The end of the world is nigh!

Buondì.

Sorry, an unwanted ‘l’ somehow got into that title.

What I intended to write was “The end of the word is nigh!”

For lo, there came a time when people no longer read, or wrote. Communications from that age on were only spoken (Youtube ‘how to’ videos), or for those with feelings to express, emojis (those little yellow blobs in your Whatsapp messages that you can’t make out without putting your reading glasses on…)

Libraries stocked only audio books, God’s children rediscovered using the phone to ask Customer Service their silly questions and receive unhelpful answers, and all forgot that once their forebears had read the FAQ, or could decipher written replies from customer service to pleas for help using their, by now ubiquitous yet still infernal, iPads.

Emailed articles, of course, were no more.

One man alone was sad, and rather frustrated, and cried to the heavens to ask why he had been forsaken. Why had he spent his life learning to read, and write? Why did he reply to each and every email, only for his words to disappear unread into humanity’s spam/junk folders?

And a voice thundered that the man should consider making a nice Youtube video, or better still, a series of videos, explaining common problems. That way, other members of his tribe could watch the man’s solutions to their issues, given that they were no longer able, or willing, to read them.

But the man cried out to know how his customers would find the right video to watch, if they could no longer use words to search.

What’s more, he insisted, how will people learn a foreign language or languages, if they are unable even to read simple instructions in English?

But besides a circular, yellow cloud with a tear-shaped hole in it, there was no further reply.

A venerdì.

P.S.

Talking of words, yesterday I prepared a new ebook for publication next week. It’s advanced-level, thought-provoking, and rather sad. Shame there’s no one left to read it.

Twenty-eight pages of text written by a talented Italian teacher, over thirty minutes of online audio, read by an equally talented native-Italian speaker, and all for the special launch price of just £5.99.

Sure I can’t tempt you?

Watch this space for details on Monday. And have a box of Kleenex handy!

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