Persistent (adj.

) — continuing to do something in a determined way: kiên trì

A burden (noun) — a serious or difficult responsibility that you have to deal with: gánh nặng
Stockholm syndrome (noun) — a psychological condition in which a hostage sympathizes with
their captor: hội chứng tâm lý khi nạn nhân phải lòng kẻ hại mình
To type up (phrasal verb) — If you type up a text that has been written by hand, you produce a
typed copy of it: đánh máy lại một bản thảo được viết bằng tay
Blocky handwriting (noun) — a style of handwriting, in which the letters are written
individually, with no joining: viết chữ lẽ tẻ
Capital letters (noun) —Capital (or ‘upper case’) letters are, among all, used to mark the
beginning of a sentence. (opposite — lower case letters): chữ hoa
A loop (noun) —a round shape or curve made by a line curling back towards itself: vòng lặp
Sentimental (adj) — relating to emotions rather than reason: đa cảm
Untidy/messy handwriting (adj.) —handwriting that is very difficult to read or understand: chữ
viết lộn xộn, khó đọc
Indecipherable (adj.) — incapable of being deciphered, read, or understood: không thể giải mã
To judge a book by it’s cover (idiom) — this is said to show that you cannot know what
something or someone is like by looking only at that person or thing’s appearance: đánh giá ai
đó qua vẻ bề ngoài
The norm(n): điều phổ biến
Verbatim(adj): y nguyên
Marginalize(v): loại bỏ
Called for: cần thiết
Tradition ditactes that: theo như truyền thống
Telltale sign(n): một dấu hiệu rõ ràng
Penmanship(n): phong cách viết
Marry sth and/with sth:kết hợp cái này với cái kia
Predominant(adj): chiếm ưu thế hơn
So on and so forth: vân vân
Altruism(n): lòng vị tha
Illegible (adj): khó đọc
Antiquated(adj): cổ xưa, cũ kỹ
Notion(n):khái niệm, quan điểm
Cursive(adj): chữ thảo
Virtue(n): đức tính tốt
Authoritarian(adj) : độc tài
Portable(adj): xách tay
Electronic(adj): điện tử

Questions and answers

Maria: Rory, how did you learn to write?

Rory: Oh, I learned to write at school like everybody else did with very persistent and somewhat
authoritarian teachers. But I learned to write well through a love of reading, and I wanted to be
clear. So that’s how I developed my handwriting. The motivation kind of came from within after
a while.

Maria: Do you usually writes by hand?

Rory: And I used to enjoy it a lot. But now it’s more of a burden. It takes a lot of effort to write
something by hand. And of course, I’m doing everything by computer now. Maybe I’ll get back
into it once I finish my other things that I’m working on.

Maria: Why did you hand write to your first three books?

Rory: Because I hated typing.

Maria: Oh, wow.

Rory: I used to hate typing and I used to hate computers. And now I’ve kind of got Stockholm
syndrome, so I feel like I need to use them.

Maria: So when you hand wrote three books that, like… wow… it took you a while…

Rory: I think it took about… Well, I mean, the first book that I ever wrote took about 10 years to
write. So yeah, that did take a while.

Maria: And after you hand wrote your three books, you typed everything up?

Rory: Well, I had them typed up. I didn’t type them up myself. That’s way too much. I would like
to point out, though, that I have typed up everything else that I’ve written since then. Like all of
the articles I’ve written, and all of the other bits and pieces that I’ve done for other books that
I’ve worked on have been typed up. It’s just these ones.

Maria: So so far you have what, fifteen books?

Rory: No, I have three. And then I have another one coming out very soon, actually. The
manuscript has been handed to the editor, so hopefully it will be approved… I think in the next
two weeks. And then it’ll be out.

Maria: Yeah! Yes dear listeners, Rory is an author! He writes books. He writes books and
articles. Wohoo! Rory, but do you actually like writing by hand?

Rory: Like I say, I still get a little bit of pleasure out of it, but not so much as I used to really.

Maria: Do you have good handwriting?

Rory: I used to. It’s probably more, I suppose, “blocky” now, given that I write in block capital
letters. I used to write with like lots of loops and I have tails on my Y’s and things like this. I used
to have really nice handwriting. People said it looked a bit girly. I don’t know what that means.
But recently everything that I write is just in block capital letters. You can see it on my diary,
actually, I’m just looking at it now. So, yes, it’s… It was nice. It’s less so now. And hopefully it will
be when I get back to writing normally in the future.

Maria: Do you like receiving handwritten letters?

Rory: I don’t mind really. I suppose regardless of if it’s handwritten or electronic, it’s nice to
know that someone is thinking about you. Unless it’s my mom and dad, then I do quite like
getting handwritten letters from them, although that’s hardly ever because we live so far away
from each other. I keep all the emails and letters that I get from my family as well for the
sentimental value that they have. So as you can imagine, I built up, quite a collection over the
years. And I suppose that since e-mails are a bit more portable and lasting, it’s probably better
to get electronic ones, but like I say, the occasional handwritten email (???) or letter,
handwritten email (???), handwritten letter is quite nice.

Maria: Yeah… you can hand write your emails ????

Rory: You can hand write your e-mails if you’re completely insane!

Maria: Yeah! It’s a new thing!

Rory: You could actually… One of my… I have a student that does this. She writes her essays and
then sends me the pictures, which is actually, well, efficient. But it’s… It does make things a bit
more complicated for me.

Maria: How important is handwriting in your country?

Rory: I suppose not very… in the digital age that we currently live in. I think most people have
quite untidy or quite messy handwriting. And I can definitely think of a lot of people where I’m
from, where it’s almost indecipherable. However, on the flip side, my cousin does a lot of
calligraphy and her handwriting is beautiful. But I think that’s a very rare thing from where I’m
from. Everybody just types things up.

Maria: What impression does a person’s handwriting have on other people?

Rory: Oh, I think it really does make a difference. I think people say that it doesn’t make a
difference, but I think people actually care more than they say they do. For example, for me, it
really makes a difference. If I’m marking essays and someone who’s really untidy handwriting,
then I do write a comment and tell them they’ve made a mess of it, and it annoyed me, because
then I had to work harder to decode it. And I’m a really busy person, and a lot of people are
busy. And I think that’s true for most people that they feel that way.
Maria: Rory, do you think that a person is judged by their handwriting.

Rory: Well, if they’re writing to me, then yes, they are definitely judged.

Maria: But kind of… For example, at work or some other places.

Rory: Definitely!

Maria: Is it like clothes, you know, like, you have your first impression of a person, like,
looking at their clothes? The same with the handwriting?

Rory: Yeah! I wondered briefly there, if it might be more important than clothes, but it’s
probably actually on the same level. But definitely you have to… It’s all part of your personal
presentation, isn’t it? You have to make an effort to represent yourself well. I know you
shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but whoever said that obviously hasn’t been to a bookshop.
Some of the best books have the best covers.