Polite Speech over Text

I was contemplating what topic I should choose to discuss in my blog post this week, and then I had a moment of clarity. I felt like a genius. To carry out my scheme, I needed the help of my friend Kaitlin. Below in Pictures 1-2 is our conversation over text.


Ironically, Kaitlin misunderstanding my intent fits perfectly with my blog post topic. If you actually took the time to read the text, I already stated that I've been reflecting upon the usage of polite speech over text and how it differs between people and situations. 


When I’m texting my close friends, I don't bother with polite speech and neither do they. I often forget that my clarity over text decreases significantly, which is why Kaitlin was confused about my directions. In addition, when I text my friends I don't worry about including polite speech since I don’t need to be formal with them. As an effect, I can come across rude, but we’re familiar with each other, so the rudeness in my texting is no big deal.


In contrast, if I’m perceived as rude by a teacher or superior over email or text, I am in big trouble. To prevent an unwanted confrontation, I make sure to use polite speech in all my emails and messages to my teachers. For example, Picture 3 below is a message I sent to one of my teachers. 

(Text reads: Hi, Mrs.Valentino I am Sydney from second hour. I am aware that we were assigned to write for tonight's homework, but what passage do I write about? Schoology is a little confusing, so I wanted clarification. Thanks!)

I ensured that my message would be perceived as nothing but polite and earnest. I even added an exclamation mark at the end to convey friendliness. Ironically, she never replied to my message.

There is a significant difference between the interactions with my friend and teacher. In contrast to texting my close friend, I go above and beyond to use polite speech when emailing my teacher. Polite speech is deemed unnecessary sometimes, but it is helpful in an online interaction where tone and intent can easily be misunderstood. 


Comments

  1. Amritha YelletiMarch 5, 2022 at 10:27 AM

    Hi Sydney, your "trick" on Kaitlin was super cool and funny. I agree with your argument that polite speech is necessary sometimes. Many people tend to misunderstand the way we word our phrases with rudeness. If someone opened or overheard a conversation with me and a close friend, they would probably think we hate each other from all of the teasing and roasting that goes on our conversations. However, it is definitely not appropriate to speak or message a teacher or a similar person like this, because they don't know you like a close friend knows you and your statement(s) will come off in a disrespectful manner. - Amritha

    ReplyDelete
  2. angelinaMarch 5, 2022 at 5:01 PM

    Hey Sydney! I remember texting my friends and sending them a screenshot of a message I wrote to my counselor regarding scheduling, and having them look at my message to see if it was "professional" enough. I could've simply sent a short message, but I chose to go kind of overboard and have multiple people check it to not come off as rude in the message. I agree with your side on polite speech being necessary during certain occasions, we don't want to come off as rude or unprofessional to teachers.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ms. ValentinoMarch 6, 2022 at 12:47 PM

    I enjoyed the real life examples...even if you did call me out, haha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Ingrid HuangMarch 6, 2022 at 3:36 PM

    I loved this blog post! The two real-life scenarios you showed were very clever! I also liked how you included pictures of the messages, which made this post so much more engaging. This was a funny, but effective way to display the real-life uses of polite language and how it varies based on who the receiver of our messages is. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Julia MowreyMarch 6, 2022 at 8:10 PM

    Hi Sydney! I want to comment over the fact that I do the exact same thing as you: adding an exclamation point to different phrases to make them more enthusiastic and less tense. It's like throwing a leaf on a dish to give it a finishing touch even though no one ever eats the leaf and no one really needs an exclamation point. Anyways, I really liked your connections and think this was really nicely structured.

    ReplyDelete

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