GC: n
S: UNICEF – https://www.unicef.org/topics/literacy (last access: 1 July 2024); UNESCO – https://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/need-know (last access: 1 July 2024).
N: 1. 1883, formed in English from literate + -cy. Illiteracy, however, dates back to 17c.
2. literacy. Definition & Meaning:
2.1. the ability to read and write.
. The program is intended to promote adult literacy among people who have had very little schooling.
. Their goal is to achieve basic literacy.
. literacy programs/skills/tests.
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computer literacy [=knowledge of how to use a computer].
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cultural literacy [=knowledge of the culture you live in].
3. literacy, capacity to communicate using inscribed, printed, or electronic signs or symbols for representing language. Literacy is customarily contrasted with orality (oral tradition), which encompasses a broad set of strategies for communicating through oral and aural media. In real world situations, however, literate and oral modes of communication coexist and interact, not only within the same culture but also within the very same individual. (For additional information on the history, forms, and uses of writing and literacy, see writing.)
S: 1. Etymonline – http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=literacy&searchmode=none (last access: 4 September 2014). 2 & 3. EncBrit – https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/literacy, https://www.britannica.com/topic/literacy (last access: 1 July 2024).
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