Language is so meticulous. Some people ponder for hours, crafting the perfect speech, planning every word, every hand gesture, perfecting tone, volume, rate, when to smile, when to look somber, and when to pause. While others simply blurt out everything that pops into their heads and only really realize what they have said after the fact. But I am generalizing here, because along with these groups there is also another group of people that switch back and forth between the two. I'd categorize myself in this group, in some situations I am highly meticulous and in some I'm not.
It's interesting, how either so much or so little thought or effort can be put into speech. We alter the way we talk depending on who we are talking too, where we are, how we feel, how the other person feels, and context. A lot of important factors we use to determine the tone that we will use, or whether we should crack that risky joke are all factors that we must sense and see. Thinking about all of these factors, like whether someone seems tense, or distracted, tired, or overwhelmed, I realized that they are practically impossible to detect in one of our newest and most commonly used (atleast among people my age) forms of communication: the instant text message. Texting someone is one of the fastest and most convenient ways to get a message across to someone, but once it comes to serious matters, things can prove to become tricky.
When you are texting someone, you have no idea if they are flustered, angry, deeply saddened, or lighthearted and in the mood for some fun. With arguments in real life people can tell when they've gone too far and usually can sense when it is time to take a step back, but with texts it can turn into a sort of free for all. Sometimes people even lose their sense of all social boundaries when they are usually so very aware of them in real life situations.
Language is delicate, or atleast, I think it should be. I'm guilty of speaking without thinking, and I think we should all treat our words as the means that allow us to have significant relationships with other people. Relationships that aren't just made in seconds but are "social currency with real value"(Pinker, 17). How we choose to use language can bring us closer than ever to others, or break bonds that we've always cherished. It's a power we all hold, and so like any power, we can choose whether we want to use it for good or bad.
It's interesting, how either so much or so little thought or effort can be put into speech. We alter the way we talk depending on who we are talking too, where we are, how we feel, how the other person feels, and context. A lot of important factors we use to determine the tone that we will use, or whether we should crack that risky joke are all factors that we must sense and see. Thinking about all of these factors, like whether someone seems tense, or distracted, tired, or overwhelmed, I realized that they are practically impossible to detect in one of our newest and most commonly used (atleast among people my age) forms of communication: the instant text message. Texting someone is one of the fastest and most convenient ways to get a message across to someone, but once it comes to serious matters, things can prove to become tricky.
When you are texting someone, you have no idea if they are flustered, angry, deeply saddened, or lighthearted and in the mood for some fun. With arguments in real life people can tell when they've gone too far and usually can sense when it is time to take a step back, but with texts it can turn into a sort of free for all. Sometimes people even lose their sense of all social boundaries when they are usually so very aware of them in real life situations.
Language is delicate, or atleast, I think it should be. I'm guilty of speaking without thinking, and I think we should all treat our words as the means that allow us to have significant relationships with other people. Relationships that aren't just made in seconds but are "social currency with real value"(Pinker, 17). How we choose to use language can bring us closer than ever to others, or break bonds that we've always cherished. It's a power we all hold, and so like any power, we can choose whether we want to use it for good or bad.
Hi Murryum! I reallt love yor post, expecially how you expanded on to what we discussed in class about how language and words can be used for many things. It's so true that they hold a lot power and can be used for good or bad and that texting is an effective communication from but at the same time can be hard to know what the person on the other side of the phone is feeling.
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