(06-17-2015, 05:36 PM)Suviyo Viyo Wrote: I'd LOVE to know though, because I'm thinking of having my character be pretty literate... or perhaps a "book nerd" if you will. It would be nice to know how odd/rare that kind of thing actually is amongst people (or Lalafell specifically) so I can RP appropriately.
I'm not really invested in the idea of a largely-illiterate Eorzea, but it seems to make sense to me given the lack of public education. If people can read and write then it probably means their parents were rich enough to afford to have them taught, or someone else taught them. That combined with the one-off dev statement makes it make sense to me in a setting sort of way. I would compare it to England pre-public-education.Â
As for the lack of public education, do you know of any schools in Eorzea? It seems that people are mostly trained vocationally.Â
Lots of books everywhere, but that's fine even if there's only a minority of people who can read them, because they're relevant to the people who can read them. Outside of the Ossuary we don't really have a huge library in Eorzea, and libraries in academic centers have been common prior to widespread public literacy.
NPCs who are illiterate that you actually interact with also seem to be rare though. So yeah I see why it's potentially a matter of contention. I just frankly don't see where the majority of people would learn to read.
As for Lalafell and Dunesfolk, I think they'd be pretty high on the literacy chart given the fact that they're wealthier than the norm, more likely to have parents who read or have been taught to read. Plainsfolk on the other hand are mostly farmers and labourers so I find that less likely.