this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
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I'm a bit lost here. Should I use british conventions? US conventions? Is there indian conventions? Or maybe cultural points I should be aware of?

Google is confusing me more than it is helping me?

Thanks.

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[–] [email protected] 20 points 10 months ago

Just do the needful when intimating with the recipient.

Kidding aside, you need to provide more context. Is the reason for using indian english for the recipient to understand you? In that case you don't need to, they should understand you fine with US conventions. If your intent is to act like a local, which I don't know why you have to, try googling sample emails and go from there.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 10 months ago

Definitely start with "Good Sir", that's what I learned from years of reading voLTE requests on xda

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago

When I think of all the shitty emails I've received from all over the food chain I'd say it doesn't matter. Getting your point across is much more important than imitating a specific culture.

And seriously, badly imitating some conventions is much much worse and insulting than using a phrase that might not be familiar to your audience.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

Just write it. US or UK doesn't matter.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Ok I'm British and I don't get this. Yes there are specific turns of phrase or idioms that are different in British/American/Indian but really, is anyone who can actually read and write going to stumble on them?

Example of British English (since I'm guessing most readers here are American): "oh, we suggested Wednesday by accident, shall we meet on Thursday instead". Is anyone really going to struggle with 'translating' to "oh, we suggested Wednesday on accident, shall we meet Thursday instead"

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago

If you have a choice of conventions, ie you know how to implement these three kinds of English, then my recommendation would be to adopt the style of the audience of the email.

If the guy is British, use British English. If he’s Indian, use Indian English. If he’s American, use American English. When able, it’s simply polite to use language best suited for understanding by your audience.