Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Examples of lexical errors: We baste (based) this conclusion on our research. Thank you for your patients (patience). Our office will be closed on this wholey (holy) day. With your aide (aid), we will soon have our office fully staffed.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
International English
Use the 3,000 to 4,000 most common English words. Uncommon words, such as onus for burden and flux for continual change, should be avoided. Use only the most common meaning of words. The word high has 20 meanings; expensive has one. Choose words with singular rather than multiple meanings.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
International English
Select action-specific verbs and words with few or similar alternate meanings. Use cook breakfast rather than make breakfast; use take a taxi rather than get a taxi. Avoid redundancies (interoffice memorandum), sports terms (ballpark figure), and words that draw mental pictures (red tape).
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
International English
Avoid using words in other than their most common way, such as making verbs out of nouns (impacting the economy and faxing a message). Be aware of words that have a unique meaning in some cultures; the word check outside the U.S. generally means a financial instrument and is often spelled cheque.
International English
Be aware of alternate spellings in countries that use the same language; e.g., theatre/theater, colour/color, and judgement/judgment. Avoid creating or using new words; avoid slang. Avoid two-word verbs, such as to pick up; use lift.
International English
Use the formal tone and maximum punctuation to assure clarity; use no first names in letter salutations. Conform carefully to rules of grammar; be careful of dangling participles and incomplete sentences. Use more short, simple sentences than you would ordinarily use; avoid compound sentences.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
International English
Clarify the meaning of words with more than one meaning. Adapt the tone of the letter to the reader if the cultural background is known; e.g., use unconditional apologies if that is expected in the readers culture. Try to capture the flavor of the language when writing to someone whose cultural background you know.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
International English
Remember also: To avoid acronyms (ASAP), emoticons (), and shorthand (4 representing for). That numbers are written differently in some countries; for example, 3,000 may be written as 3.000 or 3000.
In France:
Use formal beginnings and endings; endings tend to be flowery. Apologize for mistakes and express regret for any inconvenience caused.
In Japan:
Begin letters with a comment on the season. Present negative news is a positive manner.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Letter Formats
Preferred styles in the U.S. are Blocked and Modified Blocked with standard or open punctuation. The French use the indented style; they place the name of the originating city before the date. The format of the inside address varies. In the U.S. the title and full name are placed on the first line, while in Germany the title (Herr) is on the first line and the full name on the second line.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
Letter Formats
The street name comes after the number in the U.S. but before the street number in Germany, Mexico, and South America. Dates are written differently also. In the U.S. dates are written month/day/year (May 5, 2---); in other cultures, they may use the 5th of May, 2--- or 5 May 2---.
Letter Formats
Salutations and closings are more formal in many other countries. Salutations for German letters would be the English equivalent of Very Honored Mrs. Jones; complimentary closings would often be the English equivalent of Very respectfully yours. The Japanese have a traditional format beginning with the salutation followed by a comment about the season/weather; then comes a remark about a gift, kindness, or patronage; they close with best wishes for the receiver's health or prosperity.
2011 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Prentice Hall
June:
Rice paddy fields are ready to be planted.
August:
Indian summer is still around this week.
November:
The tree on the boulevard is bare of leaves.
Facsimiles (FAX)
Fax may be more dependable than the mail in many cultures. Fax would be written as you would write a letter. Use a transmittal sheet so the operator knows to whom the FAX is directed, the sender, and the total number of pages.
International E-mail
Be positive, cheerful, and honest; avoid humor. Avoid dwelling on cultural differences. Use short, simple sentences; avoid abbreviations, contractions, possessives, slang, jargon, or idioms; show humility; be deferential.
International E-mail
Do not ask questions starting with the word why; such questions require that readers defend their positions. Be generous with compliments. Do not express anger. If you make a mistake, apologize (even when you may feel you are not at fault). Do not assign blame.