Gutenberg's Influence On Communication

Gutenberg’s printing press and the alphabet are two developments that largely changed the way people communicated and continue to communicate today. Although both developments were followed by substantial impacts, the printing press had the greatest near-term impact, while the alphabet had the greatest long-term impact. With the printing press and its system of moveable type, the world drastically changed in a short time. According to the video “The Machine That Made Us,” over 20 million books were printed with the printing press between 1450 and the end of the 15th century. Due to the fact that the printing press was able to print books faster than human scribes were able to copy them, the literacy and education level soared. People who
According to Fang, “In medieval Europe before printing, it was expected that the clergy could read and ordinary folk could not. Neither could many knights nor even lords. Except for a few who were high-born, medieval women were illiterate. Yet as Europe entered the modern age, the ability to read at some level became a means to social advancement, despite the occasional protest that feudal distinctions should predominate.” Those of higher classes were upset that literacy was spreading because that meant that their power would deteriorate as more people would become informed and challenge society and its rules. This challenging of society was illustrated in 1517 with the Protestant Reformation in which Martin Luther printed the 95 Theses which questioned the Roman Catholic Church as it held the most power at the time (43). Without the printing press, the Reformation would have most likely not occurred as there would have been no efficient way to print large amounts of materials. In addition to bibles, other books and works of art were printed and led to the start of the Renaissance. According to Fang, the Renaissance led to a flourishing in the knowledge of various subjects such as astronomy, medicine, geography, and mathematics, which had been
The alphabet simplified standardized writing for people as it contained “symbols to match the words they spoke” (18). According to Fang, the alphabet helped copper mine managers and military officers keep records and communicate. In addition, the alphabet was able to help spread different languages as it could “support any spoken language, any dialect” (19). The alphabet has been passed on to multiple societies over time: “the Semitic mercenaries (or miners) to the Phoenician (also Semites) sea traders, to the Greeks, to the Etruscans, to the Romans, and on to the extensive Roman Empire, and so to the world” (19). There had been three main alphabets used in society: the Cananite Alphabet, the Phoenician Alphabet, and the Greek Alphabet. According to lecture, the Cananite Alphabet was developed around 1700 BC and differed from community to community as it was a very local alphabet. The Phoenician Alphabet was developed around 1200 BC. Although the Phoenicians did not create this alphabet, they marketed it. This alphabet was widely used among traders as it was very accessible and could be taken during travel. The Greek Alphabet was set and developed by 300 BC. This alphabet had been the basis of all of the following alphabets. This alphabet is recognized for its creation of vowels. These alphabets had been created and changed over hundreds of years. The