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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren

English translation:

Dear (and the name of the group concerned)

Added to glossary by Barbara L Pavlik
Mar 28, 2016 18:43
8 yrs ago
19 viewers *
German term

Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren

German to English Bus/Financial General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Salutations
This is the salutation in a letter that is addressed to a specific group of people (an auditing firm addressing a group of people in the company they are about to audit), so the usual "Dear Sir or Madam" won't work here, but how to work in the "and" while keeping it natural sounding? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 Dear (and the name of the group concerned)
3 +2 Esteemed colleagues
3 Ladies and Gentlemen,
References
Some suggestions (from non-natives ;-)
Change log

Mar 28, 2016 18:44: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Accounting" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"

Mar 31, 2016 20:26: Murad AWAD changed "Term asked" from "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (when \\\"or\\\" doesn\\\'t work)" to "Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren "

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Edith Kelly

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Discussion

Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Mar 29, 2016:
And if they don't work in the same line of business? One is an auditing firm, and the other is a manufacturing company. You are right about the singular making it more personal. I'm still thinking about going with the company name. Still time to decide.
philgoddard Mar 29, 2016:
Just because they work for a different company doesn't mean they're not colleagues. All translators are colleagues because they work in the same line of business. My choice would be "Dear colleague", because using the singular makes it more personal.
Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Mar 29, 2016:
I tend to agree that "colleagues" doesn't quite work in this case, because the letter is addressed to members of a client company. It seems that the recipients may be members of the Board of Directors, but I can't be absolutely sure of that. What about addressing it simply as "Dear [Name of Company]?
philgoddard Mar 28, 2016:
Who does the group consist of? What do they all have in common that they're being sent this letter?
I think that in English we would use the singular and say something like "Dear XX employee". This has become much more widespread since it became unacceptable to say "Dear Sirs".
Lancashireman Mar 28, 2016:
... how to work in the "and"... Various options available in EN but not DE make this unnecessary.
Barbara L Pavlik (asker) Mar 28, 2016:
Thanks for the input, Julia. "Ladies and gentlemen" does not work for a letter salutation, only as a spoken greeting.. I wish I had more specific information about the group receiving the letter. That would make your second suggestion workable... I may be able to get this info from the client... will have to see. Dear Sirs could also work, but I hesitate to use it for fear of offending any female recipients. :(

Proposed translations

+1
10 hrs
German term (edited): Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (when \"or\" doesn\'t work)
Selected

Dear (and the name of the group concerned)

that's the way to do it
Peer comment(s):
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : Yes, I think so, too - just catching up here
3 days 14 hrs
thanks Ramey
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you!"
10 mins
German term (edited): Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (when \\\"or\\\" doesn\\\'t work)

Ladies and Gentlemen,

With/without 'dear' and possibly with a lower case G. Is that what you're looking for?

Or perhaps address the group by its name, e.g. Dear Sales team,

Or, stick with the more old-fashioned 'Dear Sirs,'
Something went wrong...
+2
1 hr
German term (edited): Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren (when \"or\" doesn\'t work)

Esteemed colleagues

another option
Peer comment(s):
agree writeaway
0 min
Thank you, writeaway!
agree tr_dg : Very nice solution.
47 mins
Thank you, Daniel!
neutral philgoddard : Maybe in 1816, but no one would use "esteemed" in 2016 unless they were being ironic.
56 mins
Thanks for the input, Phil!
neutral Lancashireman : Not colleagues in this case ("an auditing firm addressing a group of people in the company they are about to audit"). The term chosen will need to preserve an element of distance.
4 hrs
Thanks for the input!
neutral BrigitteHilgner : I agree with Lanshashireman.
9 hrs
Thanks for the input!
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

2 hrs
Reference:

Some suggestions (from non-natives ;-)

Note from asker:
Thanks Anne, that was amusing! ;)
Something went wrong...
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