I can hear you in my head, differently

When I read books, or an sms, or chat via Skype, or read your status update, or read any words in my head, I hear your voice. I say them out loud in my head and hear your pronunciation, your emphasis, your breaks, your pace, I hear your tone.

But then, you must realise, I hear what I want to. I hear the way I think you would sound. I hear an imagined you, whoever you may be at that moment.

Now believe that you do the same. You read what your preconceived ideas of the speaker dictate. You read the tone your emotional status transfers onto him/her. Perhaps this is why we often miscommunicate? We don't really hear what the other one is saying because we are listening for a tone that would suit our argument.  And here, this does not only need to be about forcing a tone one someone's writing, but also in not hearing them when they are speaking to you directly. I mean, how often have you gotten home after a long day and snapped at the question of "How was your day?", simply because it was k*k and you do not want to rehash it?

from here

But naturally hearing you in my head is not always a negative experience. It is quite fun trying to figure out some people's sms language and their tone, not knowing if something is to be taken as a joke or seriously. Normally, that c u ltr or lol or whatever abbreviations are used are quite stupid to me, because I think it makes you look dumber than you are. If you cannot spell properly in 140 characters, how will you manage over a 3000 word essay? But I must admit, I like seeing French short-cuts because I have to read it out loud in order to understand it. It is a challenge.

Anycase, this is a pretty stupid post. It is just because the other day I posted something on fb that was meant to be a plea and people read it as a rant. Which is interesting, because they missed my tone. But at least now they leave me alone.  I hope I don't often miss yours. I quite like the way you sound in my mind.


Here is an interesting article on sms-language as a pidgin language and the differences between male and female shorthand...