Oh, the list is probably much longer and includes such things as letters sealed with a kiss, spritzed with perfume, tied with a ribbon and saved for years, pulled out and re-read while you're curled up in a comfy chair by the fireplace...
But, the thing on my mind today is that what we're missing due to e-mails is the "Dear" in our lives. Very few people start out their e-mails with the salutation of "Dear _____." We're lucky if the e-mail even has our name at the beginning. Most e-mails I get start right off with the message.
From the perspective of the writer, I guess the idea is that if it's addressed to a certain person's e-mail address, then they know it's for them. There's no need for the "Dear."
Except that the "Dear" adds a level of civility to correspondence, electronic or otherwise. According to Meriiam-Webster's online dictionary, one meaning of the word dear is "highly valued - often used in a salutation."
I typically start out an e-mail with "Dear ______," especially if it is a first contact. Depending on the response I get and the replies I need to make, further communications may continue with the more formal "Dear _______" or they may become more casual with only only the recipient's name at the beginning of the e-mail. In the interest of brevity, some quick answers may not have a salutation or name at all, but that is usually after several e-mails have already been exchanged.
Of course, if e-mails don't start out with "Dear _____," they certainly don't end with "Love, _______" or even "Sincerely, __________," but that's another blog post.
Happy Letter Writing!
5 comments:
It's true...electronic forms of communication has, sadly, made basic letter writing redundant. I like getting email but nothing beats a handwritten letter. That's why i still write them every now and then. Somehow (and i have no idea how or why) but thoughts seem to flow more freely in written hand. Plus it's always nice knowing someone took the time to sit down and write you a letter, plus think about it! :)
It's a good point, but I have to wonder whether or not the absence of the words "dear" and "sincerely" are good or bad things. For one thing, saying "dear" at the beginning of the letter either adds formality or closeness, and I would be uncomfortable most times with either. And at the end, does "sincerely" mean you really don't care about this person and are NOT writing this sincerely but just because that's the form letter thing to write at the end or because you sincerely wish to hear from whomever you're writing to?
Yes, I overanalyze. Why do you ask?
So many ways to write one's salutations. I have a couple of very dear friends that I almost always start their emails with "Dear -" or even "Dearest -" and one extremely sweet 86 yr. young that I greet with; "My dearest Helen " and usually sign off "With fondest regards," or "Most fondly,".
With warmest regards, Anna
Hear! Hear!
Gentle hugs,
'Aunt Amelia'
From one letter writer to another...BRAVO!!! I love your blog!
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