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submitted 6 months ago by limonade@jlai.lu to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

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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[-] scytale@lemm.ee 21 points 6 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.

[-] MaggiWuerze@feddit.de 19 points 6 months ago

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

[-] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 13 points 6 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.

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 9 points 6 months ago

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

[-] SquiffSquiff@lemmy.world 7 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 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"

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 6 points 6 months ago

Largely it's going to depend on who your audience is. If you're writing for an American audience, use American conventions. British audience, British conventions.

Things to be aware of:

Date formats:

US: 5/6/2024
British/India/Australia: 6/5/2024

Currency formats:

US: $1,234.56
Europe reverses that, so €1.234,56
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/trip-planning/european-numbers
India: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_numbering_system

That's above and beyond things like Metric conversion which the US largely does not use except in soda bottles. 1, 2 and 3 liter bottles.

Spelling:

In the US, it's "color", in the UK it's "colour". There are LOTS of examples like this.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_and_British_English_spelling_differences

[-] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 3 points 6 months ago

As an American, I flip-flop (unintentionally) between British and American spellings on a number of words.

Unless OP is writing for a published doc, I don't really think it matters all that much.

I've worked with Brits - English, Scot, Irish (and many Indians), and while they may write or pronounce things slightly differently than I'm used to, we understand each other just fine. I even appreciate hearing their construction and phrasing.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

Thank god "aluminum" is the same in print either way. :)

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Avoid confusion in dates by saying May 6, 2024. This is the Canadian way because we had dd/mm/yy, but American influence of mm/dd/yy led to mass confusion. Everyone switched to May 6 to avoid it all.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago
[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

Are you serious? It's spelt out. The other one you can confuse day and month.

[-] jordanlund@lemmy.world 1 points 6 months ago

The order is still different.

[-] someguy3@lemmy.ca 2 points 6 months ago

Not the point I was making.

this post was submitted on 06 May 2024
27 points (100.0% liked)

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