Ағылшын тілі · ҰБТ сұрағы №13781
Silent reading, which seems so natural to modern readers, was once regarded as an oddity. In the fourth century, Augustine recorded his surprise at seeing Ambrose, the bishop of Milan, run his eyes over a page while his voice and tongue stayed still. For centuries afterwards, most texts were meant to be heard: words were written without spaces, which made them awkward to decipher and encouraged readers to sound them out. The gradual introduction of spaces between words, a practice that spread in the early Middle Ages, particularly in Irish and English monasteries, made rapid silent reading practical. Historians disagree about how quickly the habit took hold. Some argue that private reading only became widespread with the printing press, when books were cheap enough to be owned by individuals. Others point out that medieval scholars were already reading silently in libraries. What is beyond dispute is that the change altered the nature of reading itself. A silent reader could explore ideas that a public reading would have made dangerous, and could skip, reread or abandon a passage at will. Some scholars even connect this new privacy to the growth of personal religious reflection, although such claims are hard to prove.

What do historians disagree about?

Дұрыс жауабы мен түсіндірмесі
Жауабы: how quickly silent reading became common

«Historians disagree about how quickly the habit took hold».

«Мәтінмен жұмыс» тақырыбынан тағы