The Written Word

The written script is a manifestation of language which is spoken verbally. The cave paintings can be considered as a precursor to writing. Writing was first discovered in Mesopotamia around 4th millennium BC. Since then the development of writing has been a continuous process. Earlier the written material was the hegemony of the elite. Before the invention of paper,people used to write on parchment,leather or bark with natural ink . The coming of the printing press led to a revolution as now the written material could be read by masses. This made the society more educated and enlighted. The earliest of some written works were religious in nature. Soon prose and poem became an integral part of literature. The birth of long narrative prose called the novel took place in the medieval and early modern times. Poem as an independent genre started developing simultaneously.



Another very important form of writing is newspapers. Newspapers are publications which deal with daily events,features reports and images. Newspapers are published daily and cater to a worldwide audience. The history of newspapers can be traced to government announcement bulletins in Ancient Rome. There are many categories of newspapers. While most of them are published daily, certain newspapers are published weekly. With the coming of Internet , papers can be read on line too. USA and Japan are two major countries of the world where the number of circulation of newspapers is the highest. Newspapers generally earn their revenue from advertisements and this not only benefits the newspapers but also the company or organization which is advertising the product. Newspapers are the easiest way to get your message conveyed to a maximum number of people in a short time.



Newspapers are available in regional languages as well as national as well as international language. Along with events of national and international significance , there are newspapers which are published to develop a sense of solidarty and fraternity among religious groups. Christian news are published in Christian news paper such as Christian Examiner and The Christian Post. Financial newspapers updates the reader's information about the world and national business news,stock exchange,stock prices and finances news . Newspapers are a reflection of any literate society. The higher the number of newspapers,the more erudite a society is. Newspapers also tell us how liberal or conservative any society is. Since newspapers have the potential to create a political uprising, in case of any upheavel newspapers are the first victim of sensorship.