| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3] > | What is your response if the people from an agency don't write English well Thread poster: jyuan_us
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Anthony Mazzorana (X) 
United States
Local time: 17:30
Spanish to English
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| Have a nice day | Mar 4, 2015 |
I highly doubt that any of us speak or write a flawless (fill in source language here) 100% of the time. Even in the non-translation work that I do there are plenty of grammatical errors I come across on a daily basis, and most of these offenders are well-educated native speakers. I don't think we should be too nitpicky.
Have a nice day is certainly a common saying here in the States, but typically in parting after having a face-to-face interaction, usually not in written correspon... See more I highly doubt that any of us speak or write a flawless (fill in source language here) 100% of the time. Even in the non-translation work that I do there are plenty of grammatical errors I come across on a daily basis, and most of these offenders are well-educated native speakers. I don't think we should be too nitpicky.
Have a nice day is certainly a common saying here in the States, but typically in parting after having a face-to-face interaction, usually not in written correspondence but I suppose it's possible.
We all have our quirks.
And about the Cheers comment. We're under the impression that the Brits say that, so whenever someone says that here, it's only because they're trying to act British! We say it when making a toast, but that's it. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Mervyn Henderson (X)
Spain
Local time: 23:30
Spanish to English
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| "Have a nice day" is OK for me | Mar 4, 2015 |
Going off at a tangent, as occasionally happens, I think it's great to wish people a nice day. Why not? And if you reckon it's a heap of still-warm smelly BS, what the hell is the difference between that and Good morning? Beyond a few joking comments about the bladdy wevver, the pointless "Good morning" never draws all the negative vibes that "Have a nice day" does.
"Nice" might be overused just about everywhere, and perhaps "Have a great/excellent etc. day" might be a little bett... See more Going off at a tangent, as occasionally happens, I think it's great to wish people a nice day. Why not? And if you reckon it's a heap of still-warm smelly BS, what the hell is the difference between that and Good morning? Beyond a few joking comments about the bladdy wevver, the pointless "Good morning" never draws all the negative vibes that "Have a nice day" does.
"Nice" might be overused just about everywhere, and perhaps "Have a great/excellent etc. day" might be a little better. But don't you appreciate it, south of London in countries various, when people you've never seen before in your entire life take the trouble to say the equivalent of Bon appétit (have you EVER heard anyone saying "Have a good meal" in Eeengleesh? - it only sounds knobbish because we've never had the largesse to say it), Bonjour Messieurs/dames, Bonne soirée, Bonne journée etc.? Why do you see it as such a stupid thing to say? Would you prefer people to say Hi there, ass****?
I'm tired of all the unnecessary anti-US stuff these days. I have no American friends, family or acquaintances, so it's not a personal thing, but they gave us Internet and all the rest of it, didn't they? Ever done a technical translation, found an odd expression in French, Spanish, Italian or whatever and backtranslated it to find the original was coined by, guess what, the American who invented it in the first place? But how we giggle at their Have a nice day. If we said it to each other more over here, maybe we'd be less provincial and get more done. Walk into more foreign countries, maybe (OK, now I'm on the other side of the argument) ...
Mervyn
[Edited at 2015-03-04 19:19 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-03-04 19:20 GMT]
[Edited at 2015-03-04 19:22 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Have a nice day | Mar 4, 2015 |
Not British nor American. Love both. Will keep saying "¡que tengas buen día!". Life is short.
| | | | | I hope this letter finds you well. | Mar 4, 2015 |
Some of my non-native English PMs start their enquiries with this [slightly annoying] phrase: "I hope this letter finds you well". Does anyone know where they got it from? I don't think the phrase is really necessary in business correspondence related to regular translation/revision assignments and enquiries from new customers.
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XXXphxxx (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:30
Portuguese to English
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| Aren't we a miserable bunch? | Mar 4, 2015 |
Do we also grumble when the French wish us a "Bonne journée"? I'm very happy for anyone to hope I have a nice day.
| | | | S E (X)
Italy
Local time: 23:30
Italian to English
| thanks, Mervyn... | Mar 4, 2015 |
...for the refreshing post.
Signed,
An American colleague who would like to wish you all a very nice day and is fairly confident that she is a native English speaker as her father's family came to America from northern Europe in the eighteenth century and fought in the American Revolution, but her mother's family came to America from eastern Europe in the (very) early twentieth century, so perhaps there is room for some doubt...
 ... See more ...for the refreshing post.
Signed,
An American colleague who would like to wish you all a very nice day and is fairly confident that she is a native English speaker as her father's family came to America from northern Europe in the eighteenth century and fought in the American Revolution, but her mother's family came to America from eastern Europe in the (very) early twentieth century, so perhaps there is room for some doubt...
(I have been following the *other* thread, but really cannot bear to post there, so please forgive my attempt to kill two birds with one stone by commenting on the content of both threads here.)
[Edited at 2015-03-04 21:30 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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I am always pleased to see other people's habits. For instance, instead of asking me to translate something, they often ask me "to do the same". Is this typical Indian English? 'Native English speakers' however...
And I really like it when French people send me their blood group.
A+
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houtberg wrote:
I am always pleased to see other people's habits. For instance, instead of asking me to translate something, they often ask me "to do the same". Is this typical Indian English? 'Native English speakers' however...
And I really like it when French people send me their blood group.
A+
I loved the "blood group", I'd never seen it that way!
I have nothing against "have a nice day", but I must admit it's mostly the smileys, colourful fonts and exclamations marks that come with them that I'm allergic to. I'd be happy to accept signs of cultural diversity coming from overseas, but I somehow find unprofessional those emails starting with "hi there!" or "hey guys, I hope you're having a great day" followed by smileys and exclamations marks without reason, from people who've never been in touch with me before. Not my cup of tea (or coffee for that matter...)
That being said, have a nice day (or night) everyone!
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Niina Lahokoski
Finland
Local time: 00:30
Member (2008)
English to Finnish
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I don't mind mistakes, at least if the person obviously isn't a native English speaker - I'm not either.
Things like "Hi there", "pls" for "please", "thx" for "thanks", etc. are always unacceptable, though, unless it's a client with whom I have been corresponding before, preferably often and for a long time. I once went as far as commented on this when declining a low-rate job offer from a new agency (I didn't want to hear again from them anyway).
I do sometimes wish a... See more I don't mind mistakes, at least if the person obviously isn't a native English speaker - I'm not either.
Things like "Hi there", "pls" for "please", "thx" for "thanks", etc. are always unacceptable, though, unless it's a client with whom I have been corresponding before, preferably often and for a long time. I once went as far as commented on this when declining a low-rate job offer from a new agency (I didn't want to hear again from them anyway).
I do sometimes wish a nice day/weekend to PMs, but only those I correspond with regularly. I didn't know it's frowned upon . I also enjoy certain informality in regular correspondence. For example, I recently phrased the delivery email of a haiku-related translation as a haiku.
[Edited at 2015-03-05 16:56 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 15:30
Dutch to English
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| Be polite and tolerant | Mar 5, 2015 |
Why expect that everyone speaks and writes perfect English? Accept that they are doing the best they can and make sure that everything is clear and understood correctly by both sides when it comes to the agreement.
| | | | Frank Wong
Local time: 05:30
Chinese to English
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I will ignore it as long as I can understand.
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Tom in London wrote:
I don't mind long as they don't say "have a nice day". I don't know where non-English speakers got the idea that that's a good thing to say.
I use "have a nice day", "have a great weekend", "enjoy the holiday", etc. all the time when writing to clients, and often receive the same responses from them. One of the greatest lessons my dad taught me when young was that being positive not only (usually) brings a bit of joy to others, but also often has its own small rewards.
Of course, Tom is more than entitled to his own opinion on this, but as others have said this issue has nothing to do with whether or not one is a native English speaker.
[Edited at 2015-03-06 13:27 GMT]
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Sheila Wilson
Spain
Local time: 22:30
Member (2007)
English
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| There's a time and place for everything | Mar 6, 2015 |
To Nina and Preston, I would reply that there's definitely a place for wishing others a nice day/weekend/evening etc. When you get to the point of throwing some "chat" into your correspondence with a good client, then they're all perfectly natural, as are comments about the weather (though that can be awkward when you live on a sub-tropical island paradise, and you client most definitely doesn't ). But even then I'd restrict the ... See more To Nina and Preston, I would reply that there's definitely a place for wishing others a nice day/weekend/evening etc. When you get to the point of throwing some "chat" into your correspondence with a good client, then they're all perfectly natural, as are comments about the weather (though that can be awkward when you live on a sub-tropical island paradise, and you client most definitely doesn't). But even then I'd restrict the "nice day" wish to ones where the client isn't going to spend it bogged down in work, i.e. a day off.
What most Brits object to is when the phrase is used as a parting shot to a stranger or someone you only have a formal relationship with, when clearly the speaker neither knows nor particularly cares what the other person's day is going to be like. ▲ Collapse
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I like it when someone says "Have a great day/week/weekend" or any other phrase they might come up with. It makes a nice change from all the cold and impersonal "Dear Madam" messages I receive. I'm very much in favour of a bit of friendliness!
| | | | Inga Petkelyte
Portugal
Local time: 22:30
Lithuanian to Portuguese
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| Depends on the culture? | Mar 6, 2015 |
In the beginning, I found it quite odd when someone, especially Chinese, would say "Hi", "How have you been doing" or similar niceties, or someone, from another part of the world, would bless me and my family (note! that's at the first contact, not knowing me at all) but later I realized it's just transmitting their cultural habbits in English words. I understand they would write exactly the same to their local counterparts at the most formal level. Moreover, in some countries it is a matter of ... See more In the beginning, I found it quite odd when someone, especially Chinese, would say "Hi", "How have you been doing" or similar niceties, or someone, from another part of the world, would bless me and my family (note! that's at the first contact, not knowing me at all) but later I realized it's just transmitting their cultural habbits in English words. I understand they would write exactly the same to their local counterparts at the most formal level. Moreover, in some countries it is a matter of bon ton to ask about the health, family and other personal questions.
Thus, I take it as it is - as good manners or as an attempt to look more Westernized. And, frankly, I enjoy it.
We have to understand sometimes that a freshh English speaker may not be aware of the proper usage of one or another phrase. In my eyes, it doesn't take away their efforts to do their best. ▲ Collapse
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