Block letters are rarely ever used in English. They are mostly for making signs, to emphasize a single word or phrase, and maybe for titles. They are not intended to be used to write a letter, for instance, as they are very hard to read.
The current use of block letters in a handwritten note is almost the same in Belgium I think.
When I went to primary school, about 35 years ago, we learned Ā“beautiful handwritingĀ“ (cursive) and Ā“print lettersĀ“, wich were also called Ā“block lettersĀ“, and were actualy block letters and not print as is spoken of in this topic.
So we never learned print, not even that it excistedā¦!
We were trained to write as beautiful as possible - allways cursive. But the actual letters differed from where you went to school, even in the same village. So by the time I was in high school, I Ā“composedĀ“ my own handwriting, a mixture of what I saw with different people (also from different ages and different countries) or teachers, what I found beautiful and what felt flowing for my hand. And so did everyone around me.
Block letters were used for titles, emphases, for when someone could not read many different handwritings/your handwriting, or when it had to be anoymous
Even now, it is still the same in schools. When my child changed school at the age of 6, they had some cursive letters they wrote different there. And my cousins in different schools also have different handwritings.
So for me reading about Ā“the English cursiveĀ“ or Ā“the German cursiveĀ“ was a surpriseā¦! Maybe there is a Ā“the Belgian cursiveĀ“, but I never saw itā¦ I only saw a rainbow of cursive handwritings
Maybe this is why I can read many handwritings, an why I did not know the differerence between cursive and print was more than just personal style?
So interesting
There are time i find curive difficult to read especially when its a doctors prescription but years as a medic has helpe me with that what i dind more difficult to read at times is numbers 4s sometime look like 7s. 1s sometimes look like 7s also. 3s like 5s 9s look like a lower case g and then o if it has a line through itor sams as 7 i think its the way European are taught compaired to brittish way of teaching
@FoTiS
Wow! I love such old-fashioned penmanship! And itās one of the old handwritings one can read.
In case someone wants to try different handwritten fonts, I can recommend this reprint (please kindly ignore my fingers). Itās in German though.
I believe that this standard message from the admins is rather passive-aggressive.
Could be that the other person was a bit lazy trying to figure out what the numbers were so I wouldnāt take this very seriously
Iām wondering.
Has anyone ever received a card written with a typewriter?
I have received a letter, but not a card so far. However, you might find this topic interesting:
At one point, in both the US and Canada, cursive was the only type of print you were expected to use in school past about grade 2. Now, if itās taught at all, itās for only a few lessons and is optional.
Here is the model from where I learned my cursive writing in the early 2000. Earlier type letters were a little more curvy so I have learned to read different variations of cursive letters. I do write my cards with non-cursive, since I have used it more than cursive, what we had to use in school when we wrote stories in Finnish lessons.
Itās been couple of years since teaching the cursive writing ended in Finland, but I think that most of the 15+ y.o. peoples here can read cursive writing.
You write Ƥ as Ä? And what are the two letters after Å?
Ć has that line there in this model what I have learned. But non cursive type has two dots. Iām not sure what those two marks after ƶ are. Second might be this: &. But actual letters are from A to ƶ.
I had to learn this kind of writing at school 35 years ago. They called it āSchnĆ¼erlischriftā (āstring fontā at my school) ā¦
Iām able both to read and write it. But to be honest, I prefer not to write it any more, it takes lots of efforts for me to do so ā¦
The only cards in cursive writing I got lately are from Russia and Belarus ā¦ as if they still practice it regularly ā¦ but I have no idea, whether this impression is true ā¦
These are alternative ways to write r and z, I believe.
When I started learning English in elementary school (late 2000s), we were told to write in block letters because supposedly the English doesnāt have cursive.
But in maths Latin letters had to be written in cursive. So I had write half of the letters block and half cursive.
Now I write in semi-cursive (letters do not connect with each other, but are written in cursive).
(And also letters that look like Russian, I write in Russian cursive.)
I myself understand the cursive too, if it is written neatly, and not in the way it sometimes happens.
People, think of those who will read what you have written please
The more I read this thread the more confused I become about what the problem is.
Is really cursive the problem or just bad handwriting?
Some examples from old cards.
Here is a card in cursive english sent from greece to USA in 1936.
Cursive looks beautiful and not difficult to read.
Here is a 2nd example. A card in (calligraphical) cursive German written in 1880.
Here cursive looks amazing but for the love of God I cannot recognise a sigle word. Can anyone decipher it?
If I ever received such a handwriting, not only I wouldnāt complain but I would take the card, put it in a frame and hang it on my wall.
I think both can be a problem.
Oh, I like Kurrent! I'm unable to read two words but here's the rest (click me!)
(?), a. 18/3.80.,
Ihrer neulichen Sendung war eine Factura nicht beigefĆ¼gt; ich glaubte sie wĆ¼rde nachfolgen, da dies seither jedoch nicht geschehen, ersuche ich Sie (gef.?) umgehend darum.,
Ergebenst
G. Krusemark
Unfortunately, I cannot read the name of the place. I donāt even know whether the first letter is supposed to be a āUā or an āAā or something else. But I think it ends with ālamā. Iām guessing that āa.ā is short for anno. And I have no idea what a Factura is supposed to be.
Hereās a translation of the rest:
Your recent shipment did not contain a factura; I believed it would follow up, since this hasnāt happened so far, I ask you urgently.
Sincerely,
G. Krusemark
Here you can find a few Kurrent alphabets. Maybe you can find out what the missing words are on your own. Kurrent - Wikipedia
This seems to be an old word for invoice, in Latin.
And I couldnāt read anything from the current script.
I see! Good to know! Thanks, fellow Sherlock