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other than their website is compulso-ry. It is a must if you want to keep up with your competitors. And many of the smaller enterprises are following. Even small restaurants and handicraft businesses with local interest only have a Facebook website as an extension to their company website.
Die Macht des KundenThis development is owed to the customers. They want to compare offers, services and prices without having to visit or personally call the company. In direct facetoface contact they would have to explain, make up their minds instantly
and possibly refuse to buy an item which they find is too expensive or does not suit their needs for some reason.
Facetoface negotiation requires effort and self-confidence. It is much easier, quicker and less individually challenging to do such research in private or anonymously on the internet.
Down to Business
Selfies & Co. – Kinder einer neuen KommunikationskulturEs gibt Kritiker, die dem Internet und dort sozialen Netzwerken und anderen Kommunikationsformen wie Blogs grundsätzlich jeglichen kulturellen An-spruch absprechen. Fakt ist jedoch, dass diese Plattformen immer beliebter werden, auch für Unternehmen. Was ist also zu tun? Mitmachen oder ableh-nen?
Selbst ist die Frau,
liebe Leserin, lieber Leser,das gilt nicht nur für die verantwor-tungsvollen Aufgaben im Office, son-dern auch für die kleinen Selbstdar-stellungen, die wie so vieles andere einer neuen, ganz eigenen Terminolo-gie folgen, wie sie nur eine so vielfälti-ge Community wie das weltweite Netz hervorbringen kann.Um Globalisierung geht es auch in unseren Beiträgen um Berufsbezeich-nungen und um Geschäftspartner, die aus visumspflichtigen Ländern zu uns kommen. Auf beiden Gebieten gibt es einiges zu lernen. Aber mit unseren Tipps und Tools packen Sie das ganz selbstverständlich.Damit nicht nur Ihr interkultureller Werkzeugkoffer Nachschub erhält, sondern auch Ihr sprachliches Schatz-kästchen, gibt es auch einige Gram-matikthemen. Auch für selbstständige Frauen bleibt es spannend!
EDITORIAL
1 Down to BusinessSelfies & Co. – Kinder einer neuen Kommunikationskultur
3 PO BoxKollegen aus visumspflichtigen Ländern rechtssicher einladen
4 You can say you to meTest your knowledge: Kennen Sie die Berufsbezeichnungen?
5 Speaker´s CornerFrage- und Kommentaranhängsel gekonnt einsetzen
6 Advanced Learner´s CornerTest your knowledge: If-Clauses
7 If in doubt – cut it outDas Komma bei „but” und „too” (Teil 2)
INHALT
1
Maureen Brown ist in London aufgewachsen. Sie hat viele Jahre als Assistentin und Sekretärin im Management eines Unternehmens gearbeitet. Heute ist sie für eine Bezirksregierung in England aktiv.
Ulrike Rudolph war nach dem Amerikanistikstudium lange in den USA und ist heute in der Erwachsenenbildung, Bereich Fremdsprachen, tätig. Sie ist Fachbuchautorin für Kommunikationsthemen und schreibt englische Lernkrimis.
Professionelles Know-how & mehr Kompetenz für Assistenz und Sekretariat
English@work71703
03/2014 März
Maureen Brown (GB) Ulrike Rudolph (USA)
Kostenfrei! Nutzen Sie Ihren Login auf www.english-work.com ABenutzername: englishAPasswort März: bildung14 Heftarchiv, Arbeitshilfen und vieles mehr!
Gleich vorweg sei gesagt, dass wir das natürlich nicht für Sie und Ihr Unternehmen entscheiden können oder wol
len. Was wir aber tun können, ist, Ihnen Hintergrundwissen liefern, damit Sie sich eine Meinung bilden und zur Meinungsbildung in der Firma beitra-gen können. Falls das Mitmachen in Social Networks nicht längst beschlossene Sache ist.
Die Macht der schnellen Kommu-nikationFor many international companies, taking part in additional internet contact
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Soziale Plattformen und ihre Terminologie“Selfie” is a word belonging to this area. And it is worth mentioning because the most renowned British dictionary, the “Oxford English Dictionary”, which can be compared with the German “Duden”, elected it “word of the year 2013”. So it is a famous word.
We have put together some other words from social networks. Can you translate or explain them?
Exercise: Begriffe definierenPlease translate or explain the following words:1. Selfie
_______________________________
_______________________________
2. Tweet
_______________________________
_______________________________
3. Blogosphere
_______________________________
_______________________________
4. RSS
_______________________________
_______________________________
5. Follower
_______________________________
_______________________________
6. UnfriendFinder
_______________________________
_______________________________
7. Feed
_______________________________
_______________________________
Answer key on page 8
With this exercise you have gained or tested some background knowledge concerning the language used, but this doesn’t help you in making a decision on whether or not to take part in this kind of communication. So let’s dig a bit deeper into the subject.
Entscheidungskriterium VerbreitungHere are some interesting figures for you. They were published in March 2013 in “TrendMonitor Social Media” by IDG Business Media GMbH.
Fimenpräsenz für KundenNearly 80 % of the German partici-pants interviewed for the study said they saw their company’s presence on social network platforms as an obligation. And the number one platform they use is still Facebook.
Xing is number two, but number one when it comes to hiring staff (nearly 3/4 of the participants use this B2B platform for HR). The international B2B platform LinkedIn comes second.
Youtube follows with 47.1 % and Twitter with 42.5 %.
Gründe für die InternetpräsenzMany of the companies that took part in the study said the main reason for their internet presence was to reach re-cent (76.5 %) and potential customers (73 %). More than half of the participants, that is 51.8 %, stated that they recruited staff members on platforms like Xing or Facebook.
So obviously the participation of modern companies on the internet market place is attractive as huge groups of people can be reached almost instantaneously and with very little effort – compared to writing letters to customers or advertising.
It surely depends on the size of your company, on the target group and on whether your company employs specialists who can easily handle social media as to whether or not your company uses social networks. But in the long run it will come to even the smallest com-panies.
No matter whether your company uses a social network or not, with your newly learned vocabulary you can take part in any discussion about the matter.
PO BoxLocker vom Hocker? Stilsicher in E-Mails
Speaker´s CornerEgo-Marketing: So punkten Sie im Zielvereinbarungsgespräch
You can say you to meTest your knowledge
If in doubt –cut it outPrepositions of Distance and Direction
VORSC
HAU
Diese 3 Kongresstage habenSie sich mehr als verdient!
Harmonie statt Hektik im Büro – so geht es!
www.assistentinnentag.de
35. Deutscher Assistentinnen-Tag
Sei dabei!
Gleich online gehen und Kongressbroschüre anfordern.
Rufen Sie Ihre Kongress-Managerin Anke Strauss unverbindlich an unter 0 82 71.61 41 oder per E-Mail: [email protected]
Gleich
anmelden!
Begrenzte
Teilnehmerzahl
21.–23. Mai 2014 in München
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JokeboxConvenient Invitation
Ms Miller was reading a letter at break-fast. Suddenly she looked up suspi-ciously at her husband.„Peter,“ she said, „my mother’s letter say-ing she isn‘t accepting our invitation to come and stay, as we do not appear to want her. What does she mean by that? I told you to write and say that she was to come at her own convenience. You did write, didn‘t you?“„Well, yes, I did,“ the husband replies. „But I couldn‘t spell ‚convenience,‘ so I made it ‚risk.‘“
POBox
Kollegen aus visumspflichtigen Ländern rechtssicher einladenIn Zeiten der Globalisierung wird es immer üblicher, grenzüberschreitende Praktika zu machen oder auch nur ein paar Monate in ein Tochterunterneh-men im fernen Ausland hineinzuschnuppern. Durch „Learning by Doing” las-sen sich so kulturelle Unterschiede hautnah erleben und erlernen. Doch man muss natürlich wissen, wie man die Praktikanten rechtssicher nach Deutsch-land bringt.
Vocabulary Box
be owed to s.b. – jmdm. geschuldet seindig deep into – tiefer in etwas einsteigen
employ – beschäftigenhandicraft business – Handwerksbetriebhire – anwerbenin the long run – auf lange Sicht
require – erfordernsee s.th. as o.’s – etwas als seine obligation Pflicht betrachtensubject line – Betreffzeile
Das klingt kompliziert, und das ist es auch, zumindest für Besucher aus visumspflichtigen Ländern. Das sind ziemlich
viele, wie Sie auf der Staatenliste für die Visumspflicht des Auswärtigen Amtes im Internet feststellen können.
Und natürlich gilt die Visumspflicht nicht nur für Mitarbeiterinnen und Mitarbeiter aus
Ihren eigenen Tochterunternehmen, sondern für alle Besucher aus solchen Ländern.
Die visumsfreien LändernUnsere direkten Nachbarn, alle EU-Staaten, fallen nicht unter die Visumspflicht. Für etliche andere Länder hat die Europäische Gemeinschaft die Visumspflicht aufgehoben, sofern die Besucher nicht länger als 90 Tage im Halbjahr hier verweilen.
Sie möchten mehr über die einzelnen Länder erfahren? Zwei Sonderausgaben zum Thema
„Interkulturelles Lexikon“ finden Sie in den Ausgaben 4 und 8/2012. Diese finden Sie auf www.englishwork.com im Heftarchiv oder über die Suchfunktion; geben Sie hierzu das Stichwort „Inter-kulturelles Lexikon“ in das Suchfeld ein. Für Sie als Abonnentin ist die Nutzung des Onlinebereichs selbstverständlich kostenlos. Ihre Zugangs daten finden Sie stets auf S. 1 der aktuellen Ausgabe.
Ihre Aufgabe bei VisumspflichtIf your visitor comes from a state which requires a visa (such as India, South Africa or Russia), you have to move into action.
Antrag stellenWho is responsible for the visa? The German Embassy or Consulate General where your company’s guest lives. He has to apply for the visa himself.
And it’s at this point when it could get tricky, as the visitor has to supply evidence that his visit to Germany is appropriately financed. And that is really complicated.
But there is an easy way out of this dilemma: A letter of invitation from your company.
Einladungsschreiben als AbsicherungIf the visitor possesses an official invitation letter when he applies for the visa, the embassy can check through the German IHK that your company exists and is able to finance the visitor if necessary.
The costs which might occur during a visit include medical treatment, ad-mittance to hospital and in the worst case the repatriation of the visitor to his home country.
Rechtzeitig handelnWhat you as the responsible person can do is get busy the moment you learn that a guest is coming and will need an invitation letter. The longer the stay the earlier you have to send the invitation as the process time of getting the visa may take from ten days for a short stay up to several months for something longer.
So inform your visitor that he has to ask for the visa himself and send him your company’s invitation letter.
Bestandteile der EinladungAnd this is the information that has to be included in the invitation:1. German embassy or consulate address2. Subject line: VisaErteilung, Einla
dung3. Name and details of the visitor’s com
pany
Quote„If you want total security, go to
prison. There you‘re fed, clothed, given medical care and so on. The only thing lacking ... is freedom.“
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Quote„Knowledge is power. Informati-
on is liberating. Education is the premi-se of progress, in every society, in eve-ry family.“ Kofi Annan
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Denn nur wenn Sie die genaue Bezeichnung Ihres Gegenübers kennen, können Sie entspannt kommunizie-
ren.
Das Who is Who der klassischen BerufsbezeichnungenWeil uns Vokabelkenntnisse Sicherheit im Umgang mit Geschäftspartnern bringen, besonders, wenn sie aus dem Ausland kommen, und weil spieleri-sches Lernen mehr Spaß macht, haben wir hier für Sie ein kleines Quiz: das Who is Who Ihrer potentiellen englischen und amerikanischen Ansprechpartner.
AuswertungAnd how did it go? Did you succeed? Very good! In case you couldn’t work out every single title, don’t be frustrated.
This exercise is not easy because in many cases companies have their own terminol-
ogy. You just have to learn the correct term for each new business partner.
But the titles in this exercise can be kind of a guideline for you and they can help to identify the position of the person you have to write or talk to.
Ihre HintergrundinformationPlease fill in the correct terms into the table on the left hand side.
You can say you to me
Test your knowledge: Kennen Sie die Berufsbezeichnungen?Falsche Freunde bei Berufsbezeichnungen sind peinlich. Der Chef des Un-ternehmens ist nicht „the chef“. Das ist der Küchenchef. Fehlgriffe in Berufs-bezeichnungen sind genauso schädlich wie falsche Namen. Daher schauen wir uns hier gängige Berufsbezeichnungen einmal genauer an.
Exercise: Berufsbezeichnungen
Nicht immer gibt es eine englische und eine amerikanische Variante für Berufs-bezeichnungen, gelegentlich aber schon. Wenn Sie glauben, dass das Wort für beide Länder gilt, schreiben Sie es einfach in beide Felder. Gemeint sind übrigens immer beide Geschlechter. Ready? Let’s go!
Deutsch British English American English
Empfangsmitarbeiter
Kollege
Vertreter
Geschäftsführer
Chef
Stiller Teilhaber
Projektleiter
Firma
Hauptgeschäftsführer
Mitarbeiter
Filial-/Abteilungsleiter
leitender Geschäftsführer
Leiter der Rechtsabtei-lung
Berater, Gutachter
Answer key on page 8
4. Name and all relevant personal details of the invited person
5. Duration of the stay (with arrival and departure details)
6. Specification of the purpose of the visit
7. Formal obligation according to §§ 6668 Aufenthaltsgesetz (s. u.)
8. CEO’s signature
Insider tip from your Britisheditor Maureen Brown
As the embassy usually asks the IHK for confirmation about your company it is advisable to use the official compa-ny stationery for the invitation letter.
Musterbrief: Botschaft der Bundesrepublik Deutschland(Anschrift)
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,wir laden Frau Dolores Matibes, geboren am …………, wohnhaft in …………………, Passnummer ………………., ausgestellt am ………………, gültig bis ………………, Berufsbezeichnung ………………………………………………………………, bei der Firma ………………….………………, vom …………… bis zum …………… in unsere Firma ein.Wir verpflichten uns gemäß §§ 66 – 68 Aufenthaltsgesetz, die gesamten Kosten zu übernehmen, die während des Aufenthalts in Deutschland entstehen können (ein-schließlich Versorgung im Krankheitsfall sowie Rückführung ins Heimatland).
And this is how the invitation letter should look. Different from all other sample letters in English@work this invitation should be in German – as
it is no use sending an invitation letter in English to a German embassy. But it could be useful to translate the letter into English for your visitor.
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Speaker’s Corner
Frage- und Kommentar-anhängsel gekonnt einsetzen„Question tags” oder auch „tag questions” sind eine feine englische Spezia-lität, die in der mündlichen Kommunikation – besonders mit traditionsbe-wussten Briten – nicht fehlen darf. Im formellen Schriftwechsel sind diese Floskeln dagegen unüblich, im lockeren, eher privaten Briefstil allerdings wieder möglich.
it is treated as a negative sentence and is followed by a positive question tag:• None of your customers liked your
product, did they?• I don’t suppose anyone will help, will
they?
If a personal pronoun is not used, i.e. you/he/she/a name etc., the question tag would be impersonal, i.e. • Nothing was found, was it?• The snow barely covered the ground,
did it?
Regel Nr. 3When one of these words is the subject of the statement, “they” is the subject of the question tag. no one anybody everyonesomeone somebody nobodynone everybody anyoneneither
Wir zeigen Ihnen, wie und wo der Einsatz dieser „tags“ sinnvoll ist und Ihre Sprachkompetenz
belegt.
Hier sind „question tags“ sinnvollBenutzen Sie Frageanhängsel nach Aussagesätzen, um Zustimmung oder Be-stätigung zu bekommen: „This is true, isn’t it?“.
„Isn’t it“ entspricht unserem „nicht wahr?“ nicht ganz genau. Das macht sich an zwei Dingen fest: Zum einen werden „question tags“ viel häufiger benutzt als „nicht wahr“ im Deutschen, zum anderen senkt der Engländer die Stimme am Ende des „tags“, weil er keine Ant-wort erwartet.
Bildung der FrageanhängselRegel Nr. 1Nach einer positiven Aussage ist das „question tag“ negativ, nach einer negativen Aussagen ist es positiv.
Nun füllen Sie bitte unten links die Übung aus.
Did you have any problems with the last two sentences? That’s normal, don’t worry. We need two more rules for these kinds of question tags.
Regel Nr. 2If the statement contains words such as:neither nobody hardlyno (adj.) nothing hardly evernone scarcely seldomno one barely
Insider tip from your Britisheditor Maureen Brown
Nur im Ausnahmefall wird der Brite am Satzende beim Frageanhängsel die Stimme frageartig erheben. Dann wünscht er allerdings wirklich eine Reaktion.
Exercise: Frageanhängsel bilden
Bitte vervollständigen Sie die folgenden Sätze:
Aussage tag question
You listened to what your boss said,
You didn’t listen to what your boss said,
Ms (BE)/Ms. (AE) Petersen was there,
I’m late,
None of your customers liked your product,
I don’t suppose anyone will help,
Answer key on page 8
Quote„Never cut a tree down in the
wintertime. Never make a negative de-cision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be pati-ent. The storm will pass. The spring will come.“ Robert H. Schuller
Quote„I actually regard Facebook as
a huge bore, but I cannot refrain from participating in it. I guess I crave the fee-ling of hope it gives me to think that today will be different from yesterday, that I will find an interesting comment or poke or video, and on the extremely rare occasion when that happens, I am just thrilled.“ Roseanne Barr
ImpressumHerausgeber: GWI – eine Marke der WEKA MEDIA GmbH & Co. KGPostanschrift: Römerstraße 4, 86438 Kis-sing, Tel.: 08233 23 7850, Fax: 08233 23 7860, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: www.gwi.dePersönlich haftende Gesellschafterin: WEKA MEDIA Beteiligungs-GmbH, Sitz in KissingGeschäftsführung: Stephan Behrens, Michael Bruns, Werner PehlandRedaktion: Ulrike Rudolph (Chefredak-teurin, V.i.S.d.P.), Anschrift siehe obenObjektleitung: Michaela TimeusHerausgeberinnen: Maureen Brown (GB), Ulrike Rudolph (USA)Satz & Layout: contentsign, AltenahrDruck: DRUCK-Kultur GmbH, MünchenErscheinungsweise: monatlichAlle Angaben in „English@ Work“ wurden mit äußerster Sorgfalt ermittelt und überprüft. Sie basieren jedoch auf der Richtigkeit uns erteilter Auskünfte und unterliegen Verän-derungen. Eine Gewähr kann deshalb nicht übernommen werden, auch nicht für telefo-nisch erteilte Auskünfte. Wiedergabe – auch auszugsweise – nur mit schriftlicher Einwilli-gung des Herausgebers. ISSN 1862-4316
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Advanced Learner’s Corner
Test your knowledge: If-Clauses‘If’ clauses are important in business communication as they state how things have to be executed under certain conditions. You will need ‘if’ clau-ses in every negotiating and project meeting. So let’s take a closer look at what you can remember.
There are three basic types of conditional sentences. And they all deal with possibilities.
1. Open – or first – conditionIt is possible or likely to fulfill the condition but it is not important whether or not it is fulfilled:• If you go, I’ll join you.
2. Improbable – or second – condition
It is unlikely or improbable that the situation will happen:• If I had a car, I would take you to the
airport.
3. Impossible – or third – conditionThis condition cannot be achieved as the act is in the past:
• I would have stayed at the office if you had come.
A fourth type is mentioned sometimes, the zero condition ‘if ’ clause. It refers to a gen
eral truth, as in this sentence:• If you drop your file, it falls to the floor.
This type is the only ‘if ’ clause where both parts of the sentence are concurrent.
Exercise: If-clausesNow it is your turn. Complete the fol-lowing sentences and fill in which type of conditional clause it is.1. If I had more time, I (finish)
……………….. the letter. Type ………….
Vocabulary Box
affirmative – bestätigendbarely – kaum
CEO – Chief Executive – Geschäftsführer Officer
formal obligation – Verpflichtungs-erklärung
2. If your boss (know) …………. where you hide your chocolate in your desk, she would have ended her diet last night. Type ………………..
3. What will happen, if he (lose) ………….. the job? Type ……………..
4. If he had taken the train, he (not, be) ……………. too late. Type ………..
5. If it had (rain) ………., I would have stayed at the office. Type ……………..
Answer key on page 8
Only in cases where you wish to express an active willingness or a strong recommendation
will “would” or “will” appear in the ifclause: “If I were you, I’d finish that letter right now!” In all other cases it stands in the main clause.
Did you find the exercise easy? Good for you! And if you found it difficult, just try again and look up some other exercises in our download section.
„Comment tags” oder „same-way” question tagsAt first glance these tags look like question tags. But looking closer, we see a difference. In affirmative statements we use a positive interrogative statement, such as:• You read it, did you?
Der feine UnterschiedWell then? What is the difference be-tween a question tag and a comment tag?
A question tag is more of a general ex-pression “You didn’t finish the minutes, did you?” without a deeper meaning.
The comment tag expresses the sentiment of the speaker as a reaction to what he or she had heard: “You didn’t finish the minutes, did you?” means: “Oh, so you really didn’t do it!”
The meaning of a comment tag depends on the tone in which it is delivered. It can indicate anything from anger or frustration to admiration.Comment tags can be added to a state
ment of your own as in the above example or in response to a statement from someone else:
Peter: “I have a good idea for our advertising campaign.” Susan: “Have you?” Spoken in a friendly tone, this comment tag means “Oh really, how nice!”
Identifying comment tags means “listening – rather than reading - between the
lines”!
Listen to your business partners’ comment tags very carefully to find out what they think and feel about your statements. Your communicative soft skills will improve rapidly.
Insider tip from your Britisheditor Maureen Brown
Do not use negative comment tags when communicating with Ameri-can business partners. They are not familiar with this grammatical con-struction.
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If in doubt – cut it out
Das Komma bei „but” und „too” (Teil 2)In der Ausgabe 1-2014 Ihrer English@work sind wir schon auf die Beson-derheiten der Kommasetzung bei „but“ eingegangen und haben die Mög-lichkeiten des Adverbs „too“ vorgestellt. Ebenso haben Sie bereits erfahren, was die „Hardliner“ zur Kommasetzung meinen. Heute stellen wir Ihnen die anderen Meinungen vor.
Und selbstverständlich gibt es auch wieder eine Übung. Aber beginnen wir mit den Soft linern, die nicht wie die
Hardliner darauf bestehen, dass das „too“ stets vom Rest des Satzes abgetrennt werden muss, weil man das schon immer so gemacht hat.
Die SoftlinerOn the other hand some other factions prefer not to separate the “too” with commas as in examples 1 and 3 (12014). They claim there is no reason to separate one single word from the rest of the sentence.
Die Wischi-Waschi-FraktionThe wishywashy faction, which we would call the party of freedom, leave it up to the writer whether he wants to use the comma or not.
So this is a dilemma again, because what can we suggest you should do? Everything seems to be possible with “too”. That’s too annoying, isn’t it?
Feine BedeutungsunterschiedeBut if you read the sentences out loud and listen carefully, you can figure out the difference in meaning.1. Ohne Pause• She wanted a new computer too.• She too wanted a new computer.
Your sentences can chug along without a break and will be fine. It is simply a statement that a woman, perhaps an
assistant, wanted a computer as somebody else had one. A comma is not required. It would only stop the flow of thought. On the other hand:2. Mit Pause• She wanted a new computer, too.• She, too, wanted a new computer.
The sentences with commas really sound different, you can hear the pause before the “too”. And this makes a difference in meaning, too by emphasising (BE)/emphasizing (AE) that she really did want a new computer!
A pause adds emphasis on the “too”, which can change the meaning of the sentence: • The pause can indicate a change of
mind: She didn’t want a new computer earlier.
• The pause can indicate that she wants to keep up with her colleague.
So obviously there is no wrong or right about the use of commas with “too”.
Unsere Praxistipps für SieLeaving the comma out appears to be more modern and what most newspapers, magazines and online media will do. More traditional and conservative publications and establishments are more likely to use commas before “but” and “too”.
What you choose to do when writing on behalf of your company will depend on your company’s line of business, its customers, and even the form of communication (i.e., email, letter, advertisement). Even though there is a trend toward lighter punctuation, many people prefer a comma before “too” and “but” (unless it is a preposition) and will think it is wrong to leave it out.
Exercise: Ihr persönlicher StilWhen all is said and done, style is also a personal matter. Here are some examples of sentences where the comma is optional. Read them through yourself, imagine them with (or without) the comma and decide what you think is preferable. Write down your comment.1. He was going to complain but
changed his mind after he heard the whole story.
_____________________________
_____________________________2. Ms. Townsend typed up the minutes
but forgot the correspondence.
_____________________________
_____________________________3. I wanted to talk to HR today but was
asked to come back next week.
_____________________________
_____________________________Answer key on page 8
Insider tip from your Britisheditor Maureen Brown
As Germans are famous for their fond-ness for guidelines like DIN and dictio-naries we looked up what the standard dictionaries in the United Kingdom (Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dic-tionary) and the USA (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary) do in these cases. Both don’t use a comma with too, no matter whether it is in the middle of the sentence or at the end. And the AP Stylebook, the USA jour-nalists’ style “bible”, doesn’t use com-mas with too either.
Vocabulary Box
chug along – dahintuckernfondness for – Vorliebe für
keep up with – mit etwas/jmdm. Schritt halten
when all is – letzten Endessaid and done
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Ausgabe 03 | 2014
www.english-work.com
English@work
FrageanhängselBitte vervollständigen Sie die folgenden Sätze:
Aussage tag question
You listened to what your boss said, didn’t you?
You didn’t listen to what your boss said, did you?
Ms (BE)/Ms. (AE) Petersen was there, wasn’t she?
I’m late, aren’t I? And not: Am I not!!
None of your customers liked your product, did they?
I don’t suppose anyone will help, will they?
Begriffe definieren1. A Selfie is a photo of oneself (mostly to show the location for personal or fun reasons, not in commercial contexts) ta-ken with a mobile (BE)/cell (AE) phone and published on Facebook, Twitter or other social network.2. A tweet is a short text of a maximum 140 characters published on Twitter by a user. Tweets are used to stay in touch with friends, family, and even celebrities who subscribe to the particular tweet or user. 3. The blogosphere is a universal term for all the various blogs. 4. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndi-cation“ and means a programme (BE)/program (AE) or service which you can subscribe to for live web feeds such as the latest headlines to be delivered di-rectly to your computer. 5. Followers are users who follow a Twit-ter user, a Blog or a Facebook page of an individual or a company. 6. “To unfriend” means to delete a ´friend‘ from your social media group of friends. An “Unfriend-Finder” is a programme (BE)/program (AE) which helps the Facebook user find out who unfriended him or her.7. “Feeds” or “newsfeeds” are a way for websites large and small to distribute their content well beyond just visitors using browsers and include the kind of information that something new has been added to a website. A feed-reader programme (BE)/program (AE) is required to recieve such feeds. Many e-mail programmes have a feedreader included, such as Outlook. The most popular feed formats are RRS and Atom.If-clauses1. would finish, type 22. had known, type 33. loses, type 14. wouldn’t have been, type 35. rained, type 3Ihr persönlicher StilAs we don’t know your individual style we cannot answer for you. Our choice would be:1. Comma – yes, because “but” indicates
a change of mind.2. Comma – yes, because “but” contrasts
a fundamental mistake.3. Comma – no, because “I” have no pro-
blems with waiting.
Berufsbezeichnungen
Deutsch British English American English
Empfangsmitar-beiter
receptionist receptionist
Kollege colleague co-worker
Vertreter agent agent
Geschäftsführer managing director executive vice president
Chef boss boss
Stiller Teilhaber sleeping partner silent partner
Projektleiter project leader project leader
Firma company corporation
Hauptgeschäfts-führer
chief executive officer CEO
chief executive officer CEO
Mitarbeiter staff member staffer, employee or fellow employee
Filial-/Abtei-lungsleiter
manager managing director
leitender Ge-schäftsführer
chief operating officer
chief operating officerCOO (Vorsicht: coo als Substantiv oder Verb hat im AE eine schlüpfrige Bedeu-tung, nämlich die vulgäre Bezeichnung für die weiblichen Geschlechtsorgane)
Leiter der Rechtsabteilung
legal department manager
legal department manager
Berater, Gut-achter
consultant consultant
As you can see, the titles for “Geschäftsführer”, “Hauptgeschäftsführer“ and “lei-tender Geschäftsführer“ are different. You should choose the title your partner uses himself.
Answer key exercises: