E-mail in French
 

Can anyone tell me if the French are less formal in signing off e-mails, or should I use the "Je vous prie d'agreer ..." format? Any suggestions as to what I should use?

Maybe it depends on what you expect from the recipient.<BR><BR>A l'attente de votre r&eacute;ponse,<BR><BR>or<BR><BR>Je me patiente de votre r&eacute;ponse,<BR><BR>peut-etre?<BR>

Le Grand Vefour replied with the formal closing when I emailed for reservations. All I know.

My experience is that the French are more formal, even with e-mail. <BR>I wouldn't hesitate to use the &quot;Je vous prie d'agr&eacute;er&quot; format.

One never writes: Je me patiente de votre r&eacute;ponse. This is not correct at all.<BR><BR>It depends on if you are a man or a woman. The French tend to be more formal in correspondence -- or what is perceived as more formal to us is second nature to them.<BR><BR>If you are a male, you can use the following &quot;formules de politesse&quot; in this general situation, although there are others but too numerous to list:<BR><BR>Je vous prie d'agr&eacute;er, Monsieur, l'expresion de mes sentiments distingu&eacute;s; or<BR>Veuillez agr&eacute;er, Monsieur, l'expression de mes sentiments distingu&eacute;s.<BR><BR>If you are a female:<BR><BR>Veuillez croire, Monsieur, &agrave; ma consid&eacute;ration distingu&eacute;e; or<BR>Veuillez croire, Monsieur, &agrave; ma parfaite consid&eacute;ration (too formal in this case).<BR><BR>Remember: une femme n'envoie jamais de sentiments &agrave; un homme (sauf &agrave; un pr&eacute;lat), mais ses souvenirs les meilleurs ou amicaux ou encore l'expression de sa vive admiration, de sa consid&eacute;ration distingu&eacute;e ou tr&egrave;s distingu&eacute;e, ou de sa parfaite consid&eacute;ration.<BR>

It depends whom you are e-mailing. Emails I get from French friends don't end that way and aren't formal at all. If it's a business email, you should end it the same way you would if it were a regular paper letter, I'd say--I don't think it makes any difference that it is an email vs. paper letter or FAX, that is just the method of transmission, it doesn't affect the content.<BR><BR>The emails I get from French hotels where I have a relationship aren't that formal, but some others have been if I've never stayed there. Emails I get from French hotels, even formal ones, have not used that phrase in ending, however. Here is an exact quote from one of them, a hotel where I'd never stayed before, in a letter where we were confirming a reservation (which was written to them in French):<BR>&lt;&lt;Dans l'attente de votre r&eacute;ponse, et esp&eacute;rant avoir le plaisir de vous accueillir prochainement, nous vous adressons, Madame, nos meilleures salutations.&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>I usually am more formal in my first email to a hotel, but I may use this as an ending in a second correspondence or a place I know (and I've received this type of closing from hotels where I've stayed before from a reservation clerk I had previous contact with, also):<BR>&lt;&lt;Avec mes salutations sinc&egrave;res,&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>If it's someone I know, an acquaintance or friend, I would end differently, of course--maybe just amicalement.<BR>

We have received e-mails from a wide range of people--friends, hotels, business acquaintances of my husband's that are simply signed &quot;Amicalement,&quot;

Slowly but steadily the ending &quot;Cordialement&quot; is popping up in e-mails in France as well. <BR>You can use it perfectly well when dealing with hotels etc.. Save yourself the trouble.<BR><BR>Among friends, the favorite is: A+ ( = &agrave; plus, = &agrave; plus tard, roughly &quot;see you later&quot; ).<BR>

Est-ce que vous etes Papillon Rose, eye spy?<BR>

Thanks all. Since it's to our notaire I'll go for a formal ending, but I'm putting &quot;Cordiallement&quot; into the memory banks!

Cordialement is the correct spelling.<BR>

The French are indeed more formal in commercial and other letters, but in e-mails they are not anymore.<BR><BR>Meilleures salutations will do fine. I also already read &quot;meil sal&quot; <BR><BR>But for a notaire, &quot;Cordialement&quot; is a correct way to sign off.

Just recv'd an email from a hotel we stayed at in Bayeux. They ended with &quot;happy halloween&quot;

I get a fair number of e-mails inFrench from various sources, and have also noticed that &quot;cordialement&quot; is becoming popular. The other one I see a lot is simply &quot;sentiments les meilleurs.&quot; I've rarely gotten the full &quot;je vous prie d'agr&eacute;er, Madame....&quot; treatment in an e-mail, but of course it does depend to some extent with whom you're corresponding. Hotels that know me well will often just use, &quot;amicalement.&quot;