读写能力(literacy)
读与写的能力。此一字汇也指涉：透过书写文字而接触文学、并获得教育的基本素养。在古老文明，例如闪族人（Sumerians）和巴比伦人（Babylonians），读写能力只有学者和祭司等精英团体才拥有；在希腊和罗马时代，虽然读写能力较为普及，但也仅限於上层阶级的成员；在中世纪欧洲，有证据显示读写能力已更广泛散布，因为以前口说为凭的功能性文件逐渐改用书写，例如奴隶卖身契、及审判的证人供词等。读写能力的普及与社会剧变有紧密关联，尤其是带动一般民众研读圣经的宗教改革（Protestant Reformation），而科学的发展也有助识字率提升。宗教改革和文艺复兴期间，造成读写能力普及的重要原因，除了是因为活版印刷术的发展之外，也因为印刷的语言开始采用各地方言，而不再完全是拉丁文。至於强迫义务性的学校教育，则是起源於19世纪的英国和美国，造成了现代工业社会读写能力的高普及率。
English version：
literacy
Ability to read and write. The term may also refer to familiarity with literature and to a basic level of education obtained through the written word. In ancient civilizations such as those of the Sumerians and Babylonians, literacy was the province of an elite group of scholars and priests. Though more prevalent in classical Greece and Rome, it was often limited to members of the upper classes. The spread of literacy in Europe in the Middle Ages was evidenced by the use of writing for functions once conducted orally, such as the indenture of servants and the notation of evidence at trials. The rise of literacy in Europe was closely tied to great social transformations, notably the Protestant Reformation, which brought individual study of the Bible, and the development of modern science. The spread of literacy during the Reformation and the Renaissance was greatly facilitated by the development of printing from movable type and by the adoption of vernacular languages in place of Latin. Compulsory schooling, established in Britain, Europe, and the U.S. in the 19th century, has led to high rates of literacy in the modern industrialized world.
