Please kindly...

Status
Not open for further replies.

Polyester

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
Is it correct to use please kindly here?

Please kindly arrange our staff to pick up the goods from the customer warehouse.

If not correct, please correct me.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
In British and American English you should write "please" alone.
 

bubbha

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Taiwan
"Please kindly" has the feel of a 19th century business letter. It doesn't surprise me when I see in a business letter from India (which clings to 19th century English conventions), but not from the US or the UK.
 

Polyester

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
So, is it come from India?
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
My sister, a retired English teacher, also writes 'Please kindly'.
She is not from India, though.
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
I had told her to omit 'kindly', but she forgot it.
 

tedmc

VIP Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
Malaysia
Current Location
Malaysia
It is also common in Malaysia and Singapore. It is an Asian culture to be a bit more formal than necessary.
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
I think it is not so much formal as redundant.
 

Matthew Wai

VIP Member
Joined
Nov 29, 2013
Member Type
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
I also saw 'Please kindly' used in a medical referral letter I received last year.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Please [STRIKE]kindly[/STRIKE] arrange for our staff to pick up the goods from the customer's warehouse.
You never need to use 'please kindly'. Just be aware that you are likely to see it used by people who are not up-to-date with modern English.
 

bubbha

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2016
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
Taiwan
In India, they retain such old-style gems as "Begging the favour of your kind perusal" and "I remain, as ever, your most faithful servant"!
 

Polyester

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2014
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
Chinese
Home Country
China
Current Location
China
You never need to use 'please kindly'. Just be aware that you are likely to see it used by people who are not up-to-date with modern English.

I find it on the logistic industry email.They are always using "please kindly" to request something on the email.
 

Rover_KE

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 20, 2010
Member Type
Retired English Teacher
Native Language
British English
Home Country
England
Current Location
England
Now you know that you should not use it yourself.
 

GoesStation

No Longer With Us (RIP)
Joined
Dec 22, 2015
Member Type
Interested in Language
Native Language
American English
Home Country
United States
Current Location
United States
"Please kindly" marks the writer as speaking a local variant of English. My first guess on seeing the phrase would be that the writer is Indian or Pakistani, but I imagine Anglophones in Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, and perhaps other ex-British colonies further east may also use it.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top