English at Work
Communication expert KEN TAYLOR answers your questions about business English. This month, he looks at a German word that keeps causing problems, and has advice on writing minutes.
Ken Taylor answers your questions
Dear Ken
Some time ago, I asked you about translating the word Freundin. Since then, my pupils and I have followed your advice to say simply “my friend Jane” and to use the word “girlfriend” to describe a teenage love affair.
However, in Peggy’s Place (Spotlight 9/18), Helen says she went on holiday with a “girlfriend”. Has the language changed again with regard to what we should consider to be “the right way”?
Best regards
Ira G.
Dear Ira
As you know, there are no hard and fast rules about the use of vocabulary. It changes over time, from generation to generation, and within different cultures and social groups.
In Peggy’s Place, one possible reason for Helen using the word “girlfriend” to refer to a friend who is a woman is that she and her friend are comparatively young. An older person might simply say “friend”.
But different people use vocabulary in different ways. It’s not wrong to describe a female friend as a “girlfriend”. I just prefer to differentiate between a teenage girlfriend and an adult relationship.
Regards
Ken
Dear Ken
I am a member of a newly set up international project team. All of the team speak English as a second, third or even fourth language. Because I am one of the better speakers of English, I have been asked to write up the notes of our team videoconferences. I have never written such meeting notes before. What should they look like?
Help!
Gerhard T.
Dear Gerhard
I understand your concerns. Writing the notes, or “minutes”, of a videoconference is quite demanding. When doing so, be sure to include the following:
When the meeting was held.
Who was the meeting facilitator, who was present and who was absent.
All the proposals made and discussed during the meeting.
A short summary of the discussion of each item. (Don’t write everything that was said, just the main points.)
A few lines summarizing any written or oral report. Reference to reports from previous meetings.
The decisions taken and exactly who will do what and when.
Items should be numbered to match the agenda sent out before the conference.
In an international team like yours, it is important to keep the language simple and straightforward. Therefore, keep your notes as brief as possible without losing essential detail. It is very important that they are clear, so that the follow-up is easy.
You can find many examples of minutes and meeting notes online, simply by typing in “writing minutes”. These will give you a good idea of how to present and write your notes.
All the best
Ken