Is 音沙汰 not used anymore because communication technology has changed?


My understanding of the word `音沙汰【おとさた】(news, letter)` is that in terms of
usage, it functions the same way that `連絡【れんらく】(contact, communication)` does.
It refers to modes of communication between people.

The context in which I read it was a book, written recently, where the author
spoke about communication from a girlfriend at that time. The author seemed to
deliberately choose `音沙汰` over `連絡` to convey a different feeling of how
communication was in the sixties, when the relationship happened.

So you could say:

> 音沙汰がなかった

or...

> 連絡がなかった

... and they would have the same essential meaning, but the former says,
"there was no contact by phone or letter," and the latter says "there was no
contact by phone, letter, email, text, etc..."

So my question is, does `音沙汰` mean communication in a sense of writing letters
and making phone calls, and therefor has a
[`昭和【しょうわ】`](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dwa_period) era (or earlier)
feel to it?

And has `音沙汰` been more or less entirely replaced in modern Japanese by `連絡`
because now we use email and text messaging and a wider variety of more
immediate communication technologies?

Or am I just totally off base about the meaning and usage of `音沙汰`?




AFAIU, 音沙汰 doesn't limit what the media of communication is. You could refer
to email, facebook etc when using 音沙汰.

連絡 is more "materialistic" than 音沙汰. Or more bureaucratic. 音沙汰 is I guess more
"dramatic" than 連絡. Basically you can use 連絡 for insignificant things as well
as significant things, but 音沙汰 is more natural when it's used for significant
things.

To give you an example, it would be a (tiny) bit strange if you'd use 音沙汰 in
this way:

[code]

    今日の午後配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から音沙汰はない
    
[/code]

whereas it sounds perfectly normal to say:

[code]

    今日の午後配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から連絡はない
    
[/code]

I guess the former sentence would become ok if it were

[code]

    昨日の配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から音沙汰はない
    
[/code]

because you'd expect 宅配便の人 to call etc. if it's been already a day.

On the other hand, both the below sentences sound perfectly ok:

[code]

    必ず弁償すると言っていたが、その後音沙汰はない
    
    必ず弁償すると言っていたが、その後連絡はない 
    
[/code]




AFAIU, 音沙汰 doesn't limit what the media of communication is. You could refer
to email, facebook etc when using 音沙汰.

連絡 is more "materialistic" than 音沙汰. Or more bureaucratic. 音沙汰 is I guess more
"dramatic" than 連絡. Basically you can use 連絡 for insignificant things as well
as significant things, but 音沙汰 is more natural when it's used for significant
things.

To give you an example, it would be a (tiny) bit strange if you'd use 音沙汰 in
this way:

[code]

    今日の午後配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から音沙汰はない
    
[/code]

whereas it sounds perfectly normal to say:

[code]

    今日の午後配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から連絡はない
    
[/code]

I guess the former sentence would become ok if it were

[code]

    昨日の配達だと言っていたけど、宅配便の人から音沙汰はない
    
[/code]

because you'd expect 宅配便の人 to call etc. if it's been already a day.

On the other hand, both the below sentences sound perfectly ok:

[code]

    必ず弁償すると言っていたが、その後音沙汰はない
    
    必ず弁償すると言っていたが、その後連絡はない 
    
[/code]

