職場で使える英語表現を毎週ご紹介するシリーズ
Weekly Workplace Word Wisdom(W.W.W.W.)
第41回の本日は
メール文面のチェックを依頼する時に使える英語表現
「When asking someone to look over an email document before sending it」を
Curtis講師がご紹介いたします。
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When asking someone to look over an email document before sending it
When we only communicate with another person through e-mail, our e-mails help create an image of us within the mind of the other person. That is, what that person knows of us is based on what they read in our e-mails. For this reason, it is important that our e-mails are easy to understand and free of mistakes. However, even native English speakers have discovered that although they have double- and triple-checked their own writing, mistakes have slipped through to the final draft.
We talk about “a second set of eyes”, which means that we ask a second person to look at our e-mails for us to check for errors that we’ve missed. Or, to look with “a fresh pair of eyes”. For a non-native English speaker, having someone else look at our e-mails means that they can also correct grammatical errors and to check for understandability.
“Look over this e-mail” is a casual form of “please check this e-mail for me”. When we look over something, we’re not just checking for typing or grammar errors - we’re also checking whether the e-mail is understandable or if the e-mail contains information we don’t want to give to the customer.
Curtis: “Hey, Robert, can you look over this e-mail for me before I send it?”
Robert: “Curtis, I looked over your e-mail. You had 3 spelling errors, and I don’t think you should include the sales figures, since we don’t want to release that information yet.”
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“Can you check this e-mail” or “can you check this” has the same meaning as “look over this e-mail”, in that it is a request to check for typing and grammatical errors. There is also an implied request to check whether the e-mail is clear and easy to understand.
Curtis: “Robert, I’ve been staring at this e-mail for an hour now. I need a fresh pair of eyes. Can you check this for me?”
Robert: “Curtis, I checked your e-mail, and it’s pretty straight-forward. It’s good to send as it is.”
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“Proof” is a shortened form of “proofread”, which is a simple request to check for spelling and grammatical errors. It does not include a request to check the readability or content of the e-mail.
Curtis: “Robert, can you proof this e-mail for me?”
Robert: “Curtis, I finished proofing your e-mail. I made the corrections and sent it back to you.”
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＜本日の単語＞
understandability 【名】分かりやすさ
sales figures 売上高、販売数量
implied 【形】暗黙の、言外の、それとはなしの
proofread 【動】校正する
＜本日のイディオム＞
look over ～にザッと［一通り］目を通す、～を一読［通覧・検分・校閲]する
be free of ～がない
slip through ～からスルリと逃げる、通過する、～を擦り抜ける、～をくぐり抜ける
as it is そのままに ◆【用法】文中、文末で
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大前学長もOne Point Lesson内で
メール等を送る前に必ずスペルチェックをするように
説いています。
さらに、メールに記載されている内容が適切か、
相手に分かりやすい構成になっているか
必要な情報は全て含まれているのか
特に母国語ではない言語、たとえば英語で書く場合などには
言葉の選び方は適切か、ニュアンス的に失礼ではないか、
スペルチェックにひっかからなかった
ミススペルが無いかどうか、
そういった点を “a second set of eyes”に
確認してもらえれば心強いですね。
Curtis講師に習った英語表現を覚え、
同僚や友人にメールチェックを依頼してみましょう！
事務局・山口