Save The Art Of Letter Writing From Extinction

By Suparna Chakaraborthy

Friday, May 21, 2010, 16:16

In our school days, letter writing was one of the topic which we were taught by our teachers. During vacations, friends exchanged their experiences in letters. A letter received from a far away relative or a cousin, was preserved as her memory.

Letter writing more that conveying message was an art. The best words were used, the flowery language and the impeccable diction was appreciated and used as examples by elders. There was no space constraint and a letter was almost like a book from where we can learn.

But time passed by and took with the art of letter writing. Technological development has allowed us to write electronic letters, with the permission of using wrong spellings and sentence construction, terming it as electronic english.

The tools of electronic messaging are mails, texting, social networking sites etc. Adults have taken it up but the worst effect is on children. They spend their time more into texting than writing, thus, spoiling their language as a result.

Many teachers have complained,wrong usage of spelling in children academics. A survey showed that one-in-ten schoolchildren have never written a letter by hand, and almost a third of teenagers have failed to put pen to paper for more than a year.

"If children do not write or receive letters they miss out on key developmental benefits. Handwritten letters are much more personal than electronic communication. The effort of writing is a very real one for a child; painstakingly manoeuvrings the pencil across the page, thinking of the best words to convey a message, struggling with spelling and punctuation. It is, however, an effort worth making, because it's only through practice that we become truly literate - and literacy is the hallmark of human civilization. If we care about real relationships, we should invest in real communication, not just the quick fix of a greetings card, text or email," says Sue Plamer.

The study surveyed 1,200 children aged between 7 to 14, and found that 10 percent of young people had never written a letter.

This data make it necessary for this habit to be reintroduced. The language is part of our identity and we should not let it get lost.