What is cursive - historical facts and modern perception

What is cursive is information, designed not only to satisfy the thirst for knowledge of an inquisitive reader, but also having practical application for people whose activities are related to the need to perceive and process a large volume of oral text.

Historical background of the origin of the cursive

The alphabet, created in the 9th century by the order of the Byzantine emperor by the brothers Cyril and Methodius, was supposed to be used to translate Greek theological books into the Slavonic language. But the clarity and simplicity of using the sign language system of the Cyrillic alphabet promoted the rapid and wide dissemination of the Slavic script and its use not only in the religious sphere, but also at the everyday and business level.

By the end of the 10th century the Slavic alphabet began to be used on the territory of the Old Russian state as a church language. The Old Slavonic language is gradually changing under the influence of the East Slavonic colloquial speech, which introduced new elements into it.

The surviving manuscripts allowed scientists to trace the evolution of the iconic Cyrillic map. The stages of the modification of the Old Russian font include the statutory letter (the oldest manuscripts date back to the 11th century), the semi-book used from the 14th century and became a sample of the font for the first books printed in Russia, and a cursive that appeared almost simultaneously with the half-time.

Stages of the development of the Russian cursive system

Ancient Russian cursive writing emerged as a necessary element of a business letter, but rather soon it became more widely used. What is cursive writing, was known to a wide range of people, and it was used in all areas of life.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, cursive writing became an almost independent and formed type of writing, some elements of which had not changed in our time.

The main signs of cursive

Cursive had a number of peculiar features. The main difference from other types of Old Russian writing was almost complete rejection of the geometric character of signs, a significant simplification of the classical writing of letters, the convenience and speed of the image. The shape of the signs differs in roundness, the writing of capital and capital letters differs, the inscription abounds with strokes, loops, lengthenings that extend beyond the line, and a partial coherence of the letters appears.

The desire to speed up the process of writing gradually led to greater freedom and ease of writing letters, the appearance of a variety of their images (handwriting), the fusion of writing lines.

Civil cursive

By the first half of the 18th century, the formation of a cursive, termed by the historians of the Old Russian, is coming to an end. The next stage of the development of cursive writing begins in Russia, which later received the name of civil. It is characterized by the simplification and proportionality of the outline, the abolition of certain elements, greater readability.

In the course of the reform carried out by Peter I in the early 18th century, 10 letters from the alphabet disappeared and 4 new ones appeared (E, E, Y, Y), superscripts were abolished. There was a separate writing of words and phrases, a system of capitalization is being developed .

The appearance of a simpler, more convenient and understandable letter contributed to the development of Russian literature, the spread of literacy and enlightenment. The font used in civil census is used for printing of secular literary works , scientific works, government documents, petitions.

The further development of civil census is affected by the influence of the Latin written system. By the middle of the 19th century cursive writing was being formed, the font of which is used almost unchanged today.

What is cursive today?

There are various ways of express writing, based on the use of systems of abbreviated words - acronyms, abbreviations, abbreviations. Shorthand, cursive, semantography, note-writing - methods of express writing, characterized by a way of writing information, using certain sign systems, the purpose.

Translation scrawl

With regard to translation, the question of what a cursive is, is one of the basic for the implementation of a qualified translation, primarily oral consecutive.

Unlike shorthand, which is actually a verbatim record, or a summary based on an abridged writing of the main essence, the translation cursive is, in fact, an auxiliary means of memory effective for keeping the text without significant load. It helps to minimize information losses when translating large-volume oral messages. The cursive used for translation is not a simple fixation of the text, but is accompanied by subjective comprehension to highlight and transmit key information of the message.

Fundamentals of the method

The basic principles and techniques on which the universal translation census is based include the choice of words with the greatest semantic load, a certain recording system, the elimination of the recording of vowels in the middle of words, and also of double consonants, the use of symbols instead of letters for recording semantic supports.

Convenience and efficiency of the use of symbols is the rapidity of the outline, clarity, ability to concentrate attention on the content of the text at the stage of perception. Each translator determines the choice of symbols for himself, often using his own non-linguistic signs.

To date, the use of a high-speed recording system is gradually losing its relevance due to the development of technologies. Nevertheless, for professionals involved in translation, knowing what cursive writing is, is a confirmation of their professionalism.