The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has raised an issue of letter-writing etiquette many older people have long been aware of – the disappearance of the opening word “Dear” in e-mails. WSJ reporter Dionne Searcy said times have changed regarding this traditional greeting.
She wrote how Abraham Lincoln started an 1863 letter, “My dear General.” President Lincoln also started letters to Mrs Lincoln, “Dear Wife.”
Ms Searcy compared this to a recent e-mail to reporters from Giselle Barry, a spokeswoman for a U.S. politician, that started “Hey, folks.” Searcy says the use of “Dear” is going the way of sealing wax and the handwritten letter. Ms Barry believes people are no longer using it because it is too intimate.
The WSJ quotes business etiquette expert Lydia Ramsey who believes people who do not start e-mails with “Dear” will “lack polish”. She says: “It sets the tone for that business relationship, and it shows respect. Email is so impersonal it needs all the help it can get.” Jean Broke-Smith, an etiquette teacher agrees. She writes on the BBC website: “We're losing the art of letter writing. E-mails are becoming like texts - everyone is abbreviating. If we don't get a handle on it, future generations won't be able to spell at all.” English teacher Katie Craig offers the following advice: “The rule is, address your reader as you would in the context with which you are replacing the e-mail.” The same goes for the minefield of signing off a mail.
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