英語ネイティブの翻訳者に教わるメールの書き方 ～誰かに何かを知らせる場合～
2020年9月3日 17時27分
※英語原文は日本語記事の下に掲載しています。
前回の記事では、何かをお願いする場合のメールの書き方についてお話しました。
今回は、誰かに何かを知らせる場合の
フォーマルなメールの書き方について考えてみましょう。
例えば、会議中に受けた質問など、誰かからの質問に対して
メールで後から回答する場面を想像してみてください。
メールは、はっきりと簡潔に書かなければいけません。
シンプルに‘Hello’もしくは‘Greetings’といった言葉から書き始めましょう。
そして、相手に状況を知らせます。今回のケースであれば、
質問をしてきた人にその質問を思い出してもらう必要があります。
相手に状況を知らせ、自分が伝えようとしている情報へ導くためには、
次のようなフレーズを使うことができます。
[かなりフォーマルな表現]
In regards to your question posed the other day about [question details], I’m writing to let you know…
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that…
[あまりフォーマルではない表現]
About that question you asked the other day on [question details], I’m writing to tell you that…
上記で下線を引いたフレーズは、広く使われています。
メールのライティングスキルに取り入れてみてください。
そして、次のような表現を使って、メールを締め括ります。
[かなりフォーマルな表現]
Should you have any questions, please let us know.
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
[あまりフォーマルではない表現]
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
最後に、次のいずれかを結びの言葉とします。
Sincerely,
（フォーマルな表現）
Regards,
（セミフォーマルな表現）
上記に述べた表現を使ってメールのフォーマットにすると次のようになります。
-------------------------------------------
Greetings
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that [your answer].
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
Regards,
Xxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------
前回の記事では、何かをお願いする場合のメールの書き方についてお話しました。
今回は、誰かに何かを知らせる場合の
フォーマルなメールの書き方について考えてみましょう。
例えば、会議中に受けた質問など、誰かからの質問に対して
メールで後から回答する場面を想像してみてください。
メールは、はっきりと簡潔に書かなければいけません。
シンプルに‘Hello’もしくは‘Greetings’といった言葉から書き始めましょう。
そして、相手に状況を知らせます。今回のケースであれば、
質問をしてきた人にその質問を思い出してもらう必要があります。
相手に状況を知らせ、自分が伝えようとしている情報へ導くためには、
次のようなフレーズを使うことができます。
[かなりフォーマルな表現]
In regards to your question posed the other day about [question details], I’m writing to let you know…
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that…
[あまりフォーマルではない表現]
About that question you asked the other day on [question details], I’m writing to tell you that…
上記で下線を引いたフレーズは、広く使われています。
メールのライティングスキルに取り入れてみてください。
そして、次のような表現を使って、メールを締め括ります。
[かなりフォーマルな表現]
Should you have any questions, please let us know.
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
[あまりフォーマルではない表現]
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
最後に、次のいずれかを結びの言葉とします。
Sincerely,
（フォーマルな表現）
Regards,
（セミフォーマルな表現）
上記に述べた表現を使ってメールのフォーマットにすると次のようになります。
-------------------------------------------
Greetings
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that [your answer].
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
Regards,
Xxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------
～編集後記～
シチュエーションに応じたフレーズをいくつか覚えておくと、英語のメールもスムーズに書けそうですね。英語でのメールのやり取りをこなすうちに、自然と英語表現が身につき、時間をかけずに文章を作ることが出来そうです。
（英語原文）
Writing professional e-mails in English: Informing someone of something
As more workers in the world begin to shift towards telecommuting for work, the use of English in e-mails is certain to grow in importance. Knowing how to write an e-mail using formal English will be a crucial skill to master. It can be difficult to organize your thoughts when you write in your second language, so when writing an e-mail, it’s best to define the objective of your e-mail first. Are you requesting something? Are you informing people of something? When you can identify the basic objective of your e-mail, this allows you to select from pre-determined phrases to write your e-mail.
Let’s examine how to write a formal e-mail to inform someone of something. Imagine that you want to answer a question posed by someone at another time, such as in a meeting. You should make your e-mail clear and concise. You can open your e-mail with a simple ‘Hello’ or ‘Greetings’. You then provide the context to the information; in this case it’s reminding the person of the question they asked. You can use one of the following phrases to indicate the context and lead into the information you are about to give:
[highly formal] In regards to your question posed the other day about [question details], I’m writing to let you know…
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that…
[less formal] About that question you asked the other day on [question details], I’m writing to tell you that…
The above underlined phrases are commonly-used expressions. You should integrate them into your e-mail writing skills.
Then you can conclude the e-mail with the following:
[highly formal] Should you have any questions, please let us know.
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
[less formal] If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Lastly, you can close the e-mail with one of the following:
Sincerely, [formal]
Regards, [semi-formal]
Putting all of the above into e-mail format yields the following:
-------------------------------------------
Greetings
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that [your answer].
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
Regards,
Xxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------
As more workers in the world begin to shift towards telecommuting for work, the use of English in e-mails is certain to grow in importance. Knowing how to write an e-mail using formal English will be a crucial skill to master. It can be difficult to organize your thoughts when you write in your second language, so when writing an e-mail, it’s best to define the objective of your e-mail first. Are you requesting something? Are you informing people of something? When you can identify the basic objective of your e-mail, this allows you to select from pre-determined phrases to write your e-mail.
Let’s examine how to write a formal e-mail to inform someone of something. Imagine that you want to answer a question posed by someone at another time, such as in a meeting. You should make your e-mail clear and concise. You can open your e-mail with a simple ‘Hello’ or ‘Greetings’. You then provide the context to the information; in this case it’s reminding the person of the question they asked. You can use one of the following phrases to indicate the context and lead into the information you are about to give:
[highly formal] In regards to your question posed the other day about [question details], I’m writing to let you know…
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that…
[less formal] About that question you asked the other day on [question details], I’m writing to tell you that…
The above underlined phrases are commonly-used expressions. You should integrate them into your e-mail writing skills.
Then you can conclude the e-mail with the following:
[highly formal] Should you have any questions, please let us know.
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
[less formal] If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
Lastly, you can close the e-mail with one of the following:
Sincerely, [formal]
Regards, [semi-formal]
Putting all of the above into e-mail format yields the following:
-------------------------------------------
Greetings
Regarding the question you posed the other day on [question details], I would like to inform you that [your answer].
If you need to clarify anything with the above, please let us know.
Regards,
Xxxxxxxxxx
-------------------------------------------
