Communication / keeping in contact
Communication / keeping in contact
the Internet in business communication
Fax, e-mail versus traditional letter writing
less widely used languages
vs. English national cultures
Nowadays communication is very important, not just between us and our friends, family, etc., but between
companies, cities and even countries. If there would not be the Internet, the telephone or the letter, there could
not be the big variety of food, clothing, household appliances and other things in the shops, because the
companies are keeping in contact with each other, that’s why we can eat bananas, oranges and food like these in
Hungary.
To help these great systems going, there are a lot of interpreters, translators and language courses available for
everyone, not just the kids in the schools.
These days almost everything we can write to somebody else, from a single thank you note through a letter for
an old friend to official documents are typed in the computers. It is much easier, because others can get our
messages almost in a minute, and don’t have to wait a week or so, for a traditional letter to arrive. Some people
say that it is not a good thing, since it is less personal and alienates us from each other. But even if there would
not be the Internet to send our messages, there definitely would be less successful companies, as the replies to
important questions may arrive later, or if there would something bad happen, it would take at least one week to
send a message asking for help from the directorate for the subsidiary, which would need some more money, but
if it arrives later, it might be too late and that part of the company may bankrupt.
An other important thing about the Internet is the fact that it is absolutely multilingual, so everyone can use it,
even if they don’t speak any other language except from their mother tongue. And also, it gives excellent
opportunities to learn other languages, because there are many free software, programs and courses that are
running on the worldwide web which are available for everybody, who have Internet access. Of course, you can
even practice your language’s dialects and similar old languages which are spoken in other parts of your country,
or may be in use somewhere else. In addition, you can still find languages which are on the edge of extinction, or
are already extinct, but are still in use somehow, like Latin. In my opinion, it really is a great thing, because I can
speak on more languages with my international friends with the help of the Internet, since there are specific
translator programs, where you can type something, and the computer translates it in no time. Unfortunately,
these resolutions are not always good, but there can be found very nice programs on the Internet.
Even if your language is not as well-known as like English or Chinese, you can still find your favorite websites
and pages on languages that you know. Just to mention an interesting thing: English is currently the most
widely /széles körben/ used language on the Internet, but some people say that as the number of Chinese people
is constantly /folyamatosan/ increasing, in a few years Chinese language, more precisely /pontosabban/ the
mandarin dialect will take control over the web. This is how the cultures spread /kiterjed/ here.
The e-mails are really easy to type and send, not only because the correction /javítás/ of one’s mistakes, but
because if someone’s handwriting is not the prettiest, everyone can read it, because it’s clear. A big advantage
/előny/ that if once you finished your e-mail, the addressee /címzett/ will get it approximately /körülbelül/ in 10
minutes, independently /függetlenül/ from where he or she lives, while if you write a traditional letter, or on its
other name, a snail mail, it takes two days to arrive, even if the person you’ve sent the letter to lives only 10
kilometers away.
Also, there is an other solution /megoldás/, the fax. This is kind of like when you take a picture of what you
would like to show or send to someone and send the photo itself. There are special kinds of printers which can be
used for scanning and faxing. You put your sheet face up or face down inside of the machine, then you send the
fax message to a phone number, which is in connection with a printer, and that printer prints your fax out. This
way both of you, the sender and the receiver /vevő/ will get a copy from the paper. In Hungary the fax had no
long lifetime, because the fax and the Internet appeared /megjelent/ at almost the same time, and people chose
the easier way to communicate with the others. Sending messages and documents with the help of the Internet is
definitely much faster than in the traditional way, but I can tell from personal experiences that it is much more
less personal and kind. I have some penpals from other countries. And it is very interesting they prefer snail mail.
I think it is so humourous to see handwriting habits of other nations.
