Linguistic Diversity and Literature

Readers, reading, and literature are inseparable. People read for various reasons: to learn, to obtain information, for entertainment, for aesthetic pleasure, and to surf the internet. The word reading, etymologically speaking, is derived from the verb to read, which comes from the Latin legere, meaning the act of gathering, storing, or harvesting. Reading is associated with the act of storing, harvesting, and recording knowledge. Reading is not just the ability to decipher a written code. Life can be read by considering its particularities: the universe, paths, nature, others. We encounter forms of reading because everything can be read by human beings. Humans have been reading since the first invention in the cave world, reading all the meanings of words. The act of reading involves processes of encoding and decoding. Reading means constructing questions and answers, integrating prior knowledge with other knowledge provided by the text. Reading is creating meaning. Reading only takes place through the reader’s dialogue with the object being read, whether it is a text, a gesture, an image, or an event. Reading a literary text provokes varied stimuli, reactions, and experiences.