literacy of different people

All communities have their own set of standards when it comes to literacy. I think that one of the major differences is the words that are in common usage. Lots of different communities use different word or phrases that are either not said or not allowed in other communities. So it all just depends on the community of which you are part of you will view literacy in your life.

My floor in college views literacy much different than does say the rest of the United States. First off you would be out of place if you did not know how to read at a highly proficient level. Everyone on my floor has to read for class so they are pretty proficient when it comes to reading. A lot of people on my floor also read for the pleasure of reading. They enjoy reading because it is something that has been ingrained in their mind. My floor also has a different view of language. I think that they have three distinctly different types of oral and written language. The first on is the one in which they speak and write for class. In this sense they all right and speak with a huge vocabulary. They also use grammar in all their school work. Then on the total other end is the language that they use when they are talking to people in text messages or in instant messenger. They do not have a large vocabulary at all. They also use words/phrases like LOL “laugh out loud” or IDK “I don’t know”. They also have no sense of grammar, the only thing that they are trying to do is get the point across. The third way is they way that we all communicate on the floor. We use word that would not be appropriate to use in a paper for anything. It is not always that it is offensive to other people but that if you do not live on the floor it would not make sense at all to you. We have terms for thing from the experiences that we have all had.

The rest of the United States has a really relaxed view of literacy. You are taught in school all the grammar and vocabulary that you should use. Though the grammar and vocabulary they were taught does not translate into the everyday life of an American citizen. They choose to talk and write to people in a very poor manner. They do however choose to write and speech with much better literacy for a job. This is due to the fact that they are trying to make money and to be respected by their pears. They are very two faced in this sense. The United States as a hole does not value that people read a lot of things. They have made books on tape and watching movies is much better than reading a book.

So I think that my floor at college and the United States as a hole have some differences and some similarities when it comes to literacy. We both have different types of literacy depending on who are audience is. But the way at which we view literacy the sense of reading is much different.