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Do your English emails really say what you want them to?

Do your English emails really say what you want them to, or are you unknowingly offending some of your business contacts?

With email becoming the main method of communication in the business world, it is becoming more and more important to do it well. These days, many people never get to meet colleagues or clients personally and most of the time they do not even get to speak to them on the telephone. In fact, the only impression others may have of them is the one they get when they read their email messages.

When I tell people that I teach English to the Dutch, the usual reaction I get is “Why, the Dutch already all speak such good English?”  and in some respects that is true. As a nation, the Dutch have a natural flair for languages and tend to pick them up very quickly. However, they nearly always tend to be far more fluent than they are accurate and, because their pronunciation is generally easier to understand than other nationalities when they are speaking English, this gives the impression that their English is far better than it really is. When the Dutch are put in Business or Legal contexts, this can be even more impactful.

All of this is fine in conversational English, where mistakes can easily be overlooked when people can hear through your intonation that what you are saying is meant to be friendly or humorous. However, this becomes a different matter with emails, which are generally informal and people tend to write and send them very quickly. It is then the receiver who has to interpret the tone and deal with the mistakes that can lead to misunderstanding.

Typical mistakes

Typical mistakes that Dutch people make in emails in English include the following:

  • Using the incorrect tone – ‘you must send me the information immediately’ would be better put as ‘Please could you send me the information as soon as possible’. Must is only used in English for giving orders. Another problem with tone is answering questions with ‘no I can’t’, English people avoid answering with no and instead use expressions such as ‘I’m afraid that’s not possible’ or ‘I’m sorry I can’t’
  • Using incorrect grammar – ‘ he has been a manager there for 5 years’ means that he still works there as a manager, if he now works somewhere else it should be ‘he was a manager there for 5 years.
  • Using incorrect translations – using words like ‘eventual, during, lend and rent’ which sound like Dutch words but actually mean something different. The correct translations would be ‘possible, for a period of, borrow and interest’
  • Mixing styles – writing sentences like ‘ we would appreciate it if you could give us a ring in a couple of days’, which mix very formal written expressions with very informal spoken expressions
  • Trying not to start with I – although it is not acceptable in Dutch writing, in English, the most normal way to start an email is with ‘ I am writing to enquire/complain/confirm etc.
  • Using linking words incorrectly – for example mixing up ‘if’  and ‘when’. ‘If is only used to talk about possibility and ‘when’ is only used to talk about something that will definitely happen. A bank manager that says ‘I’ll call you when you get the loan’ means he will call to confirm when the loan is approved and a bank manager who says ‘I’ll call you if you get the loan’ means that it may not be approved, but if it is he will call you
  • Using words that are never normally used in English – for example ‘hereby’, which is only normally used by vicars or judges in a very formal legal context such as ‘ I hereby pronounce you man and wife’ or ‘ I hereby sentence you to 10 years in prison’
  • Using Mrs or Miss – Mrs is only for married women, Miss is only for unmarried women, the correct form is Ms, which is neutral and can be used for all women
  • Using redundant words and phrases – for example writing about an ‘annual yearly report’, which is unnecessary as both annual and yearly mean the same thing

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