Editing Cursive (section)

== History ==
Cursive is a style of penmanship in which the symbols of the language are written in a [[wikt:conjoin|conjoined]], or flowing, manner, generally for the purpose of making writing faster. This writing style is distinct from "print-script" using [[block letters]], in which the letters of a word are unconnected. Not all cursive [[copybook (education)|copybooks]] join all letters; formal cursive is generally joined, but casual cursive is a combination of joins and pen lifts. In the [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]], [[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]], [[Latin script|Latin]], and [[Cyrillic (script)|Cyrillic]] scripts, many or all letters in a word are connected (while others must not), sometimes making a word one single complex stroke. In [[cursive Hebrew|Hebrew cursive]] and [[Roman cursive]], the letters are not connected. In [[Maharashtra]], there was a cursive alphabet, known as the [[Modi alphabet|'Modi']] script, used to write the [[Marathi language]].

=== Subclasses ===
==== Ligature ====
{{Main|Ligature (writing)}}

Ligature is writing the letters of words with lines connecting the letters so that one does not have to pick up the pen or pencil between letters. Commonly some of the letters are written in a looped manner to facilitate the connections. In common printed Greek texts, the modern small letter fonts are called "cursive" (as opposed to [[uncial]]) though the letters do not connect.

==== Looped ====
[[File:Looped cursive sample.jpg|thumb|alt=The first verse of "Good King Wenceslas" in cursive|Looped cursive, as taught in Britain in the mid-20th century]]

In ''looped cursive'' penmanship, some [[ascender (typography)|ascenders]] and [[descender]]s have loops which allows for the letters to link. This is generally what people refer to when they say "cursive" in the context of English.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is Cursive Writing? - Definition, History & Types |url=https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-cursive-writing-definition-history-types.html |access-date=17 March 2022 |website=study.com}}</ref> The letters in this style have their own unique characteristics. For example the lowercase ''t'' is taller, while the lowercase ''v'' and ''w'' are rounder. Also, the lowercase ''x'' links out at the baseline.<ref>{{Cite web |date=n.d. |title=Writing & Rhetoric: Read-Loop Compare (sample) |url=https://www.exodusbooks.com/Samples/CEP/readloop_compare.pdf |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Classical Academic Press}}</ref>

==== Italic ====
{{Main|Italic script}}

''Cursive italic'' penmanship—derived from [[chancery cursive]]—uses non-looped joins, and not all letters are joined. In italic cursive, there are no joins from g, j, q, or y, and a few other joins are discouraged.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |url= https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704631504575531932754922518 |title=How Handwriting Boosts the Brain |first=Gwendolyn |last=Bounds |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=5 October 2010 |publisher=[[Dow Jones & Company|Dow Jones]] |location=[[New York, NY|New York]] |issn=0099-9660 |access-date=30 August 2011}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=March 2015}} Italic penmanship became popular in the 15th-century Italian Renaissance. The term "italic" as it relates to handwriting is not to be confused with [[italic type]]d letters. Many, but not all, letters in the handwriting of the Renaissance were joined, as most are today in cursive italic.