Introduction
Welcome to our holiday edition of the Language Lab newsletter. We appreciate the feedback we’ve been receiving. It helps us know the kinds of things you are interested in and how we can better serve you. We look forward to your responses. So keep them coming! Enjoy your holiday weekend.
Sandra
How would you feel if you meant to email the following message to a friend, but instead (in error) sent it to an international group of professionals working in your field? This actually happened to a woman who belongs to a “listserv” group that I regularly read. Her message went something like this (names and details changed to protect the guilty):
“Hi Jane,
How about July 17th for our annual bbq? My husband away on the 24th weekend, and his ex is being awful so I’ve got his kids AND mine. (Major tensions there, will tell you about that in person.) Anyway, let me know if the 17th works for you, since I know you have your own family ‘issues’ on weekends. Oh, and did you ever find out what that rash is?
ox, Ann.”
Poor Ann, she must have been mortified when she realized she’d sent a personal email to the entire group. Of course, she is not alone in having clicked send in error. Most of us have experienced that sinking feeling when we realized that there was something wrong with the content of an email message, or the person to whom we sent it.
Ann’s “trigger finger” on the send button is a perfect, real-life example of how easy it is to make mistakes with email. It’s such a powerful communication tool, but some of the very things that make it so great – speed and immediacy – are also reasons it’s so easy to misuse.
The incident prompted me to come up with what I think of as The Golden Rule of Email: Think Twice Before Hitting Send! It also prompted me to come up with my second Golden Rule (if we are allowed to have more than one): Phone Instead.
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$90 off during the 90 days of summer
Take advantage of our summer special starting July 1st.
Whether you’re working away from the office or on site, here’s a chance to sharpen your email writing skills with our Emails that Work program. Until September 22nd, save $90 on our best selling online writing course.
In addition, for every 10 people from your organization who sign up, 1 person may take the course for free!
Last night I was walking through my neighbourhood and passed a fruit and vegetable store. They had a sign out front advertising a real bargain: “Cherry Special, $3.49 a pound.”
For a moment I amused myself by imagining they were selling a giant cherry. But of course it was just a case of someone not understanding the difference between singular and plural; what they meant was “cherries,” plural, not “cherry,” singular.
It made me think, not for the first time, how confusing the English language can be. And not just for non-native English speakers. All of us can find ourselves struggling to understand aspects of this tricky language.
There’s a poem circulating on the internet called “English Is A Confusing Language” that sums it up perfectly – this is just an excerpt:
“We’ll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.
You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.”
So funny, so true. There are areas of the English language that simply are not logical. So how do you make sense of English, and use the correct words in your writing? Here’s the bitter pill we all must swallow: sometimes you just have to memorize.
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Business Writing Tips
When do I use its and it's?
It's with an apostrophe means it is (or, a little less often and a little less formally, it has).
It’s best to do your research before developing an outline for your report.
Its without an apostrophe is a possessive pronoun that means belonging to it.
My old computer is on its last leg.
To determine which one to use, simply substitute "it is." If it works, "it's" is correct; if not, then use "its."
When do I use who and whom?
To choose correctly among the forms of who, re-phrase the sentence so you choose between he and him. If you want him, write whom; if you want he, write who.
- Who do you think is responsible? (Do you think he is responsible?)
- Whom shall we ask to be our legal advisor? (Shall we ask him to be our legal advisor?)
Business Communication Resources
I always am on the lookout for good resources on business communication and here are three I’d like to recommend. Whether its that new job you‘re after or entrance into that college program you’ve being thinking about for the past two years, these books are a good resource for writing that letter of application. They also provide instruction and advice regarding different forms of business communication.
The Brief Penguin Handbook, Second Canadian Edition by Faigley, Graves & Graves, (2011)
This book covers writing for different purposes. In addition to the material found in the first edition, this updated version provides information on using database and Web sources, a new visual five-step guide to the documentation process, and updated and expanded documentation coverage.
Business Communication Essentials Second Canadian Edition by Bovee, Thill a& Scribner (2011)
This new edition offers extensive information on how to effectively write different forms of business communication such as memos, emails, letters, reports, instant messages, etc. It also covers topics such as interviewing for employment and how to follow up after an interview. It also gives you access to tools to build your language skills.
Business Communication Contexts and Controversies by Hanson, L. & Hammond, D. (2011)
Also focuses on writing different forms of business communication. It also offers information on writing business plans, networking and interpersonal communication. Surely a great book to help you achieve success in the business world.
Life Literacy Radio
After launching the debut episode of Life Literacy Radio, ABC Life Literacy Canada is pleased to announce that episode two is now available! This episode takes a look at digital literacy - what it is, why it's important and how we can embrace it. Listen now! If you missed out on episode one, you can still
listen to it here.
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