Elizabeth Ndongo

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Introduction

In an era of globalization that encompasses numerous areas of interaction between countries and people, the issues of everyday (meeting, acquaintance, talking on the phone, etc.) or business (discussion and signing of contracts, business meetings in the office, presentations, etc.) communication, social contacts come to the fore (in the office, at corporate events, etc.).

The rules of etiquette in the field of communication in General and business in particular were formed in a unified form on the basis of a certain set of clichés adopted in the English-speaking world, since most communication takes place in English. Everyone knows that different countries have their own traditions and features of communication, and therefore it is very important to learn how and when to use a certain speech formula corresponding to the topic of conversation.

Forms greetings, views, farewell depend on situations, in which are speaking, and from their relations to each other. In formal and informal situations.

Forms of address

Friends — by their first name, for example, John or Mary.

Someone whom we know less well: Mr./Mrs./Miss followed by the surname, for example, Mr. Brown/Mr. Brown, Mrs. Brown/Mrs. Brown, Miss Brown.

Ms. Brown/Ms. Brown — title that comes before the (first name and the) surname of a woman whether married or unmarried (used in writing), for example, Ms. (Mary) Green.

Mister, Missus and Miss alone (without the surname) are sometimes used but are not polite, although Miss is generally accepted as a form of address to a woman-teacher by primary school children.

Sir — used to a man who is clearly older and/or more senior than oneself;

Used by shop assistants, waiters, etc to their male customers;

By schoolchildren to men-teachers;

As a polite form of address to a stranger, even if not older or more senior. However, this is not common nowadays in Britain, where the usual way of addressing a stranger (either a man or a woman) is Excuse me, please. In America sir is more common in this situation;

In the armed forces, to an (superior) officer;

As a title (for knights and baronets), followed by the first name, for example, Sir William.

Madam – used by shop assistants, waiters, etc. to their female customers.

In actual fact, it is less widely used than sir.

It is not used when addressing women-teachers. Here Mrs./Miss with the surname is used. It is only rarely used to address a stranger.

Doctor – used alone only to medical practitioners.

When addressing a person with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy or Doctor of Science, for example, the surname is always included, for example, Dr. Brown.

Professor – used either with or without the surname, depending on how formal or informal one wishes to be. Simply Professor is more formal.

General/Colonel/Captain, etc. – also used either with or without the surname.

Ladies and Gentlemen – addressing an audience.

Mr./Madam Chairman/Chair -- to the chairman of a meeting.

Waiter/Waitress/Porter/Nurse, etc. -- to people in certain occupations. However, this usage is now becoming rare, at least as regards Waiter/Waitress and Porter. Instead people simply try to catch the waiter's eye, for example, or say Excuse me, (please).

Officer – to a policeman. If one knows his rank, one may also address him as, for example, Constable or Inspector. In practice however, most people approaching a policeman for information or help use Excuse me, (please), without any form of address.

Commercial and administrative titles such as director and manager are never used as forms of address.

 

Less Common Forms of Address

Your Majesty – to a king or queen.

Your Highness – to a prince or duke.

Your Lordship – to a lord (peer) or a High Court judge.

Your Honour – to a magistrate (Justice of the Peace).

Your Excellency – title given to ambassadors, governors, their husbands or wives, and some other officers and officials: Your/His/Her Excellency. His Excellency the French Ambassador.

 

Forms of Address within the Family

Small children address their parents as Mummy and Daddy.

When they are older (about 10-11) they often change to Mum and Dad.

As adults they usually continue to use these forms, although some people (mainly members of the upper and middle classes) use the formal Mother and Father.

Grandparents are usually addressed as Granny (sometimes Gran and Nanny) and Grandad. Grandmother and Grandfather are used by some adults.

Aunts and Uncles are addressed as Auntie and Uncle usually with the first name, for example, Auntie Mary, Uncle Richard. Aunt is often used instead of Auntie by older children and adults, particularly in formal situations.

Greetings. Introduction. Leave taking

Good morning/afternoon/evening – Good morning, afternoon, evening.

How do you do? – How do you do?

How are you? – Fine. Thanks. How are you? I’m fine. Thanks.

Hello! Nice to meet you – Hello! Nice to meet you.

Excuse me, are you Mr. Brown? – Yes. That’s right.

Let me introduce Mr. Black to you – Hello. Pleased to meet you.

Mr. Brown. This is Mr. Green – Hello. Pleased to meet you.

Thank you for coming – It was a lovely party.

It was nice meeting you – Hope to see you again.

Is this your first visit to St. Petersburg? – Yes it is.

Have you been here/ to St. Petersburg before? – No, I haven’t.

Have you visited/seen the Hermitage? – Yes, I have.

What do you think of the Hermitage? Is it bigger than the Louvre? This is your first visit, isn’t it? – Yes, It is.

Good bye – Good bye.

Bye – Bye.

See you later – Bye-Bye!

See you soon – Bye.

Bye now – Bye.

Bye then – Bye.

To communicate with unfamiliar people (small talk) or support the conversation may require clichés on neutral topics acceptable for situations such as weather, sports, news, travel, positive comment about the country in which the person was, movies, entertainment, food, etc.

How do you like the weather in Saint-Petersburg? – It’s pretty warm. I didn’t expect it.

What was the weather like when you left? – Pretty cold for the season.

It’s a nice day, isn’t it? – Yes, It is. It’s warm and sunny.

Did you have a good journey? – Yes, I did. It was really nice.

What do you think of our city? – It’s very beautiful, indeed.

How was a trip? – Everything was fine, but a bit boring.

A proposal to do something unilaterally or jointly (suggestion) can be represented by the following phrases:

Let’s discuss this point at the meeting, shall we? – Yes. I agree.

What about meeting some time tomorrow? – Fine. What time?

How about doing some research first? – All right.

We could/can visit the museum tomorrow – Certainly/OK

Shall we go to the theatre tonight? – That’s a good idea.

Why don’t we go there? – Fine.

We use "can” and" could” to make proposal. “Could” in this case is more polite than

"can".

"Let's...., shall we?" – More formal than “What about...?”

“How about ...?”, "Why don't we ....?" and "Shall we ...?”

The offer to render service can be the following clichés:

I’ll get you some tea – That’s very kind of you.

Shall I take your bags? – Thank you/ No, thank you.

Let me help you – Yes, please/oh, please, don’t bother.

I’ll help you with your homework – Oh, will you? Thanks.

The formula "Shall I take your bags?" means "Do you want me to take your bags?”

If we offer someone drinks and snacks, then we use the following expressions:

Would you like some tea? – Yes, please/No, Thank you.

Will you have some bread? – Yes, please/No, thank you.

Request can be expressed as follows:

Would you be so kind as to pass the document, please? – Certainly. Here you are.

Could you call Mr. Brown, please? – Certainly.

Would you help me, please? – Of course.

Can you open the window, please? – Of course.

Will you do it for me, please? – Sure.

We use “Can you...?" and "Could you ...?” in order to, to Express a request. “Could” in this case more politely than “can."

And “would” is more polite than "will."

“Certainly” is more formal than “of course” and "sure” – less formal than" of course."

You can ask permission with the following formulas:

May I pay in cash? – Yes, we accept cash.

Could I speak to Mr. Green? – Certainly, I am putting you through.

Is at all right if I come in half an hour late tomorrow? – Yes, that’s quite all right.

Mum, can I go on holiday with my friends? – I’m afraid, you can’t. You are too young.

We use "May I ...?/Could I ....?/ Can I ....?” to ask for permission from someone. Note the differences in the use of verbs.

May I use your telephone? (Officially: we don't know the man well enough.)

Is at all right if I come in half an hour late tomorrow?

(Officially, and so suggests the official answer: - Yes, that's quite all right).

Can I use your phone? (Unofficially: we know the man well.)

Could I use your phone? (More politely than "can”).

We use " can” to give permission to do something: You can sit here.

We use " can't” to deny permission: You can't smoke here.

When asked for permission from us, we can reply: "Certainly/Yes, of course/Sure.”

If we know the person well, we can answer: "Sure” or "No problem".

Invitations can be expressed as follows:

Would you like to go to the cinema tonight? – I’d love to/I’d like to.

How about accepting my invitation? – Great, I think it’s a good idea/That would be nice.

Do you fancy going out? – I’d love to/I’d like to.

The most common form of invitation is “Would you like to ....?”

If for some reason we cannot accept the invitation, we can reply, “I'd like to, but I am afraid, I can't” - more formally and “I'd like to, but I am sorry, I can't" – informally.

Apologies are expressed in phrases:

I’m sorry I'm late – It’s OK. Please come in.

Excuse me for being late – It’s OK. Please come in.

I’m awfully sorry, but I’ve broken a cup – Never mind.

I apologize for the delay – It’s quite all right.

The cliché “I'm very/so sorry......” is more expressive than “I'm sorry...” and the cliché “I apologize ...” expresses an official apology and the phrase “It's quite all right” is an official response. Response to apology “It's OK/That's OK.” – Informal.

Claims (complaints) are presented as follows:

I don’t like to complain, but my room is very cold – We’ll consider your complaint.

I am sorry to say this, but it doesn’t work – Oh, I am (very) sorry (Sir/Madam).

I don’t want to complain, but I am not satisfied with the service – I’m very sorry, but I’ll ask for the Manager.

Agreement and disagreement can be represented by the following formulas:

It’s a beautiful day – Yes, it is, isn’t it? (Agreement)

Tom doesn’t look well – No, he doesn’t. I hope It isn’t serious. (Agreement)

The museum is closed today – No, it isn’t. (Disagreement)

This book hasn’t been translated into Russian – Yes, it has. (Disagreement)

I’m sure we’ll have a great time at John’s party tomorrow night – I agree. All our friend will be there.

Do you see what I mean? – Yes, but I’m not sure I quite agree.

Congratulations and wishes can be expressed as follows:

Congratulations (on) your birthday – Thank you.

Many happy returns of the day – Thank you.

I wish you were happy – Thank you.

I’ve passed my driving test! – Congratulations!

Well done! (When you achieve success) – Thank you.

Happy/Merry Christmas! – Thank you and the same to you.

Happy New Year!

Happy Easter!

Best wishes! (Used for Women’s Day, May Day, Victory Day, Constitution Day)

In the process of business communication, a business lunch is considered one of the acceptable options for conducting business negotiations outside the office. With the help of certain phrases you can move on to discuss more serious issues:

Are you free for lunch today? – No problem, we could have lunch together.

Would you like to join me for lunch? – It’s a good idea.

I hope the lunch was good – Yes, it was delicious.

Thank you very much for coming – It was a pleasure.

Conversations on the phone are an integral part communication in modern life, and the following formulas can help to successfully communicate on the phone:

Good morning, BBC, can I help you? – I’d like to speak to Mr. Black.

I am afraid, he isn’t available at the moment – Could I call back later?

Certainly. Thank you for calling.

Good bye – Good bye.

Literature

1. Л. И. Соколова, Л. В. Юрьева. Английский язык страноведением и речевой этикет. Санкт-Петербург 2013.
2. А. О. Иванов Английские разговорные формулы- учебное пособие для студентов педагогических институтов по специальности «Иностранные языки» / А. О. Иванов, Д. Поуви. — М.: Просвещение, 1989.
3. В. С. Шахлай. Английский речевой этикет English speech etiquette. Минск, белорусская ассоциация «Конкурс» 2011.