35.1634, Review: Why Writing Still Matters: Merchant (2023)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-35-1634. Mon Jun 03 2024. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 35.1634, Review: Why Writing Still Matters: Merchant (2023)

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Date: 03-Jun-2024
From: Neda Chepinchikj [neda.cepincic at gmail.com]
Subject: Applied Linguistics: Merchant (2023)


Book announced at https://linguistlist.org/issues/35.89

AUTHOR: Guy Merchant
TITLE: Why Writing Still Matters
SUBTITLE: Written Communication in Changing Times
PUBLISHER: Cambridge University Press
YEAR: 2023

REVIEWER: Neda Chepinchikj

SUMMARY

Writing is such a ubiquitous practice and has been the topic of
research in numerous disciplines and from several perspectives, from
literary studies to archaeology. This book, which is situated in the
literacy studies, offers a different but quite a comprehensive outlook
on writing, using a socio-material lens, where writing is examined as
a technology in its own right, as a process and a product. By arguing
that both writing and meaning-making are social practices, which are
situated in context, the author also argues for the double technology
of writing and structures his book into two parts, Impressions and
Expressions, which capture the two sides of the coin of the phenomenon
of writing, i.e. the technology for writing and the technology of
writing.

The first part starts with a brief historical overview of writing from
Cuneiform to digital technologies, presenting it as one method of
human communication, defined as “a system of visual communication that
uses symbols that have a particular relationship to the world”
(Merchant, 2023, p. 18). Here the author argues for the materiality of
writing and its visual nature, referring to it as “visible language”
(p.17). Since writing is situational, contextual and social, it is
impossible to isolate. The relationship of writing to speech is also
explored and the author concludes that these are separate language
systems that can borrow from one another and influence each other, as
is also exemplified by text messages that resemble speech and largely
break from the conventions of written language. Therefore, the
definition offered is one of “a semi-autonomous form of linguistic
communication with a set of clear distinguishing features – arguably a
language in its own right” (p. 22).

Since writing is both material and visual, the technology for writing
consists of making marks on a surface, whether that is chiseling marks
in stone or clay, scribbling with a pen on paper or typing on a
keyboard and displaying the words on a screen. This is what the author
refers to as the display principle of writing, when he discusses the
imprints that are being made with a tool on a certain material. This
is something that has not changed since the invention of writing
although the types of tools, materials and processes have changed.
Here, it is worth mentioning the changes in the technology of writing
from formation to selection, which is a guiding principle in computer
writing.

The Impressions section of the book also discusses the physical
demands on the human body in the process of writing, as well as
multimodality, where writing is combined with other modes of
communication, such as images and audio-visual material. One
particular example of multimodality discussed here are maps.

In addition to communication, writing is also explored as a means for
literacy and a memory aid for thinking. Extended writing is used as a
term that refers to accumulation of knowledge and literary practices.
Three features of extended writing are given, where writing and
thinking go hand in hand: reflection, connection and elucidation.
Reflection helps refine our thoughts and give them a material form in
writing, whereas connection keeps us close to others and elucidation
helps us develop our ideas. Even though all three of these can be done
without writing, the author’s argument is that writing supports
detailed and systematic thinking.

In the second part of the book (Expressions), writing is explored in
relation to power, both as a tool for oppression throughout the
centuries and as a tool for resistance. In relation to the former
proposition, the author discusses how writing has been controlled by
the elites and used to keep the masses in obedience by imposing
restrictions on what writing can be used for, the content thereof, its
audience, the language and script used and the form it takes (p. 80).
With all these types of restrictions, which the author has mostly
borrowed from Barton (1994) save for the last one, writing has always
been strictly regulated and controlled through numerous means, such as
copyright and legal restrictions, standaridised language norms and
access to various writing spaces, such as the digital space.

On the other hand, writing has also been used as a means of resistance
throughout history. Such examples are seditious and dissident writing,
banning of books, redacting documents and even burning of books.

The power of writing is omnipresent, from contracts to public signage,
from small print to the “soft power of hashtags” (p. 90), and it
irrefutably points to it being  given the status of a regulator of
authority, if not universally across the globe, then certainly in most
of the world that relies on writing and especially in the Western
countries. It is in the latter context, that writing has had a long
tradition of influence and authority, where it has been merged with
knowledge and its production and dissemination. This is best evidenced
in the academic domain, where written language is the cornerstone of
disciplinary knowledge and research. Therefore, the author dedicates a
subsection on the discussion of academic writing, its disciplinary and
interdisciplinary contexts, the importance of intertextuality, as well
as its difference from non-academic genres of writing, which are no
less important. Both genres are inextricably linked to
socio-historical and cultural practices, conditions and values and,
together with other genres of writing, such as sacred texts and
narrative writing (both fiction and non-fiction), contribute to the
wide array of purposes, uses and material forms of writing. With
respect to form, not only does Merchant discuss books as a particular
material form of writing, but he also concisely describes and comments
on the numerous other material forms that writing takes, including the
labelling and note-taking, which are indispensable to the organisation
of daily life and activities.

The last chapters of this book discuss the digital age of writing, the
Internet and social media as well as machine-generated writing. The
author uses the word “playfulness” (p. 149) to refer to the innovation
that is occurring in the digital space and which has already had a
major impact on writing. Playfulness also refers to the creativity
that manifests in various ways, like abbreviations and emoticons in
SMSs, emojis and translanguaging, which all, according to the author,
emerge due to various constraints (e.g. in the graphic space and
number of characters). However, the prevailing argument is that the
same or similar regulations and restrictions are effective in the
digital space as in the analogue one. Other features of writing are
also being kept and reproduced in the digital space, such as the
layout of the page on the screen, the standardised ways of formatting
and the visual element.

EVALUATION

The title of this monograph is a question, “Why writing still
matters?”, to which the author manages to offer a sustained and
evidenced answer: “because of the things we can do with it and the
social and cultural practices that it helps to shape and support” (p.
154). Although writing is a complex and broad topic to discuss in a
single volume, the case for it, its merits, values and importance are
presented from almost all existing perspectives, which are embedded in
the historical, cultural and material practices of humans. Therefore,
the structure and organisation of the chapters are well-defined and
follow the argument of the double nature of writing as a technology,
i.e. a technology for writing (including the materials that enable its
practice) and a technology of writing (how it is used). In line with
the double nature of writing are the two principles: the display
principle and the design principle. The former refers to the materials
on which writing occurs, while the latter principle is to do with the
way writing is arranged on a page, screen or scroll.
Throughout the book, the author emphasises and demonstrates the visual
quality of writing, referring to it as a “visible language” and “a
communicative system” (p. 155). By discussing its historical
development and its social and contextual positioning, writing is also
presented as versatile, adaptable and innovative. Furthermore,
Merchant also makes a case for its collaborative nature, putting into
perspective all the various materials, resources, conditions,
practices and activities that enable writing and its outputs. Thus,
the key characteristics of writing are interaction and iteration.

Because of all of the above, this volume is a valuable read for anyone
who has an interest in writing, either as a scholar, student,
practitioner, or merely as someone who wants to educate themselves in
the history, development and values of writing. While written in a
flowing, engaging and concise style, and exhibiting a panoply of
examples from across the world, the author also brings in his
subjective view of the topic and touches on various political debates.
Thus, for all its efforts to be inclusive of various voices and
present the state of writing more universally, the point of view still
remains largely Western-centric.

In conclusion, this monograph successfully achieves its goals of
arguing for the importance of writing in a changing and developing
world. It is the author’s belief that despite any future changes to
writing, it will remain important and valuable. Since writing is a
worthy topic for research and discussion, it would be good to see
other perspectives on it, especially those that come from other parts
of the world. Since Merchant has skilfully demonstrated the
all-pervasiveness and centrality of writing in many civilisations
throughout history, it remains to be seen whether this is universally
true of other societies not mentioned in this book and if this is
going to hold true in the centuries to come.

REFERENCES

Barton, D. (1994). Literacy: An introduction to the ecology of written
language. Blackwell.

Merchant, G. (2023). Why writing still matters: Written communication
in changing times. Cambridge University Press.

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Dr Neda Chepinchikj is a linguist, educator and researcher, currently
working at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Her
areas of interest include applied linguistics, academic literacy,
multimodal conversation analysis and telecinematic discourse.



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