who could read and write?

[afro-elf]

the noldar and sindar

dwarves and hobbits

numenoreans and gondorians the rangers of the north

the breelanders could ( why have a sign that said the prancing pony)

all could


what about

silvan?

the edain?

the rohirrim did not have their own written language

i assume the wood men and boerning did not

what about dale and esgorath

[Kirinki54]

Someone (I think Michael Martinez) wrote somewhere that even Orcs could read as there were scribbled insults or something on a statue the wanted to defile.

Literacy was apparently almost universal! :)

[afro-elf]

recall something in LOTR about the rohirrim not having a written language

so I assumed that the others i listed above who are their distant kinsmen could not either

i'll try to find the quote

[Comic Book Guy]

The Orcs wrote things on the statue of the king, it is seen in the chapter 'At the Crossroads'. It is also interesting that the orcs also removed the head and replaced it with a rock made to look like Sauron. The Rohirrim were illiterate but they still spoke their own language.

[Michael Martinez]

what about

silvan?

There is no indication that they could write in any of the texts, but some of the Eldar did settle among them. I think they would have had to possess some literate skills in order to interact with the peoples around them.

the edain?

The Edain learned to read and write in Beleriand. Those Edainic peoples who never entered Beleriand would have had to learn from Dwarves or Numenoreans in the Second Age.

what about dale and esgorath

Dale and Esgaroth used the Cirth. For example, the toys Bilbo gave out at the party were stamped "Made in Dale", or had that written on them.

[Michael Martinez]

The Orcs wrote things on the statue of the king, it is seen in the chapter 'At the Crossroads'. It is also interesting that the orcs also removed the head and replaced it with a rock made to look like Sauron. The Rohirrim were illiterate but they still spoke their own language.

Saruman's Orcs placed an S-rune on their helmets. Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli noticed that at Parth Galen, when they were picking through the dead bodies.

Also, the Orcs of the High Pass were able to read the runes on the blades of Orcrist and Glamdring, for what it's worth.