| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Poll: What do you do when corresponding with a client whose gender you don't know? Thread poster: ProZ.com Staff
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This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "What do you do when corresponding with a client whose gender you don't know?".
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| | | | Mary Worby 
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
German to English
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| Is gender relevant? | Aug 8, 2012 |
Certainly in English, I can see no reason why not knowing someone's gender would affect the way I communicated with them. Perhaps the niceties are different in different languages.
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As far as I can remember, the only time I was not sure, a quick google solved the «mystery»...
| | | | liz askew
United Kingdom
Local time: 06:55
Member (2007)
French to English
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| I don't even think about it | Aug 8, 2012 |
cheers!
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| gender agreements in languages other than EN | Aug 8, 2012 |
Mary Worby wrote:
Certainly in English, I can see no reason why not knowing someone's gender would affect the way I communicated with them. Perhaps the niceties are different in different languages.
Like in FR: Vous êtes décidé/décidée.
I avoid gender-specific expressions if I can't figure out the person's sex after searching the Web.
First French names like Claude and Stéphane are used for man and women, and there may be identical names for men/women in other languages (Sasha?), so it is sometimes impossible to tell. However, I noticed that for names of ambiguous gender, people tend to add Mr or M(r)s to avoid confusion.
Philippe
| | | | Mario Chavez (X)
Local time: 01:55
English to Spanish
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| If practical, I ask... | Aug 8, 2012 |
I tend to have a pretty good intuition for guessing the gender of a client through correspondence, regardless of the name's exoticity. However, I prefer to ask when I doubt.
Is gender identification important in business? It depends on your own culture and on the culture of the customer. As long as cultural norms are respected, I see no problem communicating this information between the intended parties.
| | | | Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 07:55
Member (2006)
German to English
| If it happens to occur | Aug 8, 2012 |
then I diplomatically just ask.
I find that is more polite than to guess, etc. as there are some pretty special names for both genders out there today
| | | | Thayenga
Germany
Local time: 07:55
Member (2009)
English to German
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This happened just last week. I googled the first name, but it turned out to be both a female and a male first name.
Since we had been addressing each other by our first names (I always let the client set her/his preference), and not even the website provided any clues, I simply asked directly. Aside from receiving a nice reply, there was also a big inclu... See more
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It may seems strange and weird to you, but usually I use the following IT-way.
I just go to Google Images and write there the name of my new client.
About 80% of cases give definite gender result.
Though it may happen some funny results. So, one of my client's name time after time gave me... just guitar pictures! Another time it was Teddy-bear toys for kids
Again - it works enough good in many cases.
... See more It may seems strange and weird to you, but usually I use the following IT-way.
I just go to Google Images and write there the name of my new client.
About 80% of cases give definite gender result.
Though it may happen some funny results. So, one of my client's name time after time gave me... just guitar pictures! Another time it was Teddy-bear toys for kids
Again - it works enough good in many cases.
Why do I do that at all? Well I just prefer to start my message not from standard 'Hello', but from more private 'Dear Mr (or Mrs?) Buobabito' ▲ Collapse
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1. Like others, I Google
That often works, also for the professional titles they use in English where relevant, though this applies more to translations than correspondence.
Many of my clients are on LinkedIn or somewhere that reveals their gender.
2. Avoid gender-specific expressions, which goes fine as long as we are on 'you' terms. In Danish masculine and feminine are grammatically the same, although children, postpersons and a few others are grammatically neu... See more 1. Like others, I Google
That often works, also for the professional titles they use in English where relevant, though this applies more to translations than correspondence.
Many of my clients are on LinkedIn or somewhere that reveals their gender.
2. Avoid gender-specific expressions, which goes fine as long as we are on 'you' terms. In Danish masculine and feminine are grammatically the same, although children, postpersons and a few others are grammatically neuter.
In the third person, there is a difference between he/him and she/her - and two varieties of it.
3. If all else fails, I ask. (people called Chris or Jo for instance!)
If they mail me as Dear Ms or Mrs. Andersen, then I do try to use the correct Mr/Ms/Mrs in my reply.
In Danish it is quite correct to start 'Kære Christine Andersen' without any title at all, and that is an easy way out. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 14:55
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
Japanese is not gender-specific and you can't tell if he is a she or vice versa, unless the writer slips into colloquial Japanese mode from a formal written style.
You can generally tell the gender of the other person, though there are a few names that both sexes can be given.
If in doubt with correspondence, just add a "-san" at the end of their name. However, most Japanese will call you by phone anyway because they prefer personal contact.
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I google the name and in case needed I use no gender specific expressions.
But actually, this hardly ever happens and is not that problematic after all.
What I find more problematic is the following:
- the name is "exotic" to me and I can't determine which is the first name and which is the surname. This is not confortable since we usually address each other by the first name in this business. But luckily, there's always a possibility in English to say just "hi" and this... See more I google the name and in case needed I use no gender specific expressions.
But actually, this hardly ever happens and is not that problematic after all.
What I find more problematic is the following:
- the name is "exotic" to me and I can't determine which is the first name and which is the surname. This is not confortable since we usually address each other by the first name in this business. But luckily, there's always a possibility in English to say just "hi" and this is sometimes sorted out when the person at last signs only with their first name and not first name + surname
- I know which is the first name, but because it is again "exotic" to me, I don't know how to pronounce it. This is annoying if you need to phone the person.
Well, all those cases are very rare anyway and even if you get mistaken, it's usually no problem in our business. I can even be an opportunity to have a good laugh and to develop a closer relationship with the customer (provided that they have a sense of humour  ) ▲ Collapse
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Michael Harris
Germany
Local time: 07:55
Member (2006)
German to English
Julian Holmes wrote:
Japanese is not gender-specific and you can't tell if he is a she or vice versa, unless the writer slips into colloquial Japanese mode from a formal written style.
You can generally tell the gender of the other person, though there are a few names that both sexes can be given.
If in doubt with correspondence, just add a "-san" at the end of their name. However, most Japanese will call you by phone anyway because they prefer personal contact.
Hi Julian, I thought that Japanese men had a different style of writing to women?
| | | | Julian Holmes
Japan
Local time: 14:55
Member (2011)
Japanese to English
| Telling gender by writing style - in Japanese, that is | Aug 8, 2012 |
Michael Harris wrote:
Hi Julian, I thought that Japanese men had a different style of writing to women?
@Michael
Thanks for asking. Yes, you are right. However, what I wrote was specifically for e-mails, the main mode of initial contact and business correspondence these days. Most e-mails are generally a flat, neutral but polite style, using standard courteous phrases and wording, devoid of any leaning towards a particular sex, which makes it difficult to tell the gender of the person. A kind of honogenous, in-between style, if you like.
Literature or any other form of creative writing is a completely different kettle of fish, however. With spoken Japanese, gender differences are very apparent -- much softer and rounder phrasing for women (some dialects around Osaka and Kyoto are so scrumptious and mouth-watering they'll make you melt, BTW I live in Kyoto), and blunter and brusquer wording and style for men. If the author chooses to write in a colloquial style, you can tell the gender of the writer right away even though the softness/harshness or "force" of the spoken word will not come across completely in the written word.
However, if a Japanese person contacts you out of the blue in English, then this kind of nuance will be absolutely lost. It's a very language-specific thing.
Are there any other languages out there that fall into the above category?
Hope this helps.
| | | | Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
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| I ask if I need to | Aug 8, 2012 |
Like Sophie, I find that sorting out the given name and family name often presents more of a problem, even when the names are not at all exotic.
The French habit of sometimes putting the family name first can cause confusion: is the chap called Pierre CLAUDE or Claude PIERRE? In my experience, this has more potential for unleashing chaos than mistaking a "monsieur" for a "madame"! =/
@ Julian: a fascinating insight into Japanese culture!
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