Did you know that a person’s email style is often as culturally-specific as their accent?
Some times we come to think of English as a standardized tool that everyone is using for business, travel, pleasure etc. and we forget that it is a living, evolving stylized language. We obviously can see this (rather “hear this”) in the different regional accents all over the world.
There really is no such thing as “American” English. Does that mean the New York accent or the Boston one? The Californian or Texan? Did you realize that even in Canada, a country with a relatively small population (almost 35 million) that we have regional accents? Some newcomers take a while to pick up on this. For example there’s the broken, choppy French-Canadian accent, the tight and enunciated Toronto-business accent, the typical relaxed and casual small-town accent, the native Canadian or Inuit accent, the East coast accents…etc.
When we write emails our choice of vocabulary comes out as well as our attitude. With friends and family this is fine but in business there needs to be a professional tone and word choice – without going over the top with vocabulary from the stock exchange every time! 🙂
This brings me to my final note. Please be aware that the Americans and Canadians typically write short, direct emails in business, and expect the same from you. Do not be offended! It is actually viewed as being polite not to waste other people’s precious time. But remember that the British typically are still writing as they speak – longer drawn out “indirect” speech, so their emails are longer. Often they too think that the North Americans are being rude or lazy, but it’s just a difference of culture!
Until next time, consider your recipient before pressing the “send” button!
So with you defining denotation as the true or ‘dictionary’ meaning of a word. I would suggest that using ‘scheme’ is a confusing example or in fact erroneous.
The dictionary meaning in ALL major publications states that ‘scheme’ is true to both denotations and connotations at a literal definition.
I actually find the definition absurd to mean both. I was wondering if in fact you had any other information on how the definition is to mean both and which was a add on and when?
thx
stv
Thanks Steve for your comment. I believe you meant to comment on a different post, http://www.communicationcoach.ca/blog/the-complexity-and-power-of-words/
I don’t have any additional information about when the definition of the word ‘scheme’ changed or morphed. As you say, we can find both meanings in a dictionary, but it is interesting to note regional preferences for which definition is more widely accepted and used. In my Canadian edition of a Collins English dictionary, the definition for ‘scheme’ is: “n systematic plan; secret plot. v plan in an underhand manner.” So we see both meanings but the focus seems to be on the ‘evil plot’ idea, which as I mentioned in the post, is more common here in Canada and in America too. We can see it written in literature and certainly hear it in film, TV and other pop culture. I grew up here ‘understanding’ that ‘scheme’ had a negative connotation to it, regardless of the ‘other’ definition of ‘systematic plan’ (outside of the word schematics). Thanks again Steve for your comment. 🙂