Brit Speak - Joined-Up Writing Confusion

[eloise_herisson]

Steve:
> > Does it mean that he has recovered to the point where he is now
> > capable of writing in script again? This is a valid 
interpretation,
> > but the way the quotes are phrased doesn't imply that to me.

Very definitely. He's a child, proud of his "new" ability

> 
> Ali:
> 
> I'm not entirely sure what cursive script is, but I take it to 
> mean "joined up" writing. 

Yes.

> 
> BTW, not quite everyone over the age of whatever does joined-up 
> writing: I don't! I was a tragic failure in the handwriting 
> department at school, and was the last kid in the class allowed to 
> write with a pen. I'm left-handed, write upside down, but despite 
> all that, my writing is still amongst the neatest that I know. 
> 
> I don't personally rate the ability to join up writing very 
highly...

Gah...
My two younger children have been taught what I think is the ugliest, 
fussiest form of cursive script. I was taught italic script. I have 
dreadful handwriting now, but actually won prizes for it as a child, 
somehow.

Anyway, to me italic has an elegance and timelessness about it, but 
my kids have been taught this loopy script (I mean that literally, 
not metaphorically) where *every* letter joins up to the next, so 
they have what to me are ugly and unnecessary joins from letters that 
I would never even consider trying to link to the preceding  (as 
in 'd') or succeeding (as in 's') letter.

But there's a rationale behind it, in that it's thought to make 
handwriting flow better and more quickly as the pen doesn't have to 
leave the paper during the writing of a word.

I think it's boloney myself. You have to take pen from paper 
*between* words and I barely lift the pen between the letters I make 
gaps between within words. But I suppose it sounded convincing.

I just wish that instead they'd consider other issues, like the fact 
that left handers (these two of my four children are left handed) 
have inbuilt problems in things like answering multiple choice 
questions because of the layout of the paper, not think my older left 
hander is abnormal for using a mouse left-handed (I know she *is*, 
but why shouldn't you?)  but provide her with a left-handed one, or 
at least one with a lead long enough to reach to the left side of the 
computer, etc..

~Eloise
who can confirm that Ali's handwriting is *very* neat.