Walter Ong Orality And Literacy Analysis

A large portion of Walter Ong’s writings in Orality and Literacy focused on matters that were not quantifiable. It may seem unfair to fault the author because of the uncertain records of pre-writing civilizations, but Ong’s writing’s in chapter three of his book focused on a comparison between generalized points of oral and literate cultures, which created an argument that did not acknowledge basic trends evident in contemporary writing. It is important to note that Ong published his book in the 1980’s, but Ong’s claims neglected a historical analysis that traces back to the use and development of tools like clay tokens, let alone modern technological advancements. Specifically, through Ong’s claim that “by contrast with literate societies,

For example, Ong uses additive structure, or hypotaxis, in his argument by comparing two translations of the bible: the Douay-Rheims Bible from 1610, which was produced by a culture that still showed heavy traces of oral culture traits, and a twentieth century translation. The major difference was the variation in conjunctions that the twentieth century Bible uses (37). Later Ong adds that “peoples in oral cultures or cultures with high oral residue, including the culture that produced the Bible, do not savor this sort of expression as so archaic or quaint [compared to how people would view it now]” (38). This argument shows merit by using a book that is still widely renowned in the Bible, but it is easily refutable because Ong neglects to show the Bible’s reoccurring relevance in the present.. A better example that shows how communication transcends in its simplicity would be journalistic writings. For example, a comparison between journalism and early newspapers to present day newspapers would yield less variance in the language or style, depicting the need for communication to be “very much in a present which keeps itself in equilibrium or homeostasis by sloughing off memories which no longer have present relevance” (Ong 46). The Bible can transcend time, and newer versions use writing to elicit emotional responses. A newspaper does not. A newspaper’s job is to act as an informative source for the present. Information is based on prominence and is only in the paper for as long as it’s relevant. Even the prose style of journalism uses follows this trend. An excerpt from Publick Occurrences, which was the first newspaper published in the United States, is written in a similar fashion to a modern newspaper. ”The Christianized Indians in some parts of Plimouth, have newly appointed a day of Thanksgiving to God for his Mercy” (1). The lead is something that