評(píng)論
打印
I've just received an email from my manager vaguely reprimanding me about something pretty trivial. The odd thing wasn't the message itself but the way he finished it, signing off with "Lots of love". Perhaps this was his way of trying to soften the message, but it has left me with two creeping doubts. Is it ever OK for a line manager to sign off messages to staff in this way? And if he insists on ending his emails like that, how am I meant to reply? I can't bring myself to write "Lots of love" back, but to write "Best" looks a bit chilly.
我剛剛收到了經(jīng)理的一封電子郵件，他為了微不足道的事含糊其詞地訓(xùn)斥了我一頓。郵件內(nèi)容本身并不怪異，詭異的是他的落款"非常愛你的"(Lots of love)。可能他想通過(guò)這種方式淡化批評(píng)的語(yǔ)氣，但卻讓我感到令人毛骨悚然，并且產(chǎn)生了兩點(diǎn)疑惑。上司給下屬發(fā)電子郵件如此落款是否合適？如果他一定要這么落款，我回信時(shí)又該如何落款？我沒(méi)法在回信中也寫"非常愛你的"，只寫"祝好"(Best)又顯得冷冰冰。
Media researcher, female, 33
媒體研究人員，女，33歲
Lucy's answer
露西的回答
The problem with "best" is not that it looks chilly. It's that it makes no sense. Best what? Best of luck? Best wishes? Best buy? Best man?
"祝好"的問(wèn)題不在于看起來(lái)冷冰冰，而在于毫無(wú)意義。最好的什么？最好的運(yùn)氣？最好的祝福？最好的買賣？最好的男人？
Nor must you consider writing "Lots of love". To slavishly mirror the sign-off of the boss achieves one thing only: it makes you look weak.
你也不必考慮要不要寫"非常愛你的"。依葫蘆畫瓢只能起到一個(gè)效果：讓你看起來(lái)很軟弱。
Instead, what you must do is perfectly easy – not sign off at all. This is always the best, quickest and safest way of ending emails to colleagues. If you insist, you can write your name at the bottom, but as everyone can see that it is from you, such elucidation isn't strictly necessary.
相反，你該做的事很簡(jiǎn)單——根本不用落款。這是給同事寫電子郵件時(shí)最合適、最快捷和最安全的結(jié)尾。如果你堅(jiān)持要落款，可以在末尾寫上自己的名字；但既然大家都知道發(fā)信人是你，以姓名落款的意義也不太大。
As for whether it is ever acceptable for a boss to sign himself off with "Lots of love", the answer is that it might be. Email is a strange form – even though we all spend our lives sending and receiving emails, there is still no agreement on the rules of how to start or end them and all sorts of things are permissible, depending on the circumstances.
至于上司本人用"非常愛你的"落款是否合適，答案是這或許是合適的。電子郵件是一種奇怪的通信方式，盡管我們?cè)谏钪卸家瞻l(fā)電子郵件，但關(guān)于電子郵件應(yīng)該如何開頭、結(jié)尾怎么寫，我們并沒(méi)有達(dá)成共識(shí)，所以，各種寫法都是可以接受的，這要看實(shí)際情況而定。
If your boss signs himself off "lots of love" there are two possibilities. The first is that he was too quick to press send, and made a mistake. I've just sent a message to a reader who had taken issue with something I'd written and I carelessly signed it with three kisses. Fortunately, he ignored it: his subsequent reply ended with a more fitting "best wishes".
如果你的老板落款時(shí)用"非常愛你的",這里面存在著兩種可能性。第一種是，他在匆忙中按下"發(fā)送"鍵，犯了一個(gè)錯(cuò)誤。有位讀者寫信對(duì)我的文章提出了意見，我剛給他回信時(shí)一不小心用了三個(gè)"吻你"作為落款。好在他沒(méi)當(dāng)回事，他在回信中的落款是得體的"衷心的祝福(best wishes)"。
More likely, though, your boss's sign-off shows that he is trying to create an informal, we're-all-great-chums culture. This approach doesn't begin to work for me, but is perfectly fine if you like that sort of thing.
不過(guò)，更有可能的情況是，你老板的落款表明，他想要營(yíng)造一種不那么正式、大家都是好朋友的氛圍。我對(duì)這個(gè)不感冒，但如果你喜歡這種方式，那就挺好的。
However, I fear you may have a bigger problem than how to sign off your reply. In particular, I fear it may cause offence long before the end of it. You say your boss was reprimanding you over something "pretty trivial", but in my experience minor transgressions tend not to attract reprimanding emails at all. Most people don't like telling others off, and your boss – who wants to be seen as a lovable kinda guy – may like it less than most.
但是，我擔(dān)心你還有一個(gè)比不知回信如何落款更嚴(yán)重的問(wèn)題。尤其是，我擔(dān)心這個(gè)問(wèn)題在得到解決之前，你可能會(huì)得罪人。你提到，你老板在某件"微不足道的"事情上批評(píng)了你；但以我的經(jīng)驗(yàn)來(lái)看，如果你只是犯了個(gè)小錯(cuò)誤，對(duì)方不至于特意發(fā)郵件來(lái)責(zé)備你。大多數(shù)人都不喜歡斥責(zé)別人，你老板——他想被大家視為一個(gè)和藹可親的人——很可能比大多數(shù)人更不愿這么做。
I suspect that you have in fact made a major transgression. In which case you should stop dithering, get cracking at once, and start your reply with a big, fat apology.
我懷疑，你實(shí)際上犯了一個(gè)大錯(cuò)誤。如果是這種情況，你最好別再猶豫，立馬行動(dòng)，回復(fù)郵件，誠(chéng)懇地為自己的行為道歉。
Your advice
讀者的建議
Be professional
專業(yè)
Finishing a business email with "Lots of Love" is unacceptable and regarded by most as unprofessional. Your email sign-off is part of your e-dress code: it sends a message about the image you want to create just as much as the way you dress. Why write a good email and then spoil it with the equivalent of wearing scruffy shoes with a designer suit?
在談公務(wù)的電子郵件中落款寫"非常愛你的"是不可接受的，大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)為這種做法不夠?qū)I(yè)。電子郵件落款是一個(gè)人"電子著裝"的組成部分：正如你希望通過(guò)著裝展現(xiàn)你的形象一樣，落款也能傳遞出你希望塑造的個(gè)人形象的信息。為何寫完一封漂亮的郵件，卻在落款時(shí)自毀形象，就像身著出自設(shè)計(jì)師之手的西裝，腳上卻穿著臟鞋子一樣？
You should sign off with a line that reflects the professional image.
你應(yīng)該在落款上體現(xiàn)出自身的專業(yè)形象。
Email consultant, female, 50s
電子郵件顧問(wèn)，女，50多歲
Sit on the fence
圓滑一點(diǎn)兒
To avoid offence by being chilly and without reciprocating insincerely, why not sit on the fence with STY (same to you)?
為了不表現(xiàn)得冷冰冰，從而冒犯上司，并且在回復(fù)中避免顯得不誠(chéng)懇，何不表現(xiàn)得圓滑一些、在落款處寫STY（same to you,也一樣祝愿你）呢？
Anon, female
匿名，女
Be grateful
你應(yīng)該感到慶幸
You should probably be grateful that it wasn't signed off "LOL", which would have caused a different sort of confusion and consternation.
他落款上沒(méi)用"LOL"，你可能就應(yīng)該感到謝天謝地了。LOL可能會(huì)引起完全不同的困惑和恐慌。（LOL既可作Lots of love的縮寫，也可作"大笑"laugh out loud的縮寫——譯者注）
Chairman, male, 57
董事長(zhǎng)，男，57歲
Confront him
不要回避
If a manager is flirting, this could also be borderline harassment. Dealing with it might be better than shoving it aside. You should confront him and get over a potentially embarrassing situation before it develops.
如果一名經(jīng)理言語(yǔ)輕浮，這也可能是一種曖昧的騷擾行為。解決問(wèn)題可能比置之不理更好。你應(yīng)當(dāng)正面應(yīng)對(duì)他，防患于未然，以免到最后陷入令人尷尬的境地。
Official, female
官員，女
Scare him off
嚇跑他
It could be sarcasm – think here of Jamie in The Thick of It. Or it could be smarmy – think here of David Brent in The Office. Or trendy. Or absent-minded – perhaps he meant to email his girlfriend and got his wires crossed. Or just wimpy – he's afraid to tell you off.
可能他想諷刺你——想想《幕后危機(jī)》(The Thick of It)里的杰米(Jamie)。也可能是拍你馬屁——想想《辦公室》(The Office)里的大衛(wèi)•布雷特(David Brent)。或者他想趕時(shí)髦。或者他當(dāng)時(shí)心不在焉——可能他本是想給女友發(fā)電郵的，結(jié)果搞混了。又或者他比較懦弱，不敢責(zé)備你。
You seem to think it's the latter, in which case leave a short message to your significant other posted on your desk, with "Lots of love" at the bottom (subliminal message: only they get to me by those words). That'll scare him off.
看來(lái)你認(rèn)為是后一個(gè)原因，在這種情況下，你給另外一個(gè)對(duì)你來(lái)說(shuō)很重要的人寫一張便簽，末尾署上"非常愛你的"某某，（言外之意：只有他們給我寫信才能使用這樣的字眼），然后貼到辦公桌上。看到這樣的紙片，他以后就不敢那么寫了。
Male, anon
男，匿名
Turn to tradition
回歸傳統(tǒng)
Perhaps the old sign-off for letters to The Times may be apposite: "I am, Sir, your honourable and obedient servant".
或許，致《泰晤士報(bào)》(The Times)信件中那種老式的落款比較合適："先生，我是您誠(chéng)實(shí)、恭順的仆人"。
Or, as you know him: "I remain, Sir, your honourable and obedient servant".
或者，既然你認(rèn)識(shí)他，就寫："先生，我仍是您誠(chéng)實(shí)、恭順的仆人"。
Anon
匿名
