‘Transliteracy’ comes from the verb ‘to transliterate’ -- to change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language: for example, to transliterate the Greek letter Χ as ch. While not new, transliteracy extends this notion by applying it to a range of communication platforms and tools. Transliteracy calls for a change of perspective away from print-centred debates (e.g. text bound or analogue) versus the digital and moves us towards a unified ecology of literacies relevant to reading, writing, interaction and culture in the digital age.
Where does the term originate? In 2005, the Transliteracies conference (Conversation Roundtables on Online Reading) assembled a group of theorists and practitioners from the humanities, arts, social sciences, computer science and industry to discuss reading in the "new media" age. The conference was the beginning of what became the Transliteracies research initiative. ("Research in the Technological, Social, and Cultural Practices of Online Reading," June 17, 2005.)
Synonyms, related terms
Some synonyms related to transliteracy include information literacy, digital literacy and (trans)media literacy. Some media experts also use the term metaliteracies (many literacies). There are undoubtedly others.
Is another literacy term needed?
"...research on teaching digital media literacy is in its infancy. Scholarly research moves at a snail’s pace compared with the speed at which information and communication technologies proliferate. The current research does, however, provide ample evidence of the growing need for media literacy instruction that targets the added cognitive demands posed by the Internet..." (David, 2009)
Transliteracy refers to an expansion of literacy skills because of multimedia or to describe the ability to navigate across media, platforms and networks. To support this notion further, think of Marshall McLuhan's "the medium is the message" in the context of social media circa 2011. McLuhan's idea here can be translated roughly as "...each medium has its own language and grammer, asking us to bring our own unique skills, knowledge and abilities to bear on what we are seeing... it codifies reality in a specific way; moreover, different types of media may report on the same event, but create vastly different textual and visual impressions not to mention different messages..." Being able to critique those ideas surely requires more than a text-based literacy of reading and writing.
What seems clear to me is that the distinctive skills we use in navigating ‘new media' are not articulated or fully understood, especially how new media is changing educational practices and literacy. In an effort to understand what exactly is "new", some librarians have suggested that new media is connected to previous literacies - so why come up with a new idea? It seems critical for librarians to pursue a line of questioning that says "what is new about new media, and how does it form the basis of ‘new literacies' and 'new learning’".
The plural ‘transliteracies’ was coined by Alan Liu at the Transcriptions Research Project, University of California at Santa Barbara, and predates transliteracy. Liu spearheaded the Transliteracies Project and explores technological, social, and cultural practices of online reading. In 2006, the UK Production and Research in Transliteracy (PART) group was formed which is based at the Institute of Creative Technologies. The IOCT undertakes research work at the intersection of e–Science, the Digital Arts, and Humanities. It is an interdisciplinary laboratory at the heart of an infrastructure grid that connects significant research centers across the university and providing a faculty–neutral space for transdisciplinary projects.
For a greater understanding of why another literacy term might be needed, listen to Sue Thomas from UK's IOCT speak clearly about it http://vimeo.com/2831405.
What makes transliteracy different?
transliteracy is potentially a unifying concept for what it means to be literate in the digital age
extends transliteracy in 21st century to include multiple discourses, communication platforms and tools
calls for change of perspective away from battles over print / digital, moves instead towards unifying ecology of media / all literacies relevant to reading, writing, interaction and culture, both past and present
not intended to replace other terms that refer to print literacy; encompasses both media and digital literacy and (media) convergence
not just computer–based materials, but all communication types across time and culture
emphasizes lateral approach to historical, contextual and cultural issues / literacies; bridges and connects past, present and future modalities
situated in a liminal space between being a new cognitive tool and the recovery of an old one
refuses to presuppose any kind of offline/online divide
considers ability to understand multiple media and modes of communication and kinds of literacy we apply online
Thomas S. Transliteracy: Reading in the Digital Age, Newsletter 9, December 2005, English Subject Centre
Thomas S, Joseph C, Laccetti J, Mason B, Perril S, Pullinger K. Transliteracy as a Unifying Perspective in The Handbook of Research on Social Software and Developing Community Ontologies, eds. Hatzipanagos.S. and Warburton,S. London: IGI Global, 2008.
