1. Chapter 8: Written Communication Patterns
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

2. Written Communication Patterns
International English
Writing Tone and Style
Letter Formats
Facsimiles (Fax)
Electronic Mail ( )
Résumé and Job Search Information
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

3. What percent of outgoing international correspondence is sent in English?
97%
1% in French, German, and Spanish
(Percentages for incoming correspondence are similar.)

4. What are lexical errors?
Content errors; errors in meaning
Examples of lexical errors:
We baste (based) this conclusion on our research.
Thank you for your patients (patience).
Our office will be closed on this wholey (holy) day.
With your aide (aid), we will soon have our office fully staffed.
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

5. Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin
The results will be worth the weight (wait).
Since you plan to visit an ant (aunt) in New York, perhaps we could meet at your convenience.
According to the senses (census), the number of exported trucks has declined in the last decade.
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

6. What are syntactic errors?
Errors in the order of the words in a sentence.
Native speakers of a language will discover syntactic errors in a sentence more readily than lexical errors.
In Spanish, the noun is given first, then adjectives follow. Example: Paseo del Rio (River Walk)
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

7. DeVries, Internationally Yours
Know Your Reader
Despite all the trade between the U.S. and the Far East, Americans fail to study even common Asian customs and business practices.
Consider one of the most popular words in the English language - you. U.S. people try to personalize writing by taking the “you approach.” But in some other countries, such as Japan, people don’t like this personal touch. They believe that writers should refer to their company: “Would your company be interested in this plan?” Not: “Would you be interested in this plan?”
DeVries, Internationally Yours

8. International English
Use the 3,000 to 4,000 most common English words. Uncommon words, such as onus for burden and flux for continual change, should be avoided.
Use only the most common meaning of words. The word high has 20 meanings; the word expensive has one.
Choose words with singular rather than multiple meanings.
Riddle & Lanham

9. Select action-specific verbs and words with few or similar alternate meanings. Use cook breakfast rather than make breakfast; use take a taxi rather than get a taxi.
Avoid redundancies (interoffice memorandum), sports terms (ballpark figure), and words that draw mental pictures (red tape).
Riddle & Lanham

10. Avoid using words in other than their most common way, such as making verbs out of nouns (impacting the economy and faxing a message).
Be aware of words that have a unique meaning in some cultures; the word check outside the U.S. generally means a financial instrument and is often spelled cheque.
Riddle & Lanham

11. - e.g., theatre/theater, colour/color, and judgement/judgment.
Be aware of alternate spellings in countries that use the same language
- e.g., theatre/theater, colour/color, and judgement/judgment.
Avoid creating or using new words; avoid slang.
Avoid two-word verbs, such as to pick up; use lift.
Riddle & Lanham

12. Use formal tone and maximum punctuation to assure clarity; do not use first names in letter salutations.
Conform carefully to rules of grammar; be careful of dangling participles and incomplete sentences.
Use more short, simple sentences than you would ordinarily use; avoid compound sentences.
Riddle & Lanham

13. Clarify the meaning of words with more than one meaning.
Adapt the tone of the letter to the reader if the cultural background is known
- e.g., use unconditional apologies if that is expected in the reader’s culture.
Capture the flavor of the language when writing to someone whose cultural background you know.
Riddle & Lanham

14. Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin
Remember also:
Avoid acronyms (ASAP), emoticons (), and “shorthand” (4 representing for).
Numbers are written differently in some countries
- e.g.: 3,000 may be written as or 3000.
Intercultural Business Communication, 3rd ed., Chaney & Martin

15. Tone and Writing Style
Tone and writing style are more formal and traditional in other countries than in U.S. companies.
Good news messages in the U.S. use the direct approach.
In the U.S. bad news messages use the indirect approach.
Latin Americans avoid bad news completely.

16. In the U.S.:
End negative letters on a positive note.
Avoid apologies.
In France:
Use formal beginnings and endings; endings tend to be flowery.
Apologize for mistakes and express regret for any inconvenience caused.
In Japan:
Begin letters with a comment on the season.
Present negative news in a positive manner.

17. Letter Formats
Preferred styles in the U.S. are Blocked and Modified Blocked with standard or open punctuation.
The French use the indented style; they place the name of the originating city before the date.
Format of the inside address varies. In the U.S. the title and full name are placed on the first line, while in Germany the title (Herr) is on the first line and the full name on the second line.

18. The street name comes after the number in the U. S
The street name comes after the number in the U.S. but before the street number in Germany, Mexico, and South America.
Dates are written differently also. In the U.S. dates are written month/day/year (May 5, 2---); in other cultures, they may use the 5th of May, 2--- or 5 May 2---.

19. Salutations and closings are more formal in many other countries.
Salutations for German letters would be the English equivalent of Very Honored Mrs. Jones; complimentary closings would often be the English equivalent of Very respectfully yours.
The Japanese have a traditional format:
Begins with salutation followed by comment about season/weather
A remark about a gift, kindness, or patronage
Closes with best wishes for receiver's health or prosperity.

20. Examples of Japanese Seasonal Greetings
March:
- Spring has just begun, but the cold winds of winter are still with us.
June:
- Rice paddy fields are ready to be planted.
August:
- Indian summer is still around this week.
November:
- The tree on the boulevard is bare of leaves.
Tsuji

21. How an address is written shows the relationship:
In Asian cultures, the family is the basic unit and society as a whole is the larger family:
JAPAN, Tokyo
Hachioji-shi
Shimoyuki
47-25 Nanyodai
Nakamura, Yoko
In the West, the individual is most important and the self is the key:
Mr. John R. Smith
2350 Walnut Road
Memphis, TN 38152
U.S.A.

22. Facsimiles (FAX)
Fax may be more dependable than the mail in many cultures.
Fax would be written as you would write a letter.
Use a transmittal sheet so the operator knows to whom the FAX is directed, the sender, and the total number of pages.

23. Exercises
Modify a bad-news letter so it will be effective for a reader who is Japanese, French, Spanish, or German.
Write a letter in English to someone who speaks English as a second language following the International English Guidelines.

24. Electronic Mail (E-Mail)
Use a memorandum format; no inside address.
Observe proper courtesy
E.g.: Address the receiver by name in the opening sentence.
Keep messages concise and brief (maximum of two screens).

26. Format for E-Mail Headings Salutation The Message Complimentary Close
XX: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
XXXX: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
XXXXXXX: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
XX:
XXX:
XXXXXXXX:
xxxxxxxxxxxx:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Headings
Salutation
The
Message
Like memos, messages also have a heading. The particulars of the heading depend on the program you use, but most include To, From, and Subject information, at the very least. The heading information is brief; the To and From lines sometimes show no names or titles, just addresses. The heading also often includes information about copies and attachments. The date is automatically inserted into the document by the program.
For messages, a salutation is optional; however, using a greeting is highly recommended. After the salutation comes the message, followed by the complimentary closing and the typed name of the sender. Because the information in the header is often extremely brief, you may want to include contact information after your name, especially if the is going outside the company.
Complimentary
Close
Signature
Block

27. Résumé and Job Search Information
In the U.S., a 1- to 2-page résumé is preferred
Includes personal information, job objective, educational background, work experience, references, and cover letter. Excludes age, religion, gender, marital status, or a photo.
In Germany, résumés are pages
Includes: copies of diplomas, photo, employment verification, names of parents, family, religious affiliation, financial obligations, and professional activities.

28. In England, the résumé is 1 or 2 pages
In France, the résumé includes: a cover letter, photograph, family information, age, hobbies and foreign language expertise.
Age discrimination is common and legal.
Résumés in China contain personal information: age, gender, and marital status.
In England, the résumé is 1 or 2 pages
Excludes photo, family information, military service, or any other personal information.

29. In Spain, the résumé is 2 pages in letter form
Includes: chronology of experience, military service, education, family information, professions of parents, clubs, and professional objective; picture is acceptable.

30. Exercises
Prepare a resume to be sent to a multinational company applying for an overseas assignment in a country of your choice.

31. True or False?
Native speakers of a language will discover lexical errors more easily than syntactic errors.
The writing style of U.S. letters is more formal than that of most foreign correspondents.
The use of a buffer in bad-news messages is typical of the writing style of Latin Americans.

32. The Japanese try to present negative news in a positive manner.
Ending messages on a positive note is important in both U.S. and French letters.
The indented letter style for business letters is used by the French.
Salutations of German letters are more formal than in the U.S.

33. The Japanese traditionally begin letters with comments about the season or weather.
Résumés submitted to a German firm would typically be longer than those submitted to a U.S. firm.
Spanish résumés are typically in letter form.