19th Annual Student Research Conference
Language & Literature
Trends in Email Formallity Across Age Groups
Todd L. Kuhns♦
Dr. Sally Cook, Faculty Mentor
Email has emerged as a method of both formal and informal communication, valued for its speed and ease of use – especially in the workplace. As a result, many former letter writers are writing email messages instead. But how frequently are the traditional structures of letter writing applied to this new technology? This study examines whether the formal structure of email messages varies by the age of the sender. Each subject took a short questionnaire to determine age and attitude toward email versus handwritten letters. Ten messages were randomly selected from each subject and analyzed for variance against the formal structure of a letter.
Keywords: email, age, letter, structure, communication, linguistics, messages
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 4-3
Location: VH 1304
Time: 8:45