Keeping Communication Close
We have become a multi-screen culture. Is this true? Millions of people now watch their favorite television programs on their smartphones and read their favorite books on a tablet. We were told that the world would change one day and resemble something from out of a science fiction film. I’m still waiting for my rocket pack aren’t you? This transformation, some computer geeks may have seen it coming, was unexpected. The publishing world has suffered the most. Newspapers are going out of business. Magazines are converting to digital format and books are becoming electronic clones of themselves.
The strangest change is the popularity of using a tiny keyboard on our cell phones to send messages. It is called texting, a dreaded practice created by the average impulsive teenager, who would rather communicate with shortened words and cryptic symbols than with actual written or spoken words. The use of abbreviating words has long been used in personalized correspondence. This form of semantics, the use of three or more letters that signify words, has overwhelmed our personalized cards and notes with much preference. It is common practice. For all of us who need a refresher, this post is written just for you.
Attn: (attention) – this abbreviation is used to identify a particular recipient. It means that this letter is intended for you. The shortened form – for the attention of (FAO) – is also used to direct a letter to someone in particular.
P.S (postscript) – added after the main body of a letter and signature, this abbreviation is used when you have additional information to write. This can be any length. Add another letter (P.P.S) and you can repeat the process all over again.
P.P (per procuration) – is used to imply that someone is acting on your behalf. In this case, someone else has signed a letter on your behalf.
R.S.V.P – Another common abbreviation used on invitations to signify the attendance of an event. This shortened form asks the recipient: will you attend the event in question?
P.T.O – please turn over – use this abbreviation when your letter is packed with information
B.Y.O.B – bring your own bottle – used on invitations, this abbreviation signifies the obvious, you must bring your own drinks to the party.
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Paulette Leto
I don’t think print will ever truly die, at least not in our lifetimes. I know too many people who prefer the feel of a real book to an e-book reader, or who still print things off on the computer all the time. I know lots of people who prefer to give and receive personalized cards instead of sending e-cards. I still find it easier to write my shopping list on my personalized notepad than I do to make a list on my phone or something and shop with that. Its role may be sharply reduced from the last century, but print still has a place in our society and, I feel, will continue to have one for a long time.
22 October 2012, 5:43 pmIsabel Gutierrez
It’s worth remembering that peppering our communication with abbreviations is not unique to the texting generation. I’ll admit that some of these have fallen out of use, or at least I have not really hard of them (such as PTO), but the point is that it’s not a new phenomenon. I’m sure as long as there has been personalized stationery, some people have used abbreviations to write a little faster. There’s definitely such a thing as taking it too far, but the occasional WTH, OMG, or ROFLMAO isn’t so bad.
22 October 2012, 6:49 pmJonathan Price
I agree with Paulette that there will always be a market for things like personalized cards and other stationery products. Don’t get me wrong, texting and other electronic forms of communication are great and convenient and all that, but they just aren’t the same. Sometimes you want to send a message the old-fashioned way.
As for the use of abbreviations, this is a good reminder that it’s not just the kids these days who use shortened forms of words for convenience. I do think it can be taken to extremes, especially in cases where it’s not even really that convenient, like saying “jelly” instead of “jealous” for example. It’s two fewer letters, the same number of syllables, and you run the risk of confusing people who aren’t familiar with the expression, which then requires you to explain it (and thus defeats the point of shortening it in the first place).
23 October 2012, 1:39 pmBethany
People said decades ago that computers would eliminate the need for paper. Obviously that didn’t happen. It seems to be slightly more true now than it was in the last decade, as more and more people read on their Kindles instead of paper books, and send texts instead of letters. But those technologies are still far from universal, even among the younger generations.
I know that some people will always prefer to read paper books instead of reading their novels on a computer screen, or prefer the feel of a printed magazine or newspaper to getting the same information online, but I think those people will eventually be a niche market rather than even a significant minority, let alone majority.
However, even if it also becomes a niche market, there will always be people who want and need personalized stationery. I know because I will be one of those people!
23 October 2012, 3:54 pmstationeryfan811
I’ll admit, I’m guilty of using abbreviations sometimes when I send a text or even an email. Texts are all about communicating quickly, and I look at them as kind of a throwaway message anyway. But using abbreviations like TTYL, or writing 2 instead of to, that I could never do on personalized stationery. That just looks silly to me. If you’re writing by hand you’re already taking a longer time to make your message more personal and meaningful, so why undercut that with a bunch of abbreviations?
23 October 2012, 5:55 pm