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• Stress the longevity of your company when dealing with the Germans, Dutch, and Swiss. If your company has been around for a while, the founding date should be printed on your business cards.
These are just a few examples of the variations in customs that make intercultural business so interesting.
HANDLING WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Intercultural business writing falls into the same general categories as other forms of business writing. How you handle these categories depends on the subject and purpose of your message, the relationship between you and the reader, and the customs of the person to whom the message is addressed.
Letters
Letters are the most common form of intercultural business correspondence. They serve the same purposes and follow the same basic organizational plans (direct and indirect) as letters you would send within your own country. Unless you are personally fluent in the language of the intended readers, you should ordinarily write your letters in English or have them translated by a professional translator. If you and the reader speak different languages, be especially concerned with achieving clarity:
• Use short, precise words that say exactly what you mean.
• Rely on specific terms to explain your points. Avoid abstractions altogether, or illustrate them with concrete examples.
• Stay away from slang, jargon, and buzz words. Such words rarely translate well. Nor do idioms and figurative expressions. Abbreviations, tscfo-nyms (such as NOKAI) and CAD/CAM), and North American product names may also lead to confusion.
• Construct sentences that are shorter and simpler than those you might use when writing to someone fluent in English.
• Use short paragraphs. Each paragraph should stick to one topic and be no more than eight to ten lines.
• Help readers follow your train of thought by using transitional devices. Precede related points with expressions like in addition and first, second, third.
• Use numbers, visual aids, and pre-printed forms to clarify your message. These devices are generally understood in most cultures.
Your word choice should also reflect the relationship between you and the reader. In general, be somewhat more formal than you would be in writing to people in your own culture. In many other cultures, people use a more elaborate, old-fashioned style, and you should gear your letters to their expectations. However, do not carry formality to extremes, or you will sound unnatural.
In terms of format, the two most common approaches for intercultural business letters are the block style (with blocked paragraphs) and the modified block style (with indented paragraphs). You may use either the American format for dates (with the month, day, and year, in that order) or the European style (with the day before the month and year). For the salutation, use Dear (Title/Last Name). Close the letter with Sincerely or Sincerely yours, and sign it personally.
If you correspond frequently with people in foreign countries, your letterhead should include the name of your country and cable or telex information. Send your letters by air mail, and ask that responses be sent that way as well.
Check the postage too; rates for sending mail to most other countries are not the same as rates for sending it within your own.
In the letters you receive, you will notice that people in other countries use different techniques for their correspondence. If you are aware of some of these practices, you will be able to concentrate on the message without passing judgement on the writers. Their approaches are not good or bad, just different.
The Japanese, for example, are slow to come to the point. Their letters typically begin with a remark about the season or weather. This is followed by an inquiry about your health or congratulations on your prosperity. A note of thanks for your patronage might come next. After these preliminaries, the main idea is introduced. If the letter contains bad news, the Japanese begin not with a buffer, but with apologies for disappointing you.
Реферат опубликован: 15/07/2009