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Subject: Communication's the key ( 43 of 58 )
Posted by Krissy

I went to DePaul University in Chicago and graduated with an acting degree. Consequently I have taken many voice classes and communications classes and one of the shifts from written word to performed speech is "Know Your Audience". An American version of "Juno and the Paycock" must be done with the Irish brogue thinned a bit or no one will understand a word of it. As my professor, David Avcollie used to scream at us, "If you have to write a footnote in the &%*#(#* program, then you didn't communicate it to me!" Someone (and I'm so sorry I don't remember who, I just read that entire string at once) mentioned that chats and forums resemble dialogue far more than they do literary works. I would agree wholeheartedly. Most of the individuals posting back and forth, in my experience, usually have some things in common. Often it's age, or intelligence. Something that brought them to that chat or forum in the first place. Therefore, often the person that I am trying to communicate to will understand best (because, remember, communication is not what you say, it's what the other person absorbs) if I use devices that allow my feelings and underlying thought processes to emerge. I don't argue that the English language should fall by the wayside, I agree that grammar and spelling should remain important, however, in a chat room, I often think that the idiosyncrasies in our speech make us individual and I don't have a problem with the idea of using devices to help those specific idiosyncrasies emerge.

Example: I have no issue with developing and categorizing Ebonics as a separate language. However, (and wait until you hear me out), I think that schools and parents must understand that the business world of today does not speak, understand, nor does it accept, Ebonics. A child speaking Ebonics to a friend is a choice, however, if that child is to have a future in the world today, they must have proper English available to them.

I work in a business office. I have the advantage of spellchecker and grammercheck. I am well spoken and intelligent and always make sure to utilize that part of my language when speaking to those higher up in the company. However, when with my friends, or talking to companions on the Internet, I will use any devices I like to communicate who I am and how I think. To speak in such a way that I will be understood and to accustom them to my idiosyncrasies so that should they meet me, they would not be surprised by facial expressions, common responses, or dialect.
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