Communication is important in business, and when it comes to formal communication, business mail is the most important part. Due to the recent Corona 19, a lot of business communication is also taking place through email. It is essential to write a formal e-mail for not only those in charge of global business who are in business with overseas companies or overseas companies but also job seekers who want to work for overseas companies or students who are preparing to study abroad.
Knowing how to write formal emails to business colleagues and accounts, customers, and others enable companies and individuals to express themselves accurately and professionally through email.
Business documents written in English are not easy even for native speakers because not only the format but also the vocabulary used with the same meaning is different depending on the purpose of use.
Business mails are shorter in length than other business documents (contracts, manuals, etc.), but are very sensitive to format and terminology. When translating business mail in Korean, it’s not just a literal translation, it’s an important and very difficult task to fit into the format required by English.
Today, we will be the first of these diverse business documents to look at the English form and expression used in business letters.
We recommend that each section of the email start with the recipient’s information and be properly formatted
[1] Dear Mr./Mrs./Miss (Family Name): to (if you know the other party’s name)
The body of the business mail begins with a salutation calling the recipient. If the recipient is male, Mr., if female, Mrs. Write down your family name with (married) or Miss (unmarried). If the recipient is a person named James Carter from the parent company,’ Dear Mr. You can write’Carter’. It is important that’To~’, which is commonly known as’, is not used.
[2] To whom it may concern: to (if you do not know the name of the other party)
In Korean business mail, if you do not know the recipient or if a specific person is not specified, you may write to the person in charge’. The same expression exists in English, which is to whom it may concern’. It should be borne in mind that literally, it means to the person involved in this job’, and it is used as it is,’always, unconditionally’ without a modified form.
[3] I am writing to you concerning~: I am writing about
At the end of the greeting, the first sentence of the new paragraph should state the purpose of writing this letter. English writing takes the form of braces in front of the subject line, which is the same for emails. You can ask, ‘Why not with I am writing about~?’, but English sentences are informal as indirect expressions. The more direct word concerning’ is used instead of about’ in this sentence as well.
[4] I would like to express (utmost) gratitude for~:
If the content of the business mail is an expression of appreciation to the other party (individual or company), the first sentence of the body may start with the above sentence instead of sentence [3]. ‘Gratitude’ used in this expression is a formal expression that means thank you’, and if the degree of gratitude is large, the adjective utmost is used well in front of it. We recommend avoiding’Thank you for~’, which is used informally among close people.
[5] Attached/Enclosed is(are)~: The attached/enclosed document is ~.
When writing general letters or e-mails, supplementary materials may be attached together. E-mails are attachments, and regular letters can be viewed directly as materials other than the letter contained in the envelope, but it is the basic etiquette for business letters to inform them that the attached (or enclosed) document is present. For e-mail attachments, write’Attached is OOO’, for mail enclosed documents, white enclosed is OOO’ at the end of the letter, and do not write the attach/enclosed document’ long in accordance with the grammar. It is important to note that if more than one document is attached or enclosed, replace is with are.
So far, we have seen the main expressions used in business mail. A business letter that is short, but has a lot of destiny. It’s not easy to get used to at first, but in English cultures where formality is important, knowing it can be a big help. In the next part, we will introduce expressions used in different genres of translation. Thank you.
