[lit-ideas] Re: the way we write now

  • From: carol kirschenbaum <carolkir@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  • Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:59:01 -0700

Hi Robert,

Grammatical norms are in constant flux, but the Internet seems to be
hastening the process. Leaving off the comma after a salutation, in an
email, is now standard. Even proper. More proper than using a comma, in
fact. I suspect this has to do with some aesthetic aversion to an
overabundance of commas right at the start of a missive, a preference for
simplicity, and the probability that loads of early emailers just didn't
know whether to use commas or not. Recipients of those emails simply
repeated what they saw, so as not to offend the sender. Meanwhile, the word
"e-mail" lost its hyphen.

I drop that salutory comma consciously. Don't want Geary to remind me how
old I'm getting, especially not during my birthday week.

cheers,
carolk

On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 3:51 PM, Robert Paul <rpaul@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

> A couple of years ago, a few of my students started to send me emails with
> the salutation, 'Hi Bob.'* Now they all do it. In fact, this form of
> greeting seems to be nearly ubiquitous;
> I received a note just now from the controller in the business office that
> began 'Hi Bob.'
>
> I think it should be, 'Hi, Bob' or 'Hi, Mom,' or 'Hi, Senator Wyden,' and
> so on, just as it should be (and is) 'Hello, Dolly,' and not 'Hello Dolly.'
> But as a grammarian, I no doubt am,
> as Lawrence would say, over age in grade. Confirmation or disconfirmation
> of my misgivings about missing commas would be welcome.
>
> Robert Paul,
> full of misgivings and other stuff
>
> _________________________
>
> *Some time back, Phil and I had an exchange over whether or not one's
> students addressing one by one's first name showed a lack of respect and
> that, moreover, such familiarity would lead to their learning less because
> one learns best from a stern authority figure, such as Professor Ritchie.
>
>
>
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