While not directly related to publication technology, this online article describes why some people, specifically females, add extra letters to text messages and emails. It reminded me of one of our first discussions in class when we talked about authors’ voices versus readers’ perceptions in literature. At times, it can be more difficult to express emotions with written words because the reader does not have the ability to see the contextual clues that the author would express when speaking: a smile, wink, rolling of the eyes, etc. In lieu of these gestures and without a special sarcasm period or apostrophe, extra letters are one way to give the author more control of his or her intentions. This idea assumes, however, that the reader can identify and differentiate between the five different reasons for elongating words.
That is an interesting point. I find myself always using extra letters, over texting, as a way to show a friendly or excited mood. In fact, for me, and probably for many other people, when I recieve a text that doesn’t have extra letters attatched to the ends of words, or a “lol”in it, I can usually assume that the person is either mad at me or in a bad mood. This is a bit troublesome. If I were communicating with someone over texting and they sent me short responses such as, “ok,” it would not be viewed as normal texting courtesy. However, if I were communicating with someone face to face and he/she said “ok” in response to something I had said, that would be completely acceptable. It is simply harder to relay things such as emotions through technology. It is key to see others personal expressions and hear their tones. Adding extra letters to words is not a good substitute for expressing actual feelings.
In person I tend to talk with my hands and be very expressive and when I am writing an email or text I try various ways to convey my emotions at that time. I have also had those moments when reading a message and trying to figure out if the person is being serious or sarcastic. I am impressed when an author is capable of conveying their point in a clear and concise manner.
Thinking about it now, and looking back at my previous texts, I do tend to use extra letters a lot when I text people. In fact, I noticed a trend–that I tend to use extra letters more often when texting someone I know very well and am very comfortable with, since I am more comfortable with expressing emotions such as excitement or sadness with these people. However, when texting someone I do not know very well, I tend not to do this. I never knew that such a seemingly simple aspect of texting could reveal so much about my relationships with others.
This conversation reminds me of an article I once read about the recent of phenomenon of text to books. There are a few authors who have tried to utilize different media and observe it’s effect on book creation.
I agree with this point and it is a very good example of how readers can have different perceptions that what the author is conveying. It has happened multiple times to me that I mean something in a text and the receiver takes it a complete different way. This is evidence that what an author writes is taken a different way than intended many times over an article.