the same in all civilizations, one may also argue that the cultural perspectives and social norms greatly influence the use of writing and its form taken. Take the Chinese civilization for example, the written language in the beginning was primary used by government officials trained in philosopical teachings of Confucius and Mencius. Thence, their writings would result in a form varied and its influences are still heavily felt by Chinese writers today. Thus when one's mind think in his/her native language and writes in another languaage, the resulted discourse in the other language becomes heavily skewed towards the form and nature of the native language. Imagine yourself in a similar position.

The influences on one's cultural writing may also be due to external variables thus resulting in variations of form in written discourse even within one ethnic group. What would result out of this? Perhaps this explains how oriental writing may seem similar despite many dissimlar cultural backgrounds. Take India, China, and Manchuria for example, their native languages share similar attributes in essay forms. This may be due to the fact that Buddhistic writings were introiduced to Chna by India and heavily influenced the minds of scholars of their day. The Manchu learned almost wholesale from the Chinese in written discourse asthey adapted to the chinese culture. As such, one can make the logical conclusion that written discourse itself has its forms and shapes due to external factors even in western societies.

Lastly, I want to say that although the forms of essays may differ culturally, the world is changing so fast with globalization that perhaps in tjis generation we will see a convergence of styles and types despite cultural backgrounds. This will be a interesting phenomenom to view. Perhaps we will all be speaking Chimerican in years to come?!