10/2019 Spotlight 61ENGLISH AT WORK
Dear Ken
Communication expert KEN TAYLOR answers your questions about
business English. Here, he looks at the differences between formal and
informal English and recommends the use of “Ms” in correspondence.MEDIUM AUDIO PLUSSend your questions
about business English
by e-mail with “Dear
Ken” in the subject line
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Each month, I answer
two questions Spotlight
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Ken... 101 answers to
your questions about
business English. So
don’t forget to add your
postal address.Dear Ken
I sometimes get e-mails from women who sign off
using both their first name and their family name.
When I reply, I am never sure which name to use.
If I use the first name, I might sound too familiar.
If I use the family name, I don’t know whether to
use “Mrs” or “Miss”.
What do you do in this situation?
Regards
Karl P.Dear Karl
If someone signs with both their names, I nearlyalways reply using the writer’s first name. This is
to keep the correspondence as informal as pos-
sible. Sometimes, however, I want to keep the
relationship formal. For example, when making
a formal complaint, I might use the family name.
If the correspondent is a woman and I don’t know
whether she is married or not, I use the title “Ms”.
In fact, I use “Ms” at all times now because it has
always seemed ridiculous to me that we should
know a woman’s marital status but not differen-
tiate between single and married men.
Regards
KenDear Ken
German differentiates between du and Sie. In
English, how do I know whether “you” is used in
an informal or formal way? How can I tell when
somebody is talking to me in an informal way,
especially in business? Are there any signs that
show when the tone of conversation has changed
from formal to informal?
Thank you so much in advance for your help.
Regards
Monika S.Dear Monika
We don’t have the equivalent of du and Sie in Eng-
lish, but there are several ways in which native
speakers signal formality or informality.
⋅ Native speakers will use your first name
when speaking informally and your family
name when addressing you formally.
⋅ Listen to the way we greet you. Is the greeting
an informal one like “Hi” or a more formal one
like “How do you do?”
⋅ We will often not use complete sentences
when being informal. We will say
“Interesting!” rather than the more formal
“That idea sounds interesting.” Or “Agreed!”
rather than “I agree with what you say.”
⋅ We use contractions like “don’t” or “can’t”
when speaking or writing informally. When
speaking or writing formally, we would say
“do not” or “cannot”.⋅ We are more direct when speaking informally.
To be more formal, we use verbs like “would”,
“could”, “should”, “may” and “might”. For
example, we will say “Could we meet on
Friday?” rather than the more informal “Can
we meet on Friday?” Or “That would be nice”
rather than “That will be nice”.
⋅ We choose different vocabulary to show
formality or informality. When we are being
formal, we are more likely to choose words
with a Latin or French origin. We show
informality by using words with an Anglo-
Saxon origin. So, in an informal context, you
are more likely to hear the noun “answer”
rather than “response” or the verb “buy”
rather than “purchase”.
⋅ British people will also show that they are
speaking informally by using humour —
usually self-deprecating humour — even
in serious business meetings. This does not
mean that they are not being serious about
the business. They simply want to lighten the
atmosphere and create a positive, cheerful
feeling.
To sum up, there is no single signal that native
speakers give to show the level of formality. It’s a
combination of signals. But, generally, we look to
lower the level of formality as quickly as we can.
Hope this is of some help.
All the best
KenAnglo-Saxon
[)ÄNglEU (sÄks&n]
, angelsächsisch
cheerful [(tSIEf&l]
, fröhlich, heiter
differentiate
[)dIfE(renSieIt]
, unterscheiden
marital status
[)mÄrIt&l (steItEs]
, Familienstand
noun [naUn]
, Substantiv, Nomen
rather than [(rA:DE )DÄn]
, anstelle, und nicht
ridiculous [rI(dIkjUlEs]
, albern, lächerlich
self-deprecating
[)self (deprEkeItIN]
, selbstironisch, selbst-
kritisch
sign off [saIn (Qf]
, unterzeichnen, die
E-Mail beenden
sum up [sVm (Vp]
, zusammenfassen, Fazit
ziehenKEN TAYLOR
is a communication
consultant and
author of 50 Ways
to Improve Your
Business English
(Lulu Publishing).
Contact:
[email protected]ENGLISH AT WORKFoto: Gert Krautbauer