It is called a letter to a written means of communication. Generally this writing circulates in a sealed envelope. The characteristics of the text contained in the letter may vary according to the intentions of the issuer. Thus, it is possible to find different styles. Thus, the style can be informal, to relate to the affections, or formal, for the treatment of commercial, public or official matters.
The different components of the letters are: the heading, which establishes the name and address of the place of destination; the greeting, which is a formula that opens the speech; the exhibition, which deals with the themes that motivated the letter; the final greeting, which closes the speech with a formality; and finally, the signature of the issuer.
The use of this medium was always linked to the service offered by postal mail.. In effect, this service was in charge of moving the letters around the world. Nowadays, with the invention of new communications that establish simultaneous contacts around the globe, this task seems of less value although it is still used. However, postal mail was for a long time the only form of distance communication that could be counted on. As they are known today, their origin can be dated between the 16th and 17th centuries, although letter transport already existed since ancient times.
The privacy of a letter is always and must be protected by law. Only the recipient of it has the right to read it. In general, when some kind of legal control over the correspondence is necessary, a special procedure previously established is needed.
As we have anticipated, at present the use of the traditional letter has been largely replaced by other forms of communication, so its use is in clear decline. However, despite the fact that the formal changes are quite noticeable, some current variants such as email can be considered updated versions of the old use of the letter.
