Cursive is super, super useful when your writing tool can't withstand repeat impacts against the writing medium -- like a quill -- or if lifting will cause your writing tool to leak against the medium.Cursive is unrelated to quills and ink. Quills and ink existed for a thousand years before cursive was invented.
Cursive exists to relive the strain of writing a lot. Printing is much harder on the hands that cursive. If cursive hurts when you write, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to hold the implement very loosely and gently, not like you're holding on for dear life.
the 'r' and 's' look especially inscrutable
The cursive "r" is an "r" with a bit on the right linking to the next letter.
The cursive "s" is an "s" with a bit on the left linking it to the previous letter.
The forms have evolved over the centuries, but they're still there. Even the weird capital F makes sense if you write it enough times. It's an "F" made without lifting the pen.
I went to public school early in life, and so didn't learn cursive. When I joined a private school, everyone was already writing cursive, and I had to catch up. It took me maybe three weeks. I remember getting g and q was hard for me. But people are able to learn new things every day.
Cursive is unrelated to quills and ink. Quills and ink existed for a thousand years before cursive was invented.
Cursive exists to relive the strain of writing a lot. Printing is much harder on the hands that cursive. If cursive hurts when you write, you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to hold the implement very loosely and gently, not like you're holding on for dear life.
the 'r' and 's' look especially inscrutable
The cursive "r" is an "r" with a bit on the right linking to the next letter.
The cursive "s" is an "s" with a bit on the left linking it to the previous letter.
The forms have evolved over the centuries, but they're still there. Even the weird capital F makes sense if you write it enough times. It's an "F" made without lifting the pen.
I went to public school early in life, and so didn't learn cursive. When I joined a private school, everyone was already writing cursive, and I had to catch up. It took me maybe three weeks. I remember getting g and q was hard for me. But people are able to learn new things every day.