Page 81 - How to write effective business English your guide to excellent professional communication by Fiona Talbot

70 How to Write Effective Business English

use it in unconventional ways. Sometimes it’s because people don’t
realize that UK English differs from the many other variations of
business English that exist. These include US or American English,
Australian English, Caribbean English, Indian English, Singapore
English and South African English. It’s an extensive list. Business
communication is crucial to success. So if people are puzzled by it,
this is bad news. Getting the right messages out and receiving the
right answers are the lifeblood of commercial success. I found it
helped my clients communicate effectively cross-culturally by fol-
lowing some norms of ‘standard’ English. The result? People un-
derstood each other!
So what is ‘standard’ English? I use it to mean the English rou-
tinely described in mainstream English dictionaries and grammar
books. It’s the English used throughout this book, likely to be un-
derstood by all users.
Unless I indicate otherwise, the spelling and grammar used are
the UK English variety requested by my publishers, to follow their
house style. One of the challenges in writing UK English is that
there can be more than one correct way of spelling certain words,
as I’ve mentioned earlier. For example: recognize and recognise,
judgment and judgement, e-mail and email can all be used cor-
rectly in UK English. Some people give explanations for these dif-
ferences that are too simplistic, saying that ‘recognize’ indicates a
US English spelling. But this is only part of the picture – and you
will find more on variant spellings later in the book.
At times I refer to US English as well, where there are clearly
divergent spellings or meanings. But the book won’t address differ-
ences between UK and US English in detail. The important thing is:
know that you need to check.
This takes me to my next point. Whenever we write and what-
ever we write, we must understand the conventions to follow, if we
are to please our target readers. If necessary, explain at the outset
the convention you are following, so you can avoid unfounded or
unnecessary criticism. One thing is sure: if someone can find
grounds for criticizing writing, they will! Be one step ahead and, if
you are asked, understand which variant you’re using and why.