Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
Глубокоуважаемые господа
English translation:
(highly-) esteemed / Honorable
Russian term
Глубокоуважаемые господа
Now normally, I'd say "Dear Sir/Madam", BUT... this is a Russian letter written by a Russian employee to a Russian government official, and the translation is apparently for internal use so the head office can take a look at what this local guy is up to.
Rest of the letter is written in some pretty feudal kowtow-grade terminology as well. Should I translate the scraping and bowing as is, OR translate with normal English forms for such letter OR something in between? Thx.
| 4 +2 | (highly-) esteemed / Honorable |
Turdimurod Rakhmanov
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| 4 +1 | Dear Messrs. |
Tigranuhi Khachatryan
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| 3 +1 | Dear Sirs, |
Lesia Kutsenko
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| 3 +1 | Dear Sir or Madam |
Roman Bouchev
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Dec 8, 2020 15:32: Yana Dovgopol changed "Term Context" from "In the context of a heading to a letter requesting permits from a ministry official Now normally, I\'d say \"Dear Sir/Madam\", BUT... this is a Russian letter written by a Russian employee to a Russian government official, and the translation is apparently for internal use so the head office can take a look at what this local guy is up to. Rest of the letter is written in some pretty feudal kowtow-grade terminology as well. Should I translate the scraping and bowing as is, with all the banana republic local flavor OR translate with normal English forms for such letter OR something in between? Thx." to "In the context of a heading to a letter requesting permits from a ministry official Now normally, I\'d say \"Dear Sir/Madam\", BUT... this is a Russian letter written by a Russian employee to a Russian government official, and the translation is apparently for internal use so the head office can take a look at what this local guy is up to. Rest of the letter is written in some pretty feudal kowtow-grade terminology as well. Should I translate the scraping and bowing as is, OR translate with normal English forms for such letter OR something in between? Thx."
Dec 24, 2020 04:28: Turdimurod Rakhmanov Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
Kyrgyzstan
Education, Legal, Technical & Medical
Native in: Uzbek (Variants: Khorezm, Tashkent, Ferghana valley, Samarkand-Bukhara) 
, Kirghiz
Works in: English to Uzbek, English to Kirghiz, English to Kazakh, and 26 more.
(highly-) esteemed / Honorable
I would say:
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Note added at 2 hrs (2020-12-08 09:05:16 GMT)
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Most Honorable Sirs is the best option, I think.
| So, "Honorable Sirs," ? Full "Most Honorable Sirs,"? Or "Dear Honorable Sirs,"? |
| agree |
mrrafe
: The kowtow must have been an intended part of the meaning. They're Russian - they knew how to say господа if that's all they wanted.
1 hr
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Thank you.
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| agree |
Oleg Lozinskiy
: 'Most honourable' could also fit the context.
2 hrs
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Спасибо, Олег! Yes, sure. You are right, Oleg.
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Armenia
Precision and dedication!
Native in: Armenian , Spanish (Variants: Ecuadorian , Uruguayan, Argentine, Standard-Spain, Latin American) 
, Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia)
Works in: English to Armenian, Armenian to English, Armenian to Spanish, and 9 more.
Dear Messrs.
20
The plural form of Mister is Misters, and the abbreviations Mr. and Messrs. respectively (although UK English drops the periods). The odd spelling is because "Messrs." comes from the French "messieurs". So your example would be phrased as:
Dear Messrs. Jones, Smith, Bloggs, and Flintston
Canada
Life-saving precise translations
Native in: English (Variant: US) , Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia)
Works in: Russian to English, Ukrainian to English, English to Ukrainian, and 2 more.
Dear Sirs,
Russian Federation
Handling words with care
Native in: Russian (Variant: Standard-Russia)
Works in: English to Russian, Russian to English
Dear Sir or Madam
Unless the name of a Russian official is specified, I would opt for this turn of phrase. In BE, for example, Dear Sirs is used when addressing as letter to a company (when you don't have a contact name, be it male or female), but 'Dear Sir or Madam' (NOT Dear Sir/Madam) is a safer bet these days, as people have become very sensitive to this kind of thing: you can never know how people will react to it.
The opening "Respected ..." is never used in U.S. business.
A native speaker of American English would not write "Most Honorable Sirs."
Messrs is used as a title to refer formally to more than one man simultaneously, or in names of COMPANIES. Moreover, in the UK, for example, the style most 'honourable' is reserved for a MARQUESS or MARCHIONESS, the second highest title of non-royal nobility immediately below a duke or duchess.
https://emilypost.com/advice/official-forms-of-address
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/legsregs/directives/orders/cm/appc.htm
Discussion
Problem is, it's a test assignment from a prospective client. I'm fairly sure they have pre-decided a single correct approach to these things and will judge my worth based on how closely my choices align with theirs.
...well, that or they have no idea, don't know a word of Russian, and will check me against Google Translate.
50/50