Assigned Reading: Ong

Walter Ong illustrates the contrasting realities of oral cultures and written cultures.

“In a primary oral culture, where the word has its existence only in sound... the phenomenology of sound enters deeply into human beings' feel for existence, as processed by the spoken word. For the way in which the word is experienced is always momentous in psychic life,” (Ong, 1982).

Where there are aspects of life that rely on spoken communication in modern society, there are multiple facets of our culture that have been decreased from word of mouth to words on paper-sometimes even words on a screen. As Ong exemplifies, "sound enters deeply into human beings' feel for existence," and therefore spurs a deeper connection to the self. 

As the oral tradition dies this connection also suffers.