4 ms·

> the Aborigines of Australia didn't have it, nor did many pre-Columbian civilisations. No need to go that far, the Slavs didn't write down their languages unt

by yread 2y ago

> the Aborigines of Australia didn't have it, nor did many pre-Columbian civilisations. No need to go that far, the Slavs didn't write down their languages until ~800s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glagolitic_script https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glagolitic_script

defrost 2y ago
> No need to go that far .. Seems relative .. I literally grew up on Aboriginal land in the Kimberley and attended school with multi lingual kids that had non English speaking parents. Most are still not writing in their own language. What is "Far" for you is neighbours from school and locals of the town I now live in. Certainly these are closer in space and time than Slavs from a few hundred years past.
- mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
  Perthite Brit here. I’m hugely curious about the situation before the Europeans came. Was there really no writing? Were there really no boats? It’s all so murky because the history was literally not written by the aboriginal communities. But has a story been passed down?
  - defrost 2y ago
    No writing but a lot of drawing and oral transmission .. spending a few hours on a sand drawing while reciting a story that changes little across generations is another kind of map (and features in a massive tome on historic maps). No "boats" ala coracles or oak keel ships but (regionally) plenty of canoes .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Canoes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Canoes isn't set on the Swan River. Perth, of course, once had many lakes and swampy wetlands before all the market garden bore went in and drainage ditches. > But has a story been passed down? Many, all over. DM from up where I grew up touched up pretty old paintings and told stories: https://magabala.com.au/products/yorro-yorro https://magabala.com.au/products/yorro-yorro There were|are a lot of language areas each with stories of their own: https://mgnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/map_col_highres.jpg https://mgnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/map_col_high...
    - mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
      Thank you for this. I’m lucky to live near Galup (Lake Monger). It’s wonderful but I’m always reminded how much has been lost of the original wetlands.
zeckalpha 2y ago
1492 is nearer than the 800s
- yread 2y ago
  I didn't mean far in time or space, I meant culturally. These people knew writing (in Latin) just not for their language. They had agriculture, domesticated animals, feudal society, some of them were already Christian, their language was very similar to English conceptually so their concepts would be similar to ours (well at least mine)
Tainnor 2y ago
I grew up speaking a dialect that people normally didn't regularly put into writing (and there still is no standard spelling) before the advent of text messaging.

by yread 2y ago

defrost 2y ago

> No need to go that far .. Seems relative .. I literally grew up on Aboriginal land in the Kimberley and attended school with multi lingual kids that had non English speaking parents. Most are still not writing in their own language. What is "Far" for you is neighbours from school and locals of the town I now live in. Certainly these are closer in space and time than Slavs from a few hundred years past.

mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
Perthite Brit here. I’m hugely curious about the situation before the Europeans came. Was there really no writing? Were there really no boats? It’s all so murky because the history was literally not written by the aboriginal communities. But has a story been passed down?
- defrost 2y ago
  No writing but a lot of drawing and oral transmission .. spending a few hours on a sand drawing while reciting a story that changes little across generations is another kind of map (and features in a massive tome on historic maps). No "boats" ala coracles or oak keel ships but (regionally) plenty of canoes .. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Canoes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten_Canoes isn't set on the Swan River. Perth, of course, once had many lakes and swampy wetlands before all the market garden bore went in and drainage ditches. > But has a story been passed down? Many, all over. DM from up where I grew up touched up pretty old paintings and told stories: https://magabala.com.au/products/yorro-yorro https://magabala.com.au/products/yorro-yorro There were|are a lot of language areas each with stories of their own: https://mgnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/map_col_highres.jpg https://mgnsw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/map_col_high...
  - mattclarkdotnet 2y ago
    Thank you for this. I’m lucky to live near Galup (Lake Monger). It’s wonderful but I’m always reminded how much has been lost of the original wetlands.

zeckalpha 2y ago

1492 is nearer than the 800s

yread 2y ago
I didn't mean far in time or space, I meant culturally. These people knew writing (in Latin) just not for their language. They had agriculture, domesticated animals, feudal society, some of them were already Christian, their language was very similar to English conceptually so their concepts would be similar to ours (well at least mine)

Tainnor 2y ago

I grew up speaking a dialect that people normally didn't regularly put into writing (and there still is no standard spelling) before the advent of text messaging.