# Attention European Embassies in America: Use American Style Dating on Your Official Notices! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 7, 2012, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945 "2012-09-07T02:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![EmilyG](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emilyg/32/364_2.png) [@EmilyG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmilyG)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2012, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/101 "2012-09-13T00:11:29Z")
Any dates written either month/day or day/month confuse the hell out of me (e.g. 6/8.) To be honest, I don’t even know which of the two systems we use here in Canada. So whenever I write the date on something, I always write out the month name, plus the day (e.g. June 8.) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/102 "2012-09-18T04:26:54Z")
> [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](#): > > Why? > > In any case, I’d imagine that wannabe Germans using ‘Kraut’ is a fairly uncontroversial case. > > Same as Giles Coren (a third-generation Briton of Polish descent) referring to newly-arrived Polish immigrants as ‘Polacks’. He’s not Polish, so even if they can do it, he can’t. ([link](http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/aug/08/pressandpublishing.thetimes)) > > pdts Because saying what you said is no less racist. You apparently view Americans as not worthy of their cultural heritage. You think someone born to German parents somehow is no longer allows to consider themselves German. What you said would be like some former slave telling modern black people they can’t say the word “nigger,” as it was never used against them. And, also, I’d guess by the fact that she used “N-word,” you’ve at one point used that word incorrectly, or, at least, someone with a similar username has. EDIT: the fact that you think someone whose parents are from Germany is racist against Germans is fucking ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/103 "2012-09-18T04:30:01Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Since there isn’t a YYYY-DD-MM convention, I suspect we’re all good enough to translate 2012-09-02. And most people–in the U.S.–at least, don’t know there is a YYYY-MM-DD convention, since we don’t use it. If you know the convention being used, any system seems logical. Hence why people are saying you should include a word for the month. Unfortunately, they forget that different languages would use different letters. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/104 "2012-09-18T04:36:49Z")
it’s easier to check a dictionary than to try to differentiate between 10/08/12, 08/10/12, 12/10/08, 12/08/10 … ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/105 "2012-09-18T04:53:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Hence why people are saying you should include a word for the month. Unfortunately, they forget that different languages would use different letters. I think any bureaucrat who produces a memo or other document in Language A but writes the date in Language B is just being malicious for the sheer hell of it. \*Dear Sir: Your application for a visa to allowing you to enter Croatia for your extremely urgent and important trip is hereby approved. Please come to the Croatian Consulate-General at 123 Elm Street on the first day of Siječanj, being sure to bring with you a government-issued photo ID. Please be advised that the visa will ONLY be available on the first day of Siječanj–the second day of Siječanj or the last day of Prosinac are both right out–so be sure to be at the Consulate as early as possible on that day.\* ---
**Author:** ![put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/da6949/32.png) [@put\_down\_the\_sabre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/put_down_the_sabre)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/106 "2012-09-18T10:58:00Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because saying what you said is no less racist. You apparently view Americans as not worthy of their cultural heritage. You think someone born to German parents somehow is no longer allows to consider themselves German. \ . Whoa, calm down. It’s not that I think children of German immigrants are ‘not worthy’ of their cultural heritage. But that’s all it is, heritage – they are not German. Just like if an American moves to England and has kids, those kids (and certainly any grandkids) are not in any meaningful sense American - they are British. pdts ---
**Author:** ![spanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@spanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spanna)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/107 "2012-09-18T11:14:06Z")
> [@MEBuckner](#): > > I think any bureaucrat who produces a memo or other document in Language A but writes the date in Language B is just being malicious for the sheer hell of it. If the language was ENGLISH then the format is dd/mm/yy so therefore correct by your statement ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/108 "2012-09-18T12:19:39Z")
I can say Kraut to Krauts because I’m Danish and being racist towards Krauts is part of my cultural heritage and anyone wanting to deny me that right is a horrible anti-Danish racist. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/109 "2012-09-18T12:26:39Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > Who gives a shit what works well for computers? Computers need to accommodate humans, not the other way round. DD/MM/YYYY works best because it lists from left to right the information most likely to be of interest to the person reading it. I admit I have a soft spot in my heart for computers, but if we can all agree on a format that is unambiguous and works well for both computers and people, wouldn’t that be the Best Of All Possible Worlds? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/110 "2012-09-18T14:02:42Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And most people–in the U.S.–at least, don’t know there is a YYYY-MM-DD convention, since we don’t use it. If you know the convention being used, any system seems logical. > > Hence why people are saying you should include a word for the month. Unfortunately, they forget that different languages would use different letters. Oh, bollocks. If there is anyone in the US who doesn’t know that dates are sometimes written YYYY-MM-DD they’re probably not ready to be handling their own affairs. In fact, I’m looking at a stack of (American) medical records on which all the dates are written that way right now. ---
**Author:** ![gamerunknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6bbea6/32.png) [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/111 "2012-09-18T22:44:49Z")
> [@Rune](#): > > I can say Kraut to Krauts because I’m Danish Only when it’s convenient! ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/112 "2012-09-19T15:33:32Z")
This debate is still going on? Check this out: [“It was the third of September.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s3SNHIH0bs) Those are Americans speaking! (Some will contend this was an aberration due to poetic license, but that claim holds no water. With such a license the date itself could have been changed to yield, e.g., _It was August the ei-eight. I shan’t forget that da…ate._) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/113 "2012-09-19T16:28:24Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > This debate is still going on? Check this out: [“It was the third of September.”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s3SNHIH0bs) Those are Americans speaking! > > (Some will contend this was an aberration due to poetic license, but that claim holds no water. With such a license the date itself could have been changed to yield, e.g., _It was August the ei-eight. I shan’t forget that da..ate._) I don’t understand your point. There’s nothing uncommon, unusual, or remarkable about “the third of September.” That’s irrelevant to the question of what “3/9” means to an American. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/114 "2012-09-19T16:46:40Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > …That’s irrelevant to the question of what “3/9” means to an American. Which is? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/115 "2012-09-19T16:48:02Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Which is? Are you pulling my leg? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/116 "2012-09-19T16:53:06Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > Which is? …explained on the first two pages. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/117 "2012-09-19T17:00:08Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Are you pulling my leg? I thought you meant the date September 9 held some specific significance when I read your post. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/118 "2012-09-19T17:24:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > That being the case, anyone who thinks he got fucked over because a German government agency printed a document in the same manner it prints all other documents is stupid. I suspect the vast majority of German Government documents are in German. So, the document is already NOT printed the way they print all other documents. They had to translate it. The goal of translating is to make the document easily understandable to the target audience. That should also include changing the date format, so that IT is easily understandable to the target audience. Using a European style date format when communicating, in English, to a US resident, is a clear example of failing to fully translate the document for full comprehension by your target audience. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/119 "2012-09-19T17:31:29Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > I thought you meant the date September 9 held some specific significance when I read your post. Sorry. Or possibly September 3. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945/120 "2012-09-19T20:38:33Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I suspect the vast majority of German Government documents are in German. So, the document is already NOT printed the way they print all other documents. They had to translate it. The goal of translating is to make the document easily understandable to the target audience. That should also include changing the date format, so that IT is easily understandable to the target audience. > > Using a European style date format when communicating, in English, to a US resident, is a clear example of failing to fully translate the document for full comprehension by your target audience. Maybe it was a gotcha à la the scene from Inglorious Basterds with the confusion how to sign “three” - meaning “If you’re German (and therefore deserving of our money) you will understand the date correctly…” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/attention-european-embassies-in-america-use-american-style-dating-on-your-official-notices/633945.md?page=7)