Yuki showed me an interesting article, There are some NG phrases and OK phrases in English on business. Are they true???
NG; What isyour problem?
OK; What is this isseu?
"Problem" has a negative nuance, and the NG phrase sounds like "Do you have any complaint?"
NG; I will tell you my opinion on this issue.
OK; I will share with you my opinion on this issue.
The NG phrase sounds high-handed.
NG; What did you think of the presentation?
OK; Could you give us some feedback on the presentation?
The NG phrase is too vague. You can't convey your will that you want to get other's opinions.
NG; This is nice.
OK; Great, Fantastic, Excellent, This is outstanding.
"Nice" is too usual word, so somebody might think that "not so great "
NG; You had better finish the brief by Wednesday.
OK; It would be great if you could finish the brief by Wednesday.
The NG phrase sounds overpowered.
NG; Please reply to this e-mail until Monday morning.
OK; It would be great if you could give us a reply until Monday morning.
When you use this word "please" on business , it tends to be insulting.
NG; We will do our best to sell 10000 units. This way is favorite way for Japanese, But usually on business nobody interests our will, they focus the result.
OK; We aim to sell 10000 units.
Could you give me some feedback on this article?
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10 comments:
I think it depends upon the "environment" you use these phrases. Business, especially, American business can be very direct and blunt. "Please reply to this email..." In fact, in many cases it would be "A reply is expected by Monday." Never..."It would be great if..." All those OK phrases, however, would probably be encouraged in other places...perhaps in school, for example. The entire exercise is part of what is called "sensitivity training" that was popular several years ago but perhaps not used so much now. Jan
Hmmm....Interesting Mieko!
The first one, "What is your problem?" is often used in a non-business sense to say that one person doesn't like something the other person is doing. I think it carries over to this conversation and wouldn't be good.
In the third one, for a casual request for feedback, the first one would be okay (maybe coworker to coworker before the big presentation), but the second one is much better and more precise, especially if asking the client for feedback.
Fourth one "Nice" is so overused that it doesn't have much meaning anymore. With the okay ones, remember to use happy/more intonation. If the intonation is regular Japanese conversation style, the comments might sound a little sarcastic.
The "had better finish the brief" is okay if it is coming from your boss or supervisor, co-worker to coworker it does sound a bit high handed.
Please reply to this email _BY_Monday morning would be okay I think. (It should be "by" not "until".)
Honestly, I don't see what is wrong with using please in a business letter. It is polite!
The last one, I agree with the aim...we talk about our targets!
Hope this helps!
NG: What is your problem?
I think the negative nuance with this phrase comes from the YOUR. It would be okay if you said, "What's the problem?" or better "Is something wrong?" It definitely sounds like the speaker is saying the problem is that the other person is a complainer. Tone of voice could make this really offensive.
NG:I will tell you/share my opinion.
Not much difference. The distinction should be, "This is JUST my opinion." ... that is, "I understand that others may disagree, but..." All of these are affected by tone of voice.
NG: Nice.
There is the problem of "damning with faint praise". But this really depends on the tone of voice, the situation, and the age and gender of the people involved. I wish I could do an audio example for you.
NG: You had better...
Yes! That sounds threatening. "It would be great if" is much more encouraging.
NG: Please reply to this e-mail BY Monday morning.
I actually like this better. I don't have any problem with companies saying "please". In writing "it would be great if" sounds too informal for business use and too wishy-washy. Is Monday really the deadline? Younger people might disagree with me.
OK: Our GOAL is to sell 10000 units.
Jan thanks for your comments. Yuki accepted the word "direct", on the other hand we were really suprised the word "blunt". I knew only one meaning that blunt is opposite to the word sharp. But I checked it with my dictionary. And it has another meaning --- very direct.
Helen, thanks for your comments. The interestign part is " If the intonation is regular Japanese conversation style, the comments might sound a little sarcastic."
Hmm, we have to be careful,because nice and happy are really easy to use even for Japanese. And for me "great" sounds exaggelated.
Thanks for your comments, mss@nippondaze.
you (and Helen) suggested to use "by" instead of "until". Even though in the article,"until" is used. And as you know the meaning is "MADE" in Japanese. Even flunent English speakers might often make such a mistake.
Mieko, if you changed the wording of the sentence a bit, you could use UNTIL.
* You have UNTIL Monday to return the form.
* The form is due BY Monday.
These are equally correct and they mean the same thing. I don't know what the usage rule is. I can't find a pattern but my husband says if the state is continuous (like having) use, UNTIL. If it is a point in time, use BY.
* If I don't hear from you BY Monday... (point in time)
* She didn't call UNTIL it was too late... (not calling is a continuous state)
Here's another example.
* She slept UNTIL 8 in the morning. (sleeping is a continuous state).
* She got up BY 8 in the morning. (getting out of bed happens in a point in time).
Although these mean essentially the same thing, there is a slight nuance.
In the first sentence (depending on tone of voice or context), the speaker sounds like he thinks sleeping until 8 is unusual. (I can't believe she slept that late.) Either because he thinks she is lazy, or because she usually gets up earlier.
The second sentence conveys the idea that she never sleeps later than 8. She might get up earlier than 8 but never later than 8.
I see "by" as more of a deadline and "until" as any time before then.
Example: I have until next week to finish it.
I must finish it by next week.
A slight difference and perception of almost the same time frame.
Thanks for more concreate explains.
mss@nipppondaze, I really understand. And probably the word "by" is "madeni" in Japanese, and the word "until" is "made" in Janapese.
And
I usualy wake up by 6:45 but yesterday because of Sunday I was in bed until 8:00.
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