Assignment:
Choose two people that have had an influence on you. Write a letter to each thanking them for their contributions to your life (this should be done either early in the week or late in the previous week to see if you get a response). Write one in long-hand (you know, pen, paper, stamp, that kind of thing) and one via email. Think and write about how you chose which one to send the message via snail mail and which via email. Also, write about the differences in the language, length, tone, etc. Are there any differences? What kind of responses to you get?
The Choice: This was a very thought provoking assignment. The two people I chose to write to regarding their influence on my life were my long-time friend Ashley and my former boss Angel Warrior. I chose to send Ashley the email, because she is younger and would be the most okay with receiving the letter in this format. In regards to Angel, there is a difference in age, level of position/respect, and culture (she is from India). This is why I chose to send her a letter that was written in long-hand. I wanted to respect her culture and she was my boss, so there is that authority level too.
Language Usage, Length, Tone: My email letter to Ashley was longer than my hand-written letter to Angel. Mostly because I type faster than I write, and I had not written a letter in long-hand for such a long time that my had actually ached from attempting this. This is sad I know. The language in my email was much more colloquial and common, most likely due to the fact that Ashley is my age and Angel probably would not have understood some of the phrases I used. My language usage in the long-hand letter was much more ‘professional.’ I would have used similar language style if I were writing to someone of great importance. My tone in my email to Ashley was fun, jovial, respectful but to the point of regal. My tone with Angel was serious, respectful, and kind.
Responses: My email was responded to very quickly. In fact, I think the very next day I received an email back from Ashley with a very similar tone and language style as the one I had sent her. I have not received a letter back from Angel, and I am not even sure she received it…I guess that is the anticipation and surprise of using the “real” mail service.
I like how Wood and Smith said that, “in order to manage our relationships effectively, competent communicators need to attend to some issues that are even more salient in online relationships than in real-life relationships,” (90). For me this really caused me to think at length about what I wrote online to Ashley and also to Angel. I wanted to clearly articulate what I wanted to say, but that was hard in the construction of both letters.
What does this all mean for society? I think society now is much more likely to write an email than send a hand-written letter. This seems rather impersonal to me. If we are going to write emails, we need to make very sure that we are choosing the exact right terms to most effectively communicate how we feel. Otherwise a person could be left confused and hurt. It is just so incredibly important to understand that our words are powerful and when you don’t choose them wisely, misunderstandings can and will occur.
First off, I think it is really awesome you know someone actually named Angel Warrior that isn’t a wrestler or someone who took the name out of irony or something silly. Plus she’s also your boss and commands your respect and therefore she sounds like a very interesting person to know. I would like a name like that, perhaps something more masculine though. I haven’t read through your other posts to know if there is some logical explanation for the name, but I will get around to it! Slowly but surely I think I’ve looked at almost everyone’s writing.
Like me, you weren’t sure if your handwritten letter actually arrived. That’s the kind of “faith in the system” we’ve lost with having instant communication and verification at our fingertips, yet it’s still a viable tool. The traditional postman isn’t going anywhere soon and I like the idea of a positive letter out there someplace making its way to someone whenever fate decrees it. Neither snow nor hail nor hurricane gale shall stop the might mail… Whenever I get a personal letter I know it’s rare and enjoy it very much. I try to return the favor, pay it forward and hope that another one will make it to me. When I was a kid I had many pen-pals from all over the world, I think it’s something we’ve lost. You can now connect with a pen-pal overseas (or even in prison) instantly instead of slowly learning about each other over the course of years and exchanged glossy photos. Instead you meet me, look at my Flickr account and know things about me online that I may or may not tell my own mother. It’s changed.
This was a fun assignment, update us if you see your letter’s results. Sam Paul
You made good points regarding who you chose to hand-write a letter to and who you would email. I think age, culture and authority level makes a huge impact on how you should chose to correspond with someone. The language used is also a factor. I also liked your point about how the email was longer because you type faster than you write. I could relate to this. Because I don’t write as often as I once did, my hands get tired after writing. I concentrate harder on my handwriting, spelling and what I want to say when I hand-write a letter. When typing, it can be easy to just let your thoughts flow through your fingers and then go back and edit. It takes a lot of patience to wait for a hand-written reply, and sometimes it never happens. When I receive a hand-written letter, I’m always sure to write back as soon as possible. That person took the time to get out some stationary and think of me – I like to reciprocate the gesture.
I sympathize with your hand pain! My hand was definitely not happy about all of the writing it was doing either! I also understand why you chose to write the letter to Angel the way you did. Most of my friends are not native English speakers, and there are many things I can’t say to them. I actually adopt a different speech pattern according to who I am with. I taught myself how to speak what I like to call “Russian English” because that was the only way I was able to communicate with my friend Alek. I mimicked his speech pattern, and we were able to communicate extremely well! I also agree wholehartedly about your sentiment about emails. People absolutely must learn how to choose the right terms when they are writing emails. If people were as careful with their emails as they are with their words, there would be a lot less misunderstandings!
I sympathize with your hand pain! My hand was definitely not happy about all of the writing it was doing either! I also understand why you chose to write the letter to Angel the way you did. Most of my friends are not native English speakers, and there are many things I can’t say to them. I actually adopt a different speech pattern according to who I am with. I taught myself how to speak what I like to call “Russian English” because that was the only way I was able to communicate with my friend Alek. I mimicked his speech pattern, and we were able to communicate extremely well! I also agree wholehartedly about your sentiment about emails. People absolutely must learn how to choose the right terms when they are writing emails. If people were as careful with their emails as they are with their words, there would be a lot less misunderstandings!
-Ashira