The Ritual And Tradition Of Writing A Letter By Hand In The 21St Century?

[txomsy]

OK, there you go. You asked for tradition?

Google up SVBEEV and you'll get a hint into some of the oldest ones. Follow the lead. As far back as you want (Babylon? Sumer?).

 

You will see that the basic protocol or "tradition" as you call it, has changed very little in 5000+ (yeah, that's five thousand!) years.

 

Courtesy rules.

As said, write as you would (or should) talk. But, as in any human interaction, courtesy is of paramount importance, the hallmark of civilization and, for some people, the most important aspect of communication.

Yeah, there are various conventions on where to put destination, address, date or signature. Generally speaking, you want to put a date and of course sign it. Usually at the end.

Conventionally, you'd start by inquiring and showing interest in your addressee, his life, status, health, family, environment, whatever and wishing the best for him/her with all appropriate religious blessings. You show more interest in him/her than in leveraging your nonsense talk. This shows respect, interest and appreciation and that you value your correspondent.

It is like entering an elevator: you don't start talking straight away about the weather, you start with "Good morning. How do you do?". Then the other -if interested- will answer "How do you do?" and maybe explain. Then you may both say "ok, thanks" and move on. So, it's the same with a letter. You show interest and then, may be, add one line to say if you are OK.

"To the king of Egypt (Misri of the letters), our lord: Message of the Citizens of Tunip, your servant. For you may all go well. And we fall at the feet of my lord."

 

 

[say to] Ama[nappa]: Message of Rib-Had[da]. I fall [at your feet]. May Aman, [the god of the king], your lord, establish yo[ur] honor [in the presence] of the king, your lord-(ŠÀR.RI-EN-ia).

 

 

Speak to Kardasman-Enlil, king of the land of Karaduniash, my brother! Thus Nibmu'are'a, the great king, king of the land of Egypt, your brother. With me all is well: may all be well with you. With your house, with your wives, with your sons, with your senior officials, with your chariotry, (and) in the midst of your territories, may all be exceedingly well. With me all is well, with my house, my wives, my senior officials, my horses, my chariotry (and) <my> troops, it is all very well and within my territories it is all very well.

 

Then you may decide whether to start talking about the weather (or some other topics) or go right into the meat. Again, it is courteous to start with small talk and then referring to your correspondent's topics first (e.g. if you know something happened, you ask for the outcome or progress, "how is you brother going along, did he pass the exam? Have you tried the recipe I sent you on my last letter? How did you like it?") before getting into your own interests ("I tried your recipe and it was wonderful, my family loved it and all send you their compliments").

Of course, you need not be altogether courteous always and with everybody. Much like in real life. This IS real life. You may start your letter "I am desperate, want to commit suicide etc..." and only at the end ask "BTW, are you OK?". But, unless in exceptional circumstances, courtesy should prevail.

After all, if you are corresponding with someone, it is because you appreciate (or need) them, so what should be more natural than first of all, being concerned about their well being?

Be equally polite on saying goodbye. You can find goodbye formulas in Akkadian letters where the authors state their interest in the receiver being happy and satisfied:

 

"Then I will myself make his (my lord’s) gut happy! "

And remember: letters are NOT a social network: here we may indulge in the fantasy that we are holding a normal, face to face, conversation. It may actually be almost interactive. With the Post, each message is interspersed by days, weeks of months of time, during which many things may happen to either of you. You cannot assume you are "just continuing" a conversation. For all you know, that person could be dead, in a hospital or have won the lottery. Here, we do not care or consider these eventualities (there is a surplus of correspondents and answers are fast, little will have likely changed between one message and the next), but on paper times, there is a difference.


As with any other endeavour, look to as many samples as you can, identify the common trends, and decide what you want to take and what you want to add.

Edited September 20, 2019 by txomsy