🌍 No writing system 👶 Cannot read or write

preliterate

1 8.3

A person or time before people learn to read and write

adjective
/ˌpriːˈlɪtərət/

Specialized

: preliterate

Researchers study how preliterate cultures convey information without written language, relying instead on gestures and spoken words.
a preliterate child

Examples

Many preliterate children learn language through songs and storytelling, which helps develop their communication skills.
It is believed that there are only two methods of representing phonological units when assessing preliterate children: neutral representation such as tapping a pencil and oral representation.

Academic text (2006)
It includes ELLIS Kids, for young learners at three English-proficiency levels (preliterate, beginner, and low intermediate); and ELLIS Academic, for students 12 and older.

Academic text (2007)
In a preliterate society, stories were often shared through oral traditions instead of written texts.

Synonyms

nonliterate

vspreliterate

1 8.2

A group of people with no way to write things down

is broader and also applies to individuals or historical periods without writing

preliterary

vspreliterate

Specialized

1 9.1

Existing before people learned to write

also applies to people who have not learned to read and write

How Literate

literate

15 2.5

preliterate

Specialized

1 8.3

illiterate

39 3.7

Surface Forms

preliterate positive

Morphology

preliterate = literate (transparent) = pre + literate

The meaning follows directly from adding temporal 'pre-' to 'literate', giving 'before becoming literate' or 'before literacy exists'.

Etymology

Preliterate comes from pre- meaning 'before' and literate from a word for 'letter', as in 'letter' or 'literature'. So preliterate describes a person or a time before people could read or write.