From: "Dataweaver" <traveler@io.com>
Date: Sun, 22 Jun 1997 16:14:35 +0007
Subject: Re: Literacy for GURPS 4th (was  Re: I smell a new round

Literacy skill

     This is a variation on MA Lloyd's method of handling Literacy; it treats
Literacy as a set of skills, rather than a set of Advantages.  Please read MA
Lloyd's "languages.literacy" file first.  
     Of the five types of writing, only logographic, phonetic, and analytic 
writing are treated differently.  
     Logographic writing is now treated in all ways as a language skill, with 
the provision that nobody ever _speaks_ it; ideas are conveyed entirely by the 
writing, which includes nothing about pronunciation.  To convey ideas contained 
in logographic writing in a verbal manner, one must translate them into a 
spoken language.  
     Phonetic and analytical writing are now handled by a new skill:  

Literacy (Mental/?) Must specialize in a particular script; Default varies.  

     This skill allows you to figure out how to pronounce a particular piece of 
writing.  For phonetic writing, difficulty is usually Easy, while most analytic 
writing is Average difficulty.  The skill default depends on how common it is 
in your native culture; if it is in everyday use, it defaults to IQ+2, while in 
a culture where the average person has been exposed to it, but doesn't use it 
on an everyday basis, the default is IQ-4.  In cultures where the writing is 
rarely encountered, there is no default.  
     Like the language skills, your Literacy skill level determines roughly 
what is possible for you:

4   You know the shapes and conventional order of the letters, can follow 
    instructions like `Push the button marked A', can sound out isolated words, 
    and can write your name or other simple words or phrases you have practiced 
    in advance.  
6   You can read and understand simple connected text, albeit very slowly (under 
    30 wpm).  Complicated sentences are beyond your ability to read and 
    understand at the same time, though you can read them aloud for others to 
    interpret.  
8   You read slowly (under 120 wpm) and need to make a skill roll to understand 
    texts with a complex structure, such as technical specs, legal documents, or 
    poetry.  
10  You read as fast as you can speak (about 180 words per minute) and 
    understand any written material you could follow if it were spoken aloud.  
    This is the level taught by most basic literacy programs or primary schools, 
    and the level of most well educated readers before the spread of printing.  
12  You read silently, and faster than you can speak.  Reading does not require 
    any special effort, and can be carried on while performing some other light 
    activity.  This is the level of literacy taught by modern school systems.
14  You read very quickly, and are familiar with many variant scripts and 
    orthographies.