People Who Can Neither Read Nor Write

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVII, Issue 12486, 21 October 1938, Page 1 (Supplement)

People Who Can Neither Read Nor Write

'PRACTICALLY HALF THE WORLD’S INHABITANTS

Despite modern cheap education, there are still millions of people' in the world who cannot read or write, and even in Britain the total exceeds 100,000, says R. F. Lambert. Even if it were translated into their own language, 820,000,000 people in the world could not read this article. That figure represents the approximate world total of those who cannot read or write. It is estimated that, at present, about 6 0 per cent., more than half, of the world’s Deputation, is completely illiterate. The majority, of course, are inhabitants of backward countries in Asia and Africa, where hardly anyone can read at all. But there are many illiterates in Europe too, and Britain can furnish a larger number than most people would think possible in these days of widespread education facilities. When I asked at the Board of Education how r many people in Britain couldn’t write, they said, ‘‘no one.” But they qualified that statement by saying that there were probably a few old people wiio had grown up before compulsory education was introduced, and some mental defectives were unable to learn.

Unfortunately, there are no official statistics giving the number of illiterates in England, but official figures do disclose one very surprising fact.

Of the 684,614 people who married in 1934, 463 men and 427 women had to sign the register by mark. That worses out at about one persola for every 770. But the proportion of mental defectives and very old people among those who marry in any particular year is smaller than the proportion in the population as a whole. Therefore, it is fair to assume that of the 45,000,000 fpeople in the country at least one in 770 is illiterate. That gives a total of 58,442.

There are good reasons for believing, however, that there are more illiterates than this.. For one thing, many people who can just sign their names are completely illiterate in every other respect. For another, of the 62 6,632 people who married in 1929, 1550 were unable to sign the register.. That makes one person out of 404, and working out the total on that basis would give a total of 111,111.

Even so, the proportion of illiterates has dropped enormously since before the war. In 1914 it was 0.9 per cent, of the population, or one in every 111 people. In 1841 it was 32.6 per cent., just over 32 people out of every hundred.

But we still have a larger proportion of illiterates than some European countries; In Norway, Sweden and Switzerland illiteracy is confined entirely to the mentally deficient and the very aged. Germany stopped counting her illiterates when she discovered in 19’13 that the proportion was 0.05 per cent., or five people in every 10,000. Russia has the largest number of illiterates in northern Europe. In 1920 the percentage for men was 50, and for women 71. There are, by the way, nearly twice as many illiterate women as there are illiterate men in the world. In southern Europe the figures are much higher. Spain, in 1920, had a population of which 46 per cent.

was illiterate. Italy’s proportion was 28 per cent. Even to-day, in both these countries, at least one man in ten is illiterate. Britain’s total of between 50,000 and 100,000 seems very small compared to the world total, but if we include the British Empire her subjects form a very large proportion. In India only 13 men and 2 women out of a 100 can write. The figure for Egypt is the same. Scarcely any of the Australian aborigines can write, of course, nor can many iAfrica.fi. natives. •

We in England can thank the Church of England that we have such a small number of illiterates. The figures really started falling when our ancestors were urged to read the Bible. In most Catholic countries (France, for example) there are still two or three people out of every 10 0 who are illiterate. But how is it that we still have a substantial number of illiterates? Some of them are perfectly normal members of the community, and are more intelligent than the average. No normal person who has received an elementary education can be illiterate. But there are still a few people who do not receive such an education, and others miss it through illness. There are also a few people who, because they are never called upon to read or write after leaving school, gradually forget how to do it.

Most of these live in the country, but there are at least 500 illiterates in London. According to the marriage figures the counties most free from illiteracy are. Huntingdonshire, Rutlandshire, Pembroke and Cardigan.

Most illiterates are ashamed of their failing, and do their best to keep it a secret. Sooner or later, however, nearly all of them ,give themselves away. Often it is when they marry; or when they learn to drive and fail to read the road signs; or when they are asked to sign a receipt. Few people can hide their illiteracy for long to-day. It is a curious fact that illiterates tend to intermarry. There is no fej|r of their children growing up illiterate however. They take good care of that.