ABC: Alphabetization of the Popular Mind

The title of my review is addressed to the other reviewer on this page. Like that reviewer, I too thought ABC was full of fascinating hypotheses and insights. Judging from the voluminous annotated bibliography at the end of this slim book, many of the ideas it sets forth come from elsewhere. The obviously deep scholarly underpinning of ABC gives me some confidence that the ideas it treats are legitimate ones legitimately treated. But much as I was, throughout, fascinated with this extended essay, the question "Yes, but is it true?" was never far from mind. ABC is a challenging read for anyone unfamiliar with the history of the printed word; of the relationship between the printed and the spoken word; of classical and medieval literature; and of critical theory in general. It is all the more challenging for its completely ad hoc style of exposition. ABC is more of a riff on scholarship than it is itself in the scholarly tradition. At times its meanderings and leaps of imagination -- and of prose -- left me wondering whether I was struggling with a truly profound piece of writing or a complete piece of gibberish. That said, from start to finish, I enjoyed the struggle. ABC raised a lot of questions that will have me thinking (about language in history, the language that surrounds me, and about my own use of language) for a long time to come. A very interesting read.

Is it true that the first Spanish grammar was intended as an agent of state control? Is it true that all writing up until Aquinas was dictation plucked from the air, without opportunity or perceived need for revision? Is it true that the priest reading the written Latin words in Spain, France, Burgundy and throughout Europe pronounced the words in a way that the worshippers understood? I don't know if these and other surprising assertions in the book are true, but having believed them I have found that this book has had a transformative effect on my experience of worship, language and oratory. I hightly recommend this book to priests, educators, and language professionals, and to any one interested in Christianity, language and schooling.