Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

General discussion about learning languages

Do you write using cursive?

No, I do not.
20
27%
No, I do not (but I secretly wish that I could).
5
7%
No, I do not (but I wish that my children could).
1
1%
Yes, I do.
29
39%
Yes, I do and would like my children to learn the script too.
19
26%
 
Total votes: 74

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MorkTheFiddle
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby MorkTheFiddle » Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:57 am

I use the Latin alphabet for writing English in cursive, which I learned in grade school. Also for writing French and Spanish, which is a rare occurrence. When need be, my cursive is rather legible, mostly so I can read it myself. I use it for shopping lists, errand lists, and notes of various sorts related to language learning. They lie on my desk or are fixed to my monitor and computers. For Ancient Greek, I print. There is a cursive for Modern Greek that I could use for Ancient Greek, but I have not learned it, so I either print it or (most often) type it.
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby zjones » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:02 am

I write in a devolved cursive that is often a mix of cursive and print. I prefer my writing to be easily legible, because what is the point of writing if I can't even read it? I learned D'Nealian Script as a child and I used to write in a very slanted version, which was very pretty but not worth the time and decreased legibility. On the other hand, printing takes longer because I work hard to differentiate each letter. I'd like to improve my cursive to make it a little more even (or learn a very legible version of cursive). Any recommendations are welcome.

I don't care if kids aren't learning cursive in school as long as they are learning to write legibly. I don't like trying to read someone else's illegible cursive. I did our family genealogy so I've had lots of experience trying to read Spencerian cursive in old ledgers, which is hard to read even when it's done well.

Example of my writing below. Sorry about using the word "et" instead of "and", I was writing in my French notebook so my brain was prepared to write in French. Lamy Safari medium nib/Diamine Oxblood ink and Pilot Metro fine nib/Noodler's Liberty's Elysium ink.

Image
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby aokoye » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:07 am

zjones wrote:
Example of my writing below. Sorry about using the word "et" instead of "and", I was writing in my French notebook so my brain was prepared to write in French. Lamy Safari medium nib/Diamine Oxblood ink and Pilot Metro fine nib/Noodler's Liberty's Elysium ink.

Image

I was going to ask what ink you used - now I don't have to :D (I might get a sample of the Noodler's, though I typically don't like their inks).
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aokoye
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby aokoye » Mon Mar 04, 2019 1:13 am

Like others have said, this is going to be very dependent on the language. I didn't answer for that reason. I can read most of the cursive that I've seen in the languages that I speak and/or study, but I only write cursive on a regular basis in Hebrew. I did learn how to write in cursive in elementary school (I was born in the late 80s), but didn't continue doing so. I do know people in their 50s who have significantly more trouble reading cursive than I do (one of them is a colleague) so while I think writing it can be generational in some languages, I don't know that reading it is.

As zenmonkey said, Modern Hebrew is in no danger of losing cursive writing from what I can understand. I am pretty sure that a lot of people who are members of the Jewish diaspora in the US don't teach it to children in Hebrew school, but I'm not sure about Jewish day schools in the US (I suspect it's far more common in day schools than Sunday schools).
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby zjones » Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:00 am

aokoye wrote:
zjones wrote:
Example of my writing below. Sorry about using the word "et" instead of "and", I was writing in my French notebook so my brain was prepared to write in French. Lamy Safari medium nib/Diamine Oxblood ink and Pilot Metro fine nib/Noodler's Liberty's Elysium ink.

Image

I was going to ask what ink you used - now I don't have to :D (I might get a sample of the Noodler's, though I typically don't like their inks).


I got a sample of the Noodler's from Goulet Pens, but I won't be buying a bottle. It has a mild smell, is extremely wet (it ghosts pretty strong on Rhodia 80g), and I just don't like any blue that looks similar to business blue. I do like the Oxblood, though!
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby aokoye » Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:54 am

zjones wrote:I got a sample of the Noodler's from Goulet Pens, but I won't be buying a bottle. It has a mild smell, is extremely wet (it ghosts pretty strong on Rhodia 80g), and I just don't like any blue that looks similar to business blue. I do like the Oxblood, though!

Good to know! I do like the color of Oxblood, but I typically don't like writing with red ink. I actually need to clean re-ink at least one of my pens at the moment.
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby David1917 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 3:17 am

English: Taking notes in classes, I usually write the first few letters of a word and then a scribble that is approximately long enough to encapsulate the remaining letters of the word, throw in a cross or dot if there is a t or i in there.

All foreign languages: Cursive. I found it really makes the "scriptorium" style exercises more enjoyable. I just use the cursive I learned growing up, not the German/French variants when doing those languages (or Hungarian.) I use Russian cursive as well.

I am of the age that is the last pre-digital generation. Home computers became ubiquitous around the time I was in 7th grade, meaning, I was taught cursive handwriting in elementary school, and learned to type on a typewriter. When we were taught cursive it was made to seem like we were crossing a threshold, "All of your assignments in junior high and high school will be in cursive! You're an adult now! Make fun of your younger siblings who still print! Ha! How juvenile!" Oddly, even for handwritten assignments in the subsequent years, we were advised to print, and so I returned to writing in print all throughout high school.
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby StringerBell » Mon Mar 04, 2019 4:45 am

Years ago, I taught elementary aged students with dyslexia. Writing in print was a total nightmare for them. Once they learned cursive, writing became notable easier. Not easy; they still struggled, but it was like night and day compared to print writing. The International Dyslexia Association is a big supporter of teaching cursive early on for this very reason.

Why Bother with Cursive? - International Dyslexia Association

I personally use a mix of cursive and print. I HATE reading something written in cursive, though. I find it taxing.
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby golyplot » Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:54 am

I was taught cursive in elementary school, but we never had to use it. My own handwriting is print, and I often find it difficult to read cursive. Cursive seems pretty silly to me.
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Re: Cursive: Going The Way Of The Dodo?

Postby aaleks » Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:50 am

We were taught Cyrillic cursive in 1th grade. When we started German in 5th grade (4th year of school) we were taught Latin cursive as well. So to me, when it comes to writing by hand cursive is the only natural way to do that.
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