皆さんこんにちは。
ILC国際語学センターです。

John先生のミニレッスン、第3回目は英文Eメールで日本人がよく間違えるポイントについてです。

英語でのEメールは日常茶飯事となりつつありますが、
日本人の方がよく間違えるポイントがいくつか存在します。
今回は、その中の1つについてJohn先生が解説されています。

青い箇所が実際に日本人の方がよく間違えるポイントです。実際に読んでみましょう。

How do I start my email?


Email was born from a union of the traditional paper-based forms of letter writing, for more formal external communication, and memos, for internal communication.
Taking structural elements from both, email writing led the transition of business communication into the digital age.
The salutation is one of the elements taken from letters.

A common trouble spot for Japanese students is when email needs a salutation, especially for more formal situations.
Not personalizing your message to the recipient who you might not know very well makes your e-mail seem cold.
Should we begin with "Dear Mr. Thompson", "Dear John", "Hello John", "Hi John", or just "John"?
Well, that depends on the relationship you have with your recipient.
The examples given above range from formal, first-time contacts, to informal, for casual relationships.

When writing email messages, one common problem for Japanese students is the use of "Mr." or "Ms." with a person`s first name; "Dear Mr. Kenji" as a salutation is incorrect for a man named Kenji Suzuki. "Mr." for a man, or "Ms." for a woman, is used as a title before the last name, surname, of a man or a woman, for example, "Mr. Suzuki" or "Ms. Smith". Other uses include being used as a title when speaking to a man or a woman who has an honored position or office: "Mr. President" or more formally "Madam Chairman" for a woman.

When Japanese speakers refer to an English-speaking foreigner in an informal and friendly way, they often say, "John san" or "Tim san", using the first name plus "san".
Unfortunately, this friendly use of the title "san" after the person`s first name in speaking does not translate well into English writing.
This may be a cause of this common error by Japanese students, in writing English email messages, of using "Mr." or "Ms." plus first name.

To reiterate, in English writing, the use of "Mr." with a man`s first name and the use of "Ms." with a woman`s first name is incorrect and should not be used in formal business communication. "Mr." or "Ms." is used as a title before the last name, surname, of a man or a woman respectively.


次回は12月下旬に更新予定です。

※John先生が開発したグローバルリーダー向け英語プログラムは、様々なビジネスシチュエーションに特化した英語スキルに焦点をあて、論理性と説得力のある英語力を養成します。
詳細はこちらからお問い合わせください。


bana_gllt2

担当教師

sennsei

John Mukts (ILC企業研修主任)

国際的な英語教師資格TESOL取得。数々の企業にてビジネスパーソンやグローバルリーダー向け英語研修を20年以上担当。プレゼンテーション・ミーティングなどのビジネスに焦点をおいたILCオリジナルビジネス英語プログラムGLLT(Global Leadership Language Training)の開発にも従事。ビジネスに直結した指導と、ポイントを明確かつ丁寧に教えるティーチングスタイルは、初級者から上級者まで、幅広い受講層から高い評価を得ている。