The eMails I receive from our agent in the US have neither a salutation nor a closing statement. This differs from eMail style in Germany which always include a greeting and some kind of closing remark, unless several eMails have been going back and forth.
Is the US agent’s style standard for US eMails, or am I justified in feeling slightly irritated by them?
Ilka, you have really hit a nerve with me. I get very irritated at the informal style (and I am being very euphemistic here) most people in my company take (particularly those from our corporate office in the north) when sending e-mails. I’ve also received various e-mails from other customers in the U.S. who are just as informal (and are just as irritating! ).
I don’t receive or handle many e-mails from customers from outside the U.S. right now.
I would note, however, that the e-mails I have seen from Germany are probably the most formally structured. And it really does make a difference! The thought that goes into preparing your message is as important as the message itself, wouldn’t you agree?
In my customer support position, it is so important to accurately identify any issues, so we can address them succinctly and completely. I am constantly reminded, when I read customer (and internal) e-mails, that most people have very poor communication skills.
<br:mad:
I’m reminded here of the work of Prof. Basil Bernstein, whose "Class, Codes and Control" postulates the existence of two language codes, elaborate and restricted. It’s socio-linguistics from the good old Seventies, but I believe it still holds much relevance.
Read a synopsis here: http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~johnca/spch100/3-3-bernstein.htm
I’m not sure that I buy into all of Bernstein’s neo-Marxist conclusions, but I do think that the code observation is astute. My guess is that, in the English-speaking world at least, the use of restricted code by the general population is increasing at an alarming rate. Just listen to two teenagers discussing their favorite music, or two secretaries at the water-cooler discussing last night’s ‘must-see’ TV. Because of the relative informality of the electronic medium, the use of restricted code is increasing there, too.
As language maniacs and Agorans, we’re of course prone to use, and expect, elaborate code (some, like our friend Henri, are exquisitely elaborate ;D). This makes us possibly a little, er, glum when we’re communicated with using the ‘wrong’ code.
Email only got really going after I moved to Israel, so my experience is largely limited to local convention.
Israel is a notoriously informal society (‘gratuitously rude,’ a diplomat once told me), and this informality is naturally reflected in email communications. I frequently receive business materials as attachments with no accompanying message whatsoever. A pre-dispatch or follow-up phone call informs me that the email has been sent, although sometimes even that doesn’t happen.
For my part, I’m punctilious about including an opening and closing salutation, except in cases of a rapid-fire multiple exchange.
Well, you have eased my mind. That’s just how the Amis are! I have to say that all other agents, be they from Japan or Moscow, Iran or Switzerland, use salutations and often there is a friendly little statement at the end.
[quote author=Palewriter link=board=omni;num=1051357712;start=0#3 date=04/26/03 at 10:14:21]As language maniacs and Agorans, we’re of course prone to use, and expect, elaborate code. This makes us possibly a little, er, glum when we’re communicated with using the ‘wrong’ code.
Add to that the problem of different codes in different countries and you have a problem. I once read that one common problem between couples from different background is that the "restricted code" is different, but that this is hard to detect. The words used have different connotations depending on your background, and unless every thought is elaborately stated, misunderstandings are inevitable.
Just a little example from work. After a tough day, my British colleague suddenly came out with "Oh well, Arbeit macht frei". You could have heard a pin drop after she said that! She later explained to me that it was not unusual to hear that said lightly in Britain. The words are the same, but while the British seem to have enough distance from it, you simply cannot say that in Germany. Same goes for Hitler jokes that I’ve heard on some comedy or talk shows in the US. It cannot be done here.
"Arbeit macht frei" is a symbol of the Holocaust and can be translated as "Work makes one free" or "Work liberates". It was the wrought iron lettering over the gate to Auschwitz, put there by the camp’s commandant, Rudolf Höss, who was later tried and hanged at Auschwitz. The slogan was also found at many of the other camps.
[quote author=KatyBr link=board=omni;num=1051357712;start=0#8 date=04/26/03 at 18:15:07]I see as I reread over this thread, that my email style is hopelessly informal and quite possibly rude as well. If I know the person I’m emailing I rarely include a salutation
I wouldn’t think your eMails would be perceived as rude if the people you correspond with know you well enough to know your intentions. Also, if your eMail style is standard in the US, then they’d know how to interpret it.
As to the specific subject, I put that in the title of the eMail.
Yes, I don’t like those familiar spam mails either, especially when its clear from what they are peddling that they don’t even know if I’m male or female! ::)
Yes, I don’t like those familiar spam mails either, especially when its clear from what they are peddling that they don’t even know if I’m male or female!
Ilka,
I get those too! No, I used to. Then I changed emails. Now on my website, instead of a standard mailto: reference I use a javascript that hides my email while creating a live link. So even now, I still get very little spam.
Regarding emails, I have to say, that I generally treat them as I would a paper letter and so do most of my correspndants. I open with a salutation and end with at least my name. If it’s someone I am very cloe to I say "Love, [insert linefeed] Patricia." If however, it becomes a conversation (such as a phone or ICQ conversation) then we both forgo the salutations. Indeed, most of the people I correspnd with are much the same…
But this does explain my students who mostly seem to have very little concept of courtesy in general. :(
[quote author=KatyBr link=board=omni;num=1051357712;start=0#12 date=04/27/03 at 12:23:12]I find communication with younger folks to be much more elaborative.
Well, please don’t be offended, but, Duh! You’re not one of us, therefore are outside the restricted category, therefore cannot acertain the level of specialized vocabulary by direct conversation, only by overhearing and not understanding. Plus, you old fogies (does anyone know a proper spelling for that? I want to use a double ‘g’ but that would change the vowel sound…) have a head start - more time to make up insider terms. By the time we’re your age, we’ll no doubt have caught up. :)
Straying back on-topic, I split the difference, almost always including a closing tag and almost never using a salutation. After all, the information of who the sender is, is sent along with the message automatically, and as most email accounts are for a single person, there’s no doubt as to whom the intended recipient is. Then again, being a student, I do not yet have much cause to be emailing people that I have not at least met face-to-face, or became acquainted online in an informal manner. Anyway, I don’t like the salutations in letters either. It’s always seemed to me that either you know the person’s name, in which case you can convey that information on the envelope or in the heading, or you don’t know the person’s name, in which case you’ll end up with awkward constructions like "Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. Valued Customer" or something similarly inane. Just my 2.1 cents.
[quote author=Palewriter link=board=omni;num=1051357712;start=15#15 date=04/27/03 at 19:31:15]However, where does "old" begin? 30s? 50s? 70s? 26?
23, of course. :)
~Silver
PS Sorry for any offense. I guess that the smiley didn’t fully compensate for the lack of vocal tone or true facial expressions. Really, I love all you geezers.
You probably are still 18, Katy. ;D I, for one, didn’t like myself as much at 18 as I did at 29 (which state has been constant throughout the quarter century since then). It’s all about…the right to choose. :)
It has always been my style to put a salutation at the beginning, usually with the person’s name, or, in the case of multiple recipients, something like "Dear Friend."
I think that it is just like saying "Sitran hier," when I answer the phone. It simply says everything is working right and you haven’t missed anything yet.
I feel the same way about the closing,"Hope to see you soon, "Eagerly awaiting your response," or at least "Sincerely yours."
I think this says, "My message is finished; did you miss anything?"
For friends I usually PS a cryptic message or private joke; for business I would not; I would put any afterthought back in the main text between the salutation and the closing remark.
Love,
Sitran
PS Good work!
Katy wrote-
I’m always surprised at the old woman in the
mirror.
).
