yours sincerely
| 10:04 Sep 22, 2000 |
| English to French translations [Non-PRO] | ||||
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| Summary of answers provided | ||||
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| na +1 | Sincèrement |
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| na | Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame (Monsieur), mes salutations les meilleures. |
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| na -1 | Sincèrement vôtre |
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Answers
29 mins
Je vous prie d'agréer, Madame (Monsieur), mes salutations les meilleures. Explanation: This part of a letter written in French is tricky. In the olden days, distinctions were made to whom you are addressing your letter: the clergy, your member of parliament, a professor, a medical doctor, a lawyer, etc. As well, distinctions were made whether you wrote to a woman (veuillez agréer, Madame, l'expression des mes sentiments les meilleurs) or a man, in which case you would not use "sentiments" if you, the writer, were a woman. This is just what I can say about the subject in a nut shell, as it is so vast, a whole book could be written about it. These days, all these differences do not fall into play any longer. However, you still have a certain choice of: Recevez, Madame (Monsieur), mes salutations les meilleures. Veuillez agréer, Madame (Monsieur), mes salutations les meilleures. One important point, however, is the mention of "Madame", if you are writting to a woman, and, of course, "Monsieur", if you are writing to a man. These are the rules valid in Canadian French. I have two Manual published in France in front of me, and it seems that formulas such as: -- Je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, en mes sentiments distinués -- Je vous prie d'agréer, Monsieur, en mes salutations distinguées -- Recevez je vous prie, Monsieur le Sénateur, l'assurance de ma haute considération are still in use. One last point, if the person has a title, you must repeat the title (e.g. Monsieur le Directeur) in your salutation. I hope I have covered the subject in a satisfactory manner. As I said before, a whole book could be written about it. Le fran�ais au bureau, guides de l'Office de langue fran�aise |
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1 hr peer agreement (net): +1
Sincèrement Explanation: The response that McGill has sent you is indeed very exhaustive and gives you a very good idea of how a formal letter should end. I can add another one: "Je demeure votre tout(e) dévoué(e), (sign) or more simply "Votre dévoué(e)" However, nowadays people tend to go for something much more informal. It would never occur to me anymore to end a letter with any of the suggestion given so far , except for a business letter or a very formal letter (or if perchance, I were to write to the Queen). When I write a letter, I usually end it with "Sincèrement," (sign) This is also the closest to your request, and I think it is all you need. |
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2 days 4 hrs peer agreement (net): -1
Sincèrement vôtre Explanation: I've translated it word for word. It is simple and it says exactly what you want to say. |
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