Weekly Blog Post 1

I enjoyed discussing the different ways that people address others in notes or person. Writing out to several people in class really helped me understand the subtle changes in my manners and formality.

I've noticed for a long time in my life how confusing it can be addressing different adults. As I was raised, my parents and neighbors all insisted that the neighbors were referred to by their first name. So my nearby friends called my parents Karen or Joe, while I said Pam, Bruce, Rick, and so on.

The problem with this began when I started attending grade school. The teachers made it fairly simple: call them Mr, Mrs, Ms, or Miss accordingly, followed by the last name. However, I had new friends and saw their families often enough that greeting them or talking about them in conversation got to be an issue.

First of all, for some parents I only knew their last name, that lead to the great debate on whether or not to ask a friend what their mom or dad's name was. More often than not I did not ask. Still, for those names that I did know it was confusing; I learned that saying the 'first name' in front of a friend meant strange looks and questions. That in turn lead to calling the neighbors by their title and last name which also meant strange looks and questions.

Eventually my young mind sorted it out. Tell teachers what they say to, if they say whatever, be respectful. Call neighbors by the first name, new or old. As for new friends? Last name all the way, even after you are basically family, first just doesn't work.

The reason I get into all of this is because while differences in addressing a person occur with variations of age, each of those groups can also be broken into many subgroups whether they are well known or a stranger. Of course there are slip ups, more often than not a teacher is called by a last or nickname among peers, but not in person. I've screwed that up a time or two and received a laugh or stern look in return. (The latter I fear, teachers just have that look that says "line crossed"--a grade school teacher of mine is still well known among my classmates for her "evil-eye" that got you squirming.)

Anyways, these are all verbal distinctions that always found a way to apply themselves to something written. A card, a note, letter, paper, gift, e-mail, etc. It's nice to be able to step back more clearly now and observe the changes right next to each other. It's very helpful in deciding whether something is too informal or too formal and to look at what might work better switched around or applied elsewhere.

--Sorry this is late, I received your reply Monday afternoon but had little time and another strange day preventing a post that night. If this is too late for credit that's fine, thanks for the chance and understanding though!