| Abstract: | In Mexico City there is a system of public scribes who function as written language brokers, composing letters, filling out forms, drawing up contracts, designing invitations or producing any other kind of written product that a client might require. The main question to be addressed in this paper is how the scribes learned their trade, and how they acquired the literacy practices and knowledge they need to make a living writing for others. The scribes' views about what they needed to learn and how they went about learning it is of interest to researchers and practitioners alike. Of particular relevance is the relationship they establish between the specific context in which they write and the use of ''local knowledge'' (as defined by Geertz) while writing. Their commentary on what they learned to do at school, what they learned to do in order to meet the demands of their clients, and how they must meet those demands is of particular interest at a time when educators are broadening their views about literacy, how it is learned, and how it is accomplished. |
