Bookstart Around the World 1
Bookstart Around the World 2. The art of promotin
g reading and writing In order to understand the background to the various initiatives and programmes that have emerged in Sweden and internationally, it is important to first take a closer look at the concept of literacy. A Swedish translation for this word has been sought for some time (Josephson, 2006), but there is no clearcut translation of the word or understanding of the term. A common way of translating the word ‘literacy’ into Swedish is läs- och skrivkunnighet [reading and writing proficiency] or läs- och skrivförmåga [reading and writing ability] (Josephson, 2006); another is skriftspråklighet, [loosely: writtenlanguageness] and sometimes even litteracitet is used (Rydsjö, 2012). The concept, however, has been expanded to include more modes of expression: the verbal side of language and multimodal texts (that is, text in the broader sense of the term that includes pictures and symbols) (Fast, 2007; Rydsjö 2012; Kullberg, 2007). The concept should also be understood as a social activity centred on texts. Carina Fast (2007) proposes that literacy should rather be understood as a social activity centred on text (in its broader meaning). In her paper, literacy is instead described as textoriented or writtenlanguage activities, but also as a discourse on how language development should be viewed (Fast, 2007). A writtenlanguage activity, or a languagestimulating one, can therefore be understood to be a social interaction that has something to do with the written language; for example, reading aloud, chanting, rhyming, singing etc. The field of research is called early literacy, early childhood literacy or emergent literacy (Rydsjö, 2012; Kullberg, 2007; Fast 2007). The development of reading and writing skills in children can be described using a socalled literacy tree. The tree trunk consists of a child’s reading and writing abilities, and the roots represent its early experiences from a young age. Put simply, the roots can be described as early contact with the written language, such as books, games, songs, stories, and so on. These activities contribute to developing what is sometimes termed emergent literacy skills, which could be described as early preparatory skills for developing writtenlanguage abilities, including listening, finding their way in a book, turning pages, recognising print etc. (High et al., 2000). The branches that then grow out from the tree trunk are the literacy activities that the child can personally be involved in by using its own abilities (Fast, 2015). Something that is often emphasised regarding the concept of literacy is that it is not only the technical abilities that should be taken into account when considering the early development of reading and writing skills: ‘A child’s route to reading and writing may be found through play or conversing with others in their vicinity, via pictures and symbols, reading aloud, and through verbal narration. In this way, a child’s literacy development tree is nourished.’ (Fast, 2015, translation ours). 8/52