Highly evolved communication is the platform for a sophisticated society. In the same way that the Neolithic revolution in agriculture moved society forward through the use of tools and farming, the written word has altered the economic, social, and political sectors of ancient and modern civilizations. Language, technology, and society have an interdependent relationship. Over time, technology has served not only to democratize language but also to create new and unique opportunities by bringing the written and spoken word to ever-increasing numbers of people.ß We can look at this by comparing the world prior to the printing press and the world of today, with the inventions of television, radio and the Internet.
Long before the written word, in primitive times, stories were passed on from generation to generation by word of mouth. Prior to 1450 (the year the printing press was invented), the written word was held in reserve by an elite few. Generally speaking, this elite was either clergy or aristocracy. One of the most significant contributions of the printing press was the production of the English Bible, commonly known as the Gutenberg Bible. It changed how mankind viewed the world and the relationship to its Creator.
The influence of the English Bible has shaped written tradition for the clergy and the common man, and how religious ideas were expressed.
The Industrial Revolution produced the invention of the steam powered press (Koenig and Bauer) in 1812, making it possible to print millions of copies of pages a day, making newspapers available to a mass audience. This changed the way the world received their information, and the expediency of its receipt. In addition to paper communication geared toward the masses, the development of digital waves·tv and radio·effectuated the most drastic cultural shift toward a more knowledgeable and educated generation. Radio communication delivered the first successful t...