language Archives - Page 2 of 2

Honestly – does your teen text you from inside the house? And if they do – do you text back?

What is happening to the art of conversation? Or at least the ability or desire to converse in person?

It’s an interesting phenomenon if you step back and look at it. When cell phones allowed us to go mobile, and speak to whomever whenever we wanted to, Americans thought that was amazing. I called my mom much more often, and it made long commutes in California traffic so much more interesting.

We no longer had to wait by the phone for that special someone to call – whether it was the repairperson or the person we were hoping would fix our relationship status (wait-we didn’t have that term then, either). Cell phones allowed us freedom to communicate all the time.

Then email hit. Suddenly, we didn’t have to wait for business hours to get information-we could ask questions, register complaints or schedule appointments at our convenience. We could break up, make up, or shake up relationships at all hours, and we could do it in the glorious isolation of our homes. No longer could the recipient hear the quiver in our voice, or the howl of pain, or the venom that we felt. All communication was one way, and we had time to think of a witty response.

With texting, a hybrid of phone and email caught on quickly with kids, not so fast with adults. I started texting because I wanted to communicate with my daughter, and since she had quickly deemed email too slow, and phone calls were nonexistent, texting was a perfect option to still communicate with her, and no one needed to know she was talking with her mom.

Her texts are often one to four word responses to my questions, but at least she’s answering, right? She texts me where she’s going, who she is with, and when she wants me to remember to deposit her allowance in her checking account. I get a text when she leaves a textbook at home, or after a particularly tough test at school. Just this morning I awoke to a text from my daughter. Away at summer camp, I guess she misses me?

So when she’s in her room and wants to know what’s for dinner, I get a text. I’ll admit-it kind of bugs me. Why can’t she get off her seat and come ask me? Is she really studying that intently, or is Facebook that alluring? Or am I just being old fashioned? Is this the way my grandparents felt when my mom stopped writing them letters from camp and called instead?

I’m beginning to think it’s a losing battle-texting is here to stay. And I’ll secretly admit it-I occasionally enjoy texting her from upstairs to remind her to do her chores.

Two can play at this game 🙂

photos courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Jennifer Wolfe

Jennifer Wolfe, a writer-teacher-mom, is dedicated to finding the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of life by thinking deeply, loving fiercely, and teaching audaciously. Jennifer is a Google Certified Educator, Hyperdoc fanatic, and a voracious reader. Read her stories on her blog, mamawolfe, and grab free copies of her teaching and parenting resources.

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I believe that most people don’t obsess about language as much as an English teacher does. It’s our curse. We can’t overlook a misplaced apostrophe, an incorrectly spelled word, or a dangling modifier. English teachers know language, and we have radar to catch those who abuse it.

It’s all really for a good cause. Language experts are all about communication. Using the written word to convey our thoughts, opinions, emotions and information is our forte. And when it’s misused – watch out. You’re no match for us.

Surprisingly, I don’t have a problem with ‘net speak’. My students use it as they do any other second language, and they know when to switch back and forth. And if they forget, well, I surely remind them.

What really gets me going, though, is poor word choice. It’s laziness, simplicity and thoughtlessness combined. Word choice really ruined my week. I had an unfortunate encounter with a word that no educator wants to have in the same sentence with his or her name: layoff. Use of this word in schools from now through March 15 is sure to create high anxiety and low productivity, which is exactly what happened to me.

I received an email indicating that I would be ‘bumped’ in lieu of a potential ‘layoff’ and I had 48 hours to respond. End of email.

Now, communicating by email is a dangerous thing for those who are unable to express themselves well with the written language. Unlike handwritten letters, email has very little emotion or personality to help the recipient understand the nuances of the message. Word choice becomes critical, and unfortunately this week, word choice was just plain….wrong.

When I read the words ‘bump’ and ‘layoff’ my heart dropped into my stomach. I have 10 years seniority in my district and could not imagine what this meant. Twenty-one years of teaching and I’m still worrying about a layoff? This was definitely not the message I wanted to receive at the end of a long school day, but there it was.

I pulled my jaw shut and started to process. I went back into my head and began to spin all sorts of scenarios about what might be going on and how I would react. In other words, I panicked. Layoff is not a good word.

After lengthy discussions with colleagues, friends, the assistant superintendent, and a night spent tossing and turning, another email provided clarification came that ‘layoff’ was the wrong word choice. ‘Bump’ was correct, ‘layoff’ was not. ‘Bump’ isn’t ideal, but it’s sure better than ‘layoff’. One wrong word choice, and my day and night flipped into a tailspin.

Precision of language may be a curse of the English teacher, but there’s a good reason. Words have power. They can bring elation and devastation. They can show emotion and action. Words well chosen and precise give us the ability to communicate at a high level, and words chosen thoughtlessly and carelessly can bring us to the lowest depths of all.

The next time you’re typing an email or texting someone, remember: it’s all in how you say it.

mamawolfe

Tag: language

Communication Conversion

Jennifer Wolfe

It’s All In How You Say It

Jennifer Wolfe