spanish business correspondence

[...]... Opening poste restante Retención de correspondencia en lista 199 Business Correspondence Spanish commercial correspondence general notes The business letter in Spanish is subject to certain conventions in respect of its layout, its language register and its contents There are also differences between practice in Spain and in the many Spanish- speaking countries of Latin America Apart from a tendency... capitals Spelling is relatively easy in Spanish as the language is phonetic Thus, although the appropriate register/tone for commercial correspondence requires careful cultivation, imitating the style of authentic sources is a sensible way of achieving the impersonal, courteous (and frequently euphemistic) mode of expression characteristic of most Spanish business correspondence Closing lines Just as... There are several other, more official, titles available in Spanish (e.g Presidente, Doctora, Excelencia), but these of course are used only in very specific contexts Note also that after the opening salutation in Spanish a colon, as opposed to the English comma, is used (e.g Estimada Sra Ruiz:) Style The format of most business letters in Spanish is now blocked to the left, with the opening paragraph... Spain vosotros (plural of tú: informal) is also used, informally Tú and vosotros would not be used in commercial correspondence 6 Conditional tense followed by imperfect subjunctive: a complex verb structure typical of Spanish commercial correspondence 7 CIF: English abbreviation used in Spanish, whose equivalent is coste (‘cost’), seguro (‘insurance’), flete (‘freight’) 8 One of several ways to say... subjunctive mood is very widespread in business correspondence; a more abstract and perhaps lengthier item of vocabulary will appear even where there is a quite acceptable alternative Sentence structure can therefore sometimes be lengthy and dense, conveying at best a necessary gravity or respect for detail, and at worst pomposity or obscurity Equally, there are business letters that reduce their message... there is naturally an American influence in commercial correspondence and it should be noted that there are minor variations in practice between individual countries However, by observing what is current practice in Spain (and here too there is an increasing flexibility due to influence from EU nations and the USA), writers and readers of business correspondence should not experience difficulty in dealing... experience difficulty in dealing with Latin American contacts Style of letter-writing First, it must be said that spoken registers rarely appear in such correspondence, as is also the case elsewhere in the world; second, the phenomenon of ‘formality’ in Spanish- language expression is established primarily via the use of usted/ ustedes (as opposed to tú/vosotros) and thereafter by the use of certain syntactic... here in parallel text are not a word-for-word translation of each other Due to obvious differences in letter-writing style in Spain (and Latin America) and the business vocabulary used, it is only possible to offer an approximate version of the Spanish letter in the English text particularly in respect of names, figures, etc 1 Enquiry about a product 4 January 199– Augustin SA Z.I de I’Empereur F-19200... body of the letter Capital letters are not as commonly used in Spanish as in English; their use in certain abbreviations (e.g Vd., Sra) has already been noted, and they appear also where a specific person, rather than just a role or title, is alluded to (e.g el Presidente, el Jefe de Ventas, la Directora) However, as a sign of courtesy in a business letter, certain positions like those above may be accorded... equivalent activity 3 A paraphrase in Spanish for enhanced authenticity of expression 4 Alternative, for most general use: aspirante 5 Common abbreviation of atentamente 5 Enquiry asking for a specific quote 2 April 199– Sales Manager OFFICE 2000 89–91 Scott Road Olton Solihull West Midlands B92 7RZ Dear Sir/Madam RE: LASER PHOTOCOPIER PR3000 We have been in correspondence with your company over the . class="bi x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" SPANISH BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE In the same series French Business Correspondence Stuart Williams and Nathalie McAndrew-Cazorla German Business Correspondence Paul Hartley. Data Gorman, Michael, 1944– Spanish business correspondence/ Michael Gorman and María-Luisa Henson. p. cm.—(Languages for business) English and Spanish. 1. Commercial correspondence, Spanish. I.Henson,. restante 199 Retención de correspondencia en lista x Business Correspondence Spanish commercial correspondence general notes The business letter in Spanish is subject to certain conventions in respect