A Question of Tone

[SILK at AC.GRIN.EDU]

        Rob Mayer has raised a good point.  Much of the problem in recent
discussions, he suggests, has "a lot to do with academic cultures and
styles...."  He further refers to his own presentation at SOAS, apparently
ill-received, despite the feelings of some that "it hit the right tone!"
        Perhaps much of the problem is indeed one of "tone," more than
content -- although certainly the latter is far from irrelevant.  We may
all find out that we are more effective in communicating our messages to
each other if we are willing to entertain the possibility that our
accustomed "tone" is not taken by all in the spirit in which it was
intended.
        Socio-linguists have written mountains about this, and a good
accessible starting point to familiarize oneself with such issues are the
popular books of Deborah Tannen, "You Just Don't Understand" and "That's
Not What I Meant."  I often had the feeling as I read these books that what
she was saying was obvious -- but I had never quite formulated the ideas to
myself in her terms before:  this is always the sign of a good and
convincing argument.  It is sometimes hard to remember that on the
electronic "super highway" we are addressing not only those we know, and
whose worlds we know, but also those who live in conceptual worlds far
different from our own.   It may take some getting used to, especially
since we tend to treat these communications more more like telephone calls
than as writing -- we tend to less of the "think before you speak" type of
reflection than we would were we even writing a letter, much less an
academic paper.
        Well, I know I especially tend to prattle on here, so ....  "Have a
nice day!"

Jonathan Silk
SILK at AC.GRIN.EDU