每日英語 #114: Salutations in Letters and Emails 信件和電子郵件中的問候語

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Salutations in Letters and Emails 信件和電子郵件中的問候語

When you don’t know the name of the person you’re writing to, or you’re unsure of their gender, choosing the right salutation can be tricky, especially in formal or business contexts.

當你不知道收信人的名字或不確定他們的性別時，選擇合適的問候語可能會變得有些困難，尤其是在正式或商務的情境下。

For a formal or business letter, you can use “Dear Sir or Madam.” “Sir” is a very polite term for a man, and “madam” is a very polite term for a woman. This greeting is appropriate regardless of the gender of the person reading your letter.

在正式或商務信件中，你可以使用「Dear Sir or Madam」。「Sir」是對男性的非常禮貌的稱呼，而「Madam」是對女性的非常禮貌的稱呼。無論讀信人的性別如何，這種問候語都是適當的。

Perhaps 50 years ago, it was acceptable to only use “Dear Sir” if you didn’t know the gender of the person you’re writing. However, it is not considered acceptable today. The woman reading your letter, especially if you’re applying for a job, scholarship, or anything else, may not have a “favorable” (good; positive) opinion of you “right off the bat” (immediately; right away). She may think you’re “sexist” (think women are less important than men) or “presumptuous” (don’t know what is appropriate or socially acceptable), and that’s probably not the impression or impact you’re trying to make.

也許在50年前，如果你不知道收信人的性別，使用「Dear Sir」是可以接受的。然而，今天這樣做已經不再被認為是合適的。讀信的女性，尤其是在你申請工作、獎學金或其他任何東西時，可能不會對你有「好感」（良好的；正面的）「馬上」（立刻；馬上）。她可能會認為你是「性別歧視者」（認為女性不如男性重要）或是「冒昧的」（不知道什麼是合適的或社會上可接受的），而這大概不是你想要給人留下的印象或影響。

Some people use the greeting “To whom it may concern:” when they don’t know the name or gender of the “recipient” (person receiving something). This greeting is useful when, for example, writing a letter to the telephone company because there is a mistake in your bill. However, it is not considered the most respectful or courteous for formal business “correspondence” (letters and written messages).

有些人在不知道收信人名字或性別時，會使用「To whom it may concern:」這種問候語。**這種問候語在某些情況下很有用，例如寫信給電話公司因為帳單有錯誤。然而，這在正式商務「信函」（信件和書面訊息）中並不被認為是最尊重或禮貌的方式。

Instead, use “Dear Sir or Madam” or the job title of the person you are writing, such as:

相反，你可以使用「Dear Sir or Madam」或收信人的職稱，例如：

• Dear Recruiter (the person accepting applications for a job or position)
  「尊敬的招聘者」（接受工作或職位申請的人）
• Dear Claims Adjuster (the person who takes care of your insurance matters) 「尊敬的理賠專員」（處理你保險事務的人）

重要單字解釋

• salutation /ˌsæljəˈteɪʃən/ — 問候語
• gender /ˈdʒɛndər/ — 性別
• Sir /sɜːr/ — 先生，對男性的尊稱
• Madam /ˈmædəm/ — 女士，對女性的尊稱
• favorable /ˈfeɪvərəbl/ — 有利的，正面的
• sexist /ˈsɛksɪst/ — 性別歧視者
• presumptuous /prɪˈzʌmptʃuəs/ — 冒昧的，放肆的
• recipient /rɪˈsɪpiənt/ — 收信人，接受者