Cursive writing is one of those skills that risk disappearing in the coming decades due to the technological changes that have occurred over the last seventy years and the increasingly frequent replacement of the pen with keyboards and touch screens. But how is it possible that a tool considered fundamental for schooling and education in past centuries is now at risk of extinction?
In paleography (the discipline that studies the history of handwriting) cursive is not specific font but it simply indicates one fast writingwhich precisely because of the speed of execution it links the individual letters together, deforms them and tends to skew them. Going into specifics, it is a graphical system continuous And bound clearly distinct from the block letters. But the deadline italic or italic in English it can also refer to the so-called typographic italicsor the character introduced by the typographer and engraver Francesco Griffoknown as Francesco da Bologna, almost in conjunction with theadvent of the printing press, in the mid-15th century, inspired by the first paperback book in history. Although it was born out of a practical need for fast writing, due to the prestige obtained by typographical cursive, over the centuries a calligraphic standard (literally beautiful writing) also for cursive and therefore for private and documentary writings.
Italics has in fact always existed but, before Griffo, it was relegated to everyday writing without having a precise model. In the book production more writings were preferred elegant, decorative and silverware (in paleography posed is the opposite of italics and indicates slow and unbound writing). In the Middle Ages, for example, it was unthinkable to write in cursive a Bible or a literary text considered important and prestigious.
Its diffusion also extended to education system: in the Modern Age learning to write in cursive represented a fundamental step of student growth and a sign of language proficiency. Consider that very short books began to be published in the sixteenth century manuals which explain in a practical way what writing styles exist (including cursive) and how to master them correctly. THE’teaching cursive has consolidated in schools in the following centuries: continuing to practice handwriting was considered essential not only for efficiency and practice, but also for character formation.
However, starting from the second half of Twentieth centuryvarious social transformations have begun to erode this practice. The massive introduction of typewriters before and gods computer then he progressively shifted his attention from the pen to the keyboard. More and more people have begun to type texts first and then on digital media, preferably typing rather than using handwriting. A guy technological change it has therefore had a profound impact on the presence of cursive in education and private life: cursive was born because it is fast, but no handwriting will ever be as fast as typing.
The spread of digital devices in daily life it has led to a redefinition of the skills considered essential, because where once great importance was given to the fluidity of manual writing, today the ability to type quickly and accurately is considered more useful.
This change has also been reflected in educational policies and research. In the United States, for example, the 2010 federal standards of Common Core State Standards Initiative they did not include the teaching of cursive among the mandatory objectives of primary school, marking a symbolic turning point in the way of conceiving basic literacy. In Rome, a study on the legibility of writing in children conducted by the Sapienza University and the Policlinico Umberto I revealed that 1 Roman child in 5 is not comfortable in cursive writing, also highlighting that the phenomenon may be linked to others specific problemswith 5% suffering from disorders related to motor coordination, while learning disorders range from 5% to 15%. Furthermore, lowercase print is more immediate and easier to learn, while italics are less easily readable.
However, there is no shortage of academic debates on the value of italics. Some pedagogical experts maintain that the act of writing in cursive, distinguishing it from writing in block letters, favors cognitive development in children, as it integrates motor movements complexes with thelanguage learning. Others believe that literacy must adapt to the times, placing greater emphasis on digital skills without completely sacrificing manual writing. There are some neuroscientific studiessuch as the one conducted by Karin James and Laura Engelhardt (2012), who highlight how the experience of manual writing in preschool children activates brain areas linked to letter recognition and linguistic processing more extensively than simple typing or passive observation, integrating perception, memory and language in a single process.
Finally, another cultural reason for the disappearance of cursive concerns the way we perceive handwriting. In the past, the calligraphy was often associated with treatmentto theelegance and to thepersonal identity. Signing one’s signature in cursive characterized individuals, almost as much as one’s fingerprint. Today, however, we have the digital signaturei quick bureaucratic logins and authentication via facial biometricswhich have completely replaced calligraphy as identifying element. In this sense, what was once a shared cultural skill is now one specialized expertise of very fewwho for particular reasons practice cursive with frequency and attention.
Ultimately, we no longer write in italics for a combination of technological reasons, cultural and above all educationalas schools and institutions have adapted to a world in which digital writing has become necessary to communicate, work and participate in social life.
However, it must be remembered that italics has not completely disappeared but has become “for a few”, becoming sectorial and specializing in specific areas of use. Think, for example, of the social success of lettering (study of writing forms) as an art form. If once it was the fastest common tool for writing and communication, today in some artistic, historical or professional fields it is guarded with dignity, for aesthetic reasons or by tradition. Also for this reason, despite its progressive marginalization, italics is a precious piece of the past that continues to be part of the present.
