(Contextualized thinking around “We Learned to Write the Way We Speak” by Gretchen McCulloch)

Once upon a time, humans only communicated through person-to-person interaction. This, in my opinion, is the only way to fully “understand” the whole message conveyed by the individual speaking. While technological advancements set out with the goal of making communication easier, the end goal still seems to be being able to make something online and virtual “feel “most like” the face-to-face experience. I agree with a lot of the arguments in the article, including that I believe we “learn to write the way we speak”.

Digital tools and platforms have surely changed the ways in which I (and most) write and communicate with friends, families, and broader discourse communities. Each person is in a vast array of communities and groups, and within each of these communities/groups, I am not exactly the same. Thankfully, with today’s digital tools and platforms, I can choose how I communicate with each of these circles accordingly – whether that is the platform and tools alone or how I use the platforms and the tools they provide (having these “different versions” of myself, it would only make sense that I comport myself to my audience differently).

While the message is the same, it is communicated differently depending on the person/people. The discourse conventions I tend to fall back on are changes in writing rules (grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, etc.). I’ve realized that for me, the fewer writing rules I follow and the less actual structured writing I am doing, the more comfortable and expressive I am. From educational authority, we learn to remove ourselves and write for our audience; as for the way we talk, it is the opposite.