Business language

Inta Urbanoviča

Written communication is an important but often insufficiently valued part of contemporary business communication. It creates an impression of our knowledge, experience and skills. By improving our language, we can formulate our thoughts and justify our view in a better way, as well as being able to develop more focused and precise communication with customers and cooperation partners.

We will be looking at current Latvian language grammar and style issues when creating business texts in this practical course. We will also analyse frequently occurring errors and learn how to improve the way and the style in which we express ourselves. 

Aim: To provide practical knowledge about the correct use of the Latvian language in a business environment.

Course duration: 1 day, 5 hours

Work methods: Lectures and discussions based on practical examples, answers to questions, practical exercises individually and in small groups.

Target audience: Anybody who wishes to improve their written business language. 

Programme:

1.Essential requirements in Latvian literary language.

2. Trends in orthography:

• Usage principles for capital letters
• Rules on writing surnames

3. Faults in word-building:

• Choosing derivatives
• Compound semantics

4. Faults in inflection:

•  Choosing the nominal grammatical category – noun declensions, gender selection, numbers, precise/ imprecise grammatical category
• Selecting grammatical categories for verbs - order, expression, time
• Use of participles
• Choice of prepositions

5. Faults in syntax:

• Forming the grammatical centre
• Word order
• Negation in a sentence
• Verbosity

6. Calques in language practice.

7. Faults in the choice of vocabulary:

• Foreign words
• Professional jargon

Venue: TRIVIUMS training centre, Blaumaņa 11/13 - 12, IV, Riga

Participation fees include handouts and coffee breaks.

For company training, the programme can be adapted for the specifics and needs of the company.