Understanding the punctuation and spelling signs in Romania to eliminate functional Illiteracy

Abstract

The international comparative research initiated by the OECD in the 1990s has shown that a considerable proportion of Europeans are classified as functional illiterates, even though they have completed at least primary school. Spelling and punctuation condition the specific human-readable writing process. We can counteract this deficit perfectly and diminish the scale of the phenomenon of functional illiteracy, giving individuals and social groups another chance for education. The need to express ideas in writing so that they can be understood by the reader may increase the interest in studying spelling and punctuation, as well as establishing rules for their use. This article proposes to address punctuation and spelling signs with examples that could be used as part of an option for primary education in Romania in order to reduce functional illiteracy.