Cursive Script

[rareboy]

I think I already know the answer to this from what I see in our offices, but how many people here under the age of 25 can write using cursive script?

How many people under the age of 25 have no idea what I mean by cursive script?

[loki81]

I'm 30 and I can't.

cursive is stupid... slower to write, harder to read, I don't understand why it even exists.

we were forced to use it for like 3 years in grammar school, but once we hit junior high/high school, teachers stopped caring and told us to write in whichever style was more legible for us (which for me was printing)

[blackbeltninja]

I write in my own unique scrawl. From a similar thread in here last year or so, it was largely regarded as hieroglyphics.

Great success.

-d-

[bigred_ii]

I personally write MUCH faster than I print.

[jensu846]

"Im not drunk and slurring my speech, I'm speaking in cursive"

I used to love writing in cursive, don't do it much anymore sadly. I always loved looking at a chalkboard at school and the teachers perfect handwriting, I would try to copy it all class. got pretty good too. But now that I don't need to write out checks, I don't get to do it much anymore.

[LeicsDom]

We were taught cursive script at school and HAD to use it. Block capitals were not allowed
On the rare occasions when I write more than a single sentence by hand I revert to cursive.
It does look curiously formal these days. But that is not a bad thing to my eyes

[purina]

I'm more than twice 25. My writing has devolved to a sort of cursive italic - joined lower case with slanted block capitals and no return stroke on descenders. My cursive was never graceful.

[justanothershyguy]

I kind of can. But I don't remember most of the capital letters and if I have to use it by surprise, I just kinda make it up. Haven't really used it much since elementary school, to be honest!

[skinIsIn]

I am 28 years old and have over the years, been complemented by many on my "dexterity" in writing cursive script, despite being left-handed. In fact when I was a sophomore in high school, my elderly English teacher remarked how neat it was and was shocked to find out I was a southpaw! Mrs. Kostelny then remarked how her daughter, as a child, had struggled mightily catching onto how to link her letters in a flowing way with her particular left-handed grip and slant.

Until I looked at it objectively, I never realized how much easier joined penmanship would be for one who was naturally right-handed. I merely mimicked my mother's D'nealian script (who is a righty) and adapted the letter shape for my left-handed grip. At least I have a "John Hancock" I can be downright cocky about!

[M10000]

sɐʍ ʇdıɹɔs əʌısɹnɔ ʇɐɥʍ dn ʞool oʇ pɐɥ ı

[swdguy]

What's a "southpaw"?

[loki81]

What's a "southpaw"?

someone who's left-handed, I believe.

also known as evil, devil's spawn, etc.

[borg69unimatrix]

It's been my experience that penmanship of any kind is a dying breed. Rarely can I read anyone's handwriting, whether it's printed or cursive.

I did have to learn cursive in grade school, and I took Calligraphy as an elective in High School.

I have always been fascinated, and curious about the (now antiquated) short hand, and stenographer style of writing.

[gaystorm]

They are no longer teaching it in schools and are using that time to learn how to type, which is much more important.

[skinIsIn]

someone who's left-handed, I believe.

also known as evil, devil's spawn, etc.

I do hope you're being witty ironic or dryly humorous...because the only reason there is that connotation was due to a superstitious Abrahamic/Holy Land wives' tale.

In classic Latin, "Dexter" and "Sinister" merely meant "Right" and "Left." Only after the proliferation of Christianity and Old Testament folk mythology, did left-handedness = evil/devilish.

In fact, that's the whole crux/irony of the show "Dexter," which, as a given name, means either, "my/our right-hand man" or more symbolically "the right-hand man of God/The Lord." Basically a "sinister" serial killer who kills other serial killers.

[loki81]

I do hope you're being witty ironic or dryly humorous...because the only reason there is that connotation was due to a superstitious Abrahamic/Holy Land wives' tale.

In classic Latin, "Dexter" and "Sinister" merely meant "Right" and "Left." Only after the proliferation of Christianity and Old Testament folk mythology, did left-handedness = evil/devilish.

you're right that I was joking, but you're wrong to blame Christianity.

even in the Classic Latin era, "sinister" had the dual meaning of both left and evil... bias against the left was also observed in ancient Greece and China. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_ag...-handed_people)

but it's all pretty silly.

[Scealle]

22 and can't I hardly write anything these days or even hold a pencil.
I always assumed doctors usually write using Cursive Script?

[frankfrank]

Basically a "sinister" serial killer who kills other serial killers.

Isn't he, then, a serial killer serial killer?

[blackbeltninja]

They are no longer teaching it in schools and are using that time to learn how to type, which is much more important.

Well yes.

Until you have a power failure, that is...

-d-

[altlover85]

Well yes.

Until you have a power failure, that is...

-d-

I'm pretty sure they are still teaching how to write, but cursive is falling by the wayside.

[vater292]

22 and I can. I actually only write in cursive normally. If I want someone else to specifically read what I am writting then I don't. My hand writting is horrible so its easier for others to read if I don't write in cursive. I had to learn it in 3rd grade and it just kind of stuck.

[HoodedRat]

It's all been downhill since we stopped using cuneiform.

[borg69unimatrix]

you're right that I was joking, but you're wrong to blame Christianity.

even in the Classic Latin era, "sinister" had the dual meaning of both left and evil... bias against the left was also observed in ancient Greece and China. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bias_ag...-handed_people)

but it's all pretty silly.

This is the theory I've heard, from your link:

Negative associations in cultures [edit]

The negative associations and connotations of the use of the left hand among cultures are varied. In some areas, in order to preserve cleanliness where sanitation was an issue, the right hand, as the dominant hand of most individuals, was used for eating, handling food, and social interactions. The left hand would then be used for personal hygiene, specifically after urination and defecation. These rules were imposed on all, no matter their dominant hand. Through these practices, the left hand became known as the "unclean" hand.[20] Currently, amongst Muslims and in some societies including Nepal and India it is still customary to use the left hand for cleaning oneself with water after defecating. The right hand is commonly known in contradistinction from the left, as the hand used for eating.

[SaskGuy]

"I know hell, I know damn, I know bi--"
Haha actually, I very rarely write in cursive anymore, I just haven't had the reason to. Mostly just printing, to label things, fill out forms, etc.
Are they seriously not teaching kids to write in cursive?! Pretty soon, they won't be teaching kids to write at all, just fucking typing.

[Rickrock]

I am older than many people on this site and I was first taught "printing" in the first grade and, in a later grade, "writing". A few years ago when I heard "cursive", I didn't know what it was but found out it was what used to be called writing. Cursive is faster than printing because you don't have to pick up your pencil as often. I can believe that typing will be the thing of the future. Of course, if there is a power outage, then there is trouble.

[maxpowr9]

"I know hell, I know damn, I know bi--"
Haha actually, I very rarely write in cursive anymore, I just haven't had the reason to. Mostly just printing, to label things, fill out forms, etc.
Are they seriously not teaching kids to write in cursive?! Pretty soon, they won't be teaching kids to write at all, just fucking typing.

Yet coincidentally, many people suck at typing too. The "peckers" crack me up.

I learned to write cursive and I found little use for it. I learned D'Nealian which is a tad different from script.

[TheSpectatingLoner]

I can write cursive. I'm not upset that they stop teaching it, though. It's a waste. People complaining about it going away only want its sentimental value.

[LeicsDom]

I have always been fascinated, and curious about the (now antiquated) short hand, and stenographer style of writing.

I used to be able to do some shorthand.
I believe it is still widely used

[TheSpectatingLoner]

someone who's left-handed, I believe.

Yes. Because a pitcher's left hand usually is south of his right hand when he's standing on a pitcher's mound.

[cityboy-stl]

I quit using cursive in the 1960's when I flunked a spelling test. I actually spelled the words right but no one except me could read it.

[earlgrey]

I've been writing only in cursive as soon as I was taught how to, as that was how we were encouraged to write.

I only print when the instructions on a form specify for it. Plus I write much slower having to print out each character individually anyway.

[frankfrank]

I am older than many people on this site and I was first taught "printing" in the first grade and, in a later grade, "writing". A few years ago when I heard "cursive", I didn't know what it was but found out it was what used to be called writing. Cursive is faster than printing because you don't have to pick up your pencil as often. I can believe that typing will be the thing of the future. Of course, if there is a power outage, then there is trouble.

I didn't know what "cursive" was until perhaps fifteen years ago. (Was it prevailing terminology before that?) I always called it "penmanship" instead, which was the word that "longhand" was taught to me under, in primary school. Until recent years, I don't recall hearing it referred to as anything other than these two terms, or simply "handwriting."

Cursive is far faster for me than printing letters in all upper case.

Oh, if there's a power outage, you aren't screwed at all. Just pull that dinosaur manual typewriter out of the stack of shit in the attic, and the dried-out ribbon might still be legible. Maybe include a piece of **carbon paper** so that the underneath copy is legible, just in case.

Yes. Because a pitcher's left hand usually is south of his right hand when he's standing on a pitcher's mound.

In Turner Field [Atlanta Braves], the southpaw's arm is on the northwest side of his body. But it IS interesting how long it took me to find a valid example to the contrary. Indeed the first five or six that I checked (Yankee Stadium, Comerica Park, U. S. Cellular Field, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium, and I think a couple others) DID have the left arm somewhere between southwest and southeast of the torso.

[G-Lexington]

There literally is no need to teach anyone cursive. Most people who write faster with cursive do so simply because they've had more practice with it. I dropped cursive and reverted to using "print" when writing by hand sometime after college. I now "print" just as fast as I used to "write", and it's also much more legible. I'm happy schools are dropping it from the curriculum.

Lex

[penayforay]

Im in my early 20's and I sort of know cursive. It aint pretty though and I personally write faster in print...we never learned it in school but I just taught it to myself when I was a kid.

[secondmonkey]

I'm 27, and I was taught to write in cursive. I wish I could go back and punch whoever tried to teach it to me in the balls. I want that time back. And the tiny little space it takes up in my memory, I want that back too.

People who write in cursive and expect other people to read it are complete assholes. ITS LIKE PEOPLE WHO TALK ON THE INTERNET IN ALL CAPITALS.

[rareboy]

It's all been downhill since we stopped using cuneiform.

Don't tell me that some people aren't still using cuneiform? No wonder I haven't had a lot of replies to my clay tablets.....

[star-warrior]

By cursive do you mean writing like the Victorians? We never learned to write in that florid script, but we did learn how to join letters together so we could have flowing handwriting. I'm on the thin wedge of my early forties and I write faster joined up. In fact we called it joined up writing rather than cursive.

If you think joined up writing isn't being taught, then you're clearly out of the school loop. My child is in year 1 of primary school, and they've been learning a set of letter shapes that enables the easy transition to joined up lessons to come in the future. Handwriting practice is encouraged at home and one of the major obstacles to good handwriting is finger and hand strength.

You might not realise it, but one of the things that children lack nowadays due the change in playing behaviour with toys in use today is the exercise needed to improve finger dexterity and lasting strength. The school he attends is an ordinary state school, not some private tuition fee paid one. They have given parents the opportunity to learn how the school tackles the problem of tiny hands that tire easily when pupils are asked to write any length of text. They say that plasticine, tugging, pulling, pinching, stabbing, and squeezing activities help prime the young folks for the life with a pencil or pen. So if you have nephews or nieces that you adore or dote on and are primary school and pre-school, get them squeezy things like play dough (even if it makes a mess of their parent's carpets) or thing that require finger strength activities.

[HoodedRat]

Don't tell me that some people aren't still using cuneiform? No wonder I haven't had a lot of replies to my clay tablets.....

Clay lost out to that new-fangled erasable wax tablet.

[dpnice]

Well from a banal thread title I have learned somethings.

I thought that everyone wrote in joined-up writing; for one of my generation I have always assumed that it was the adult thing to do.
I certainly didn't know that some people were vehemently against it prefering to keep the more childlike and slower print writing.

And that schools are no-longer teaching children how to write seems quite aberrant to me personally.

The world really is going to rack and ruin.

[njcollegekid]

i know cursive (20 yo). but its much faster for me to write in print.
and if you want to right fast, or neat, you shouldnt write in either cursive or print, you should type.

[Beachguyj]

I'm 30 and I can't.

cursive is stupid... slower to write,

It's not slower to write. It's faster.

I think it's ridiculous that kids are no longer taught it. It's your choice to use or not, but it shouldn't be a choice to learn it or not.

[Beachguyj]

I had an older relative who could only write in cursive and couldn't print.

[LatimerRd]

Over the years, my cursive has evolved into an italic. The only difference between my cursive and my caps and lower case printing is that the letters are joined in the former, and they are both equally legible. My partner's cursive and printing are both largely illegible, and should be an embarrassment to him; that they aren't should be a source of embarrassment as well. I have recently noticed that my printing has come to look almost the same as my father's.

[secondmonkey]

It's your choice to use or not, but it shouldn't be a choice to learn it or not.

That's got to be one of the stupidest statements I've ever heard. It shouldn't be a CHOICE? What the fuck is wrong with you? That's like forcing them to learn to speak a dead language - a complete and total waste of time. Maybe they should have the choice to learn cursive if they really want to, but it should not take away any public school time, and no public school tax dollars should fund it, and NOBODY should be FORCED to learn it...

Cursive writing is not a useful life skill.

[njcollegekid]

That's got to be one of the stupidest statements I've ever heard. It shouldn't be a CHOICE? What the fuck is wrong with you? That's like forcing them to learn to speak a dead language - a complete and total waste of time. Maybe they should have the choice to learn cursive if they really want to, but it should not take away any public school time, and no public school tax dollars should fund it, and NOBODY should be FORCED to learn it...

Cursive writing is not a useful life skill.

agreed. most written communication nowadays is typed. i learned cursive, i still know it, and only use it to sign my name.
id much rather spend more time on hard sciences then calligraphy.

[borg69unimatrix]

I can understand why a lot of you "youngsters" would be annoyed at cursive writing, but you have to remember that not too long ago, very few people were even able to read and write. At one time being able to put thought, laws, scripture, stories... to paper was pretty miraculous. The words, and their cursive/calligraphy form was part of the beauty and expression of those words.

Books were at one time a very rare, and coveted thing. Not like the mass produced cold, Ariel font text that permeates us today.

[secondmonkey]

I can understand why a lot of you "youngsters" would be annoyed at cursive writing, but you have to remember that not too long ago, very few people were even able to read and write.

They all talked funny too. Nobody is taught in school to talk like Shakespeare anymore, are they? And should they be? Of course not.

[mitchymo]

How many people under the age of 25 have no idea what I mean by cursive script?

I'm 34 and have no idea what you mean by cursive script.

[mitchymo]

I'm 34 and have no idea what you mean by cursive script.

Okay, you mean 'joined-up' writing. Never heard of the term cursive before now.

I write half print, half joined up. Over time i dropped some of the cursive script because it actually messes up the legibility of what i'm writing, but kept some because its fast. I have pretty neat and importantly legible handwriting.

And for me, writing is faster than typing, i'm a slow typer.

[BrimstoneAndTreacle]

They all talked funny too. Nobody is taught in school to talk like Shakespeare anymore, are they? And should they be? Of course not.

We read Shakespeare, though. We didn't have to learn to talk like that, and we weren't specifically taught the grammar of Early Modern English, but we needed to be able to understand it.

As for cursive taking up space in your mind... the mind is not like a hard drive. We don't store units of data, but rather we encode neural firing patterns -- algorithmic potentials that are then used to construct "memories." (That's why remember literally means "to put together again.") Put another way, "mind" is a verb, rather than a noun. So, cursive doesn't "take up space" in your brain. It's merely a set of neural impulses that you have the power to activate or not activate.

EDIT: On topic, I'm 25 and know how to write cursive. I use it usually only for my own personal notes because a lot of other people can't read it.