My Singapore colleagues are using the word “revert” to mean something like replying or responding to a request, or completing an assigned task. Is this usage just a Singlish thing, or has “revert” taken on this meaning in business-speak everywhere?
OK, thanks la.
A quick Google.com search for “revert request” (without quotation marks)–hoping to find something like “I was hoping he would revert to my request”–turned up nothing.
If I were to hazard a guess, could it have anything to do with a strange interpretation of the “re:” prefix used in emails?
Never heard/seen it used in that sense!
The verb in itself is an intransitive word, so the usage is totally incorrect.
No, they’re not using it as a transitive verb. It’s more like, “Give me a few days to do research and I will revert soon.” The object is implied only, not even like Speaker’s guess of, “revert to your request”. Even that usage would be intransitive though. If they said, “revert your request,” now that would be transitive, but I’m pretty sure they don’t use it that way.
Sometimes I revert to an unemployed state…
Some discussion of this Singaporean phenomenon here: Revert! No more Revert! CPR! CPR!
At my job, we route ships around the world, taking into account weather. We use the word revert as well, so it’s more of an industry (marine) thing I think for us. Basically, we can translate revert as “get back to you”, as in, we will revert with the information you requested.
I have noticed that many of my colleagues (IAAL) in the UK use the word “revert” as described in the OP.
IANAL but IA in the UK and have never heard this particular manglement of our mother tongue.
You’d think with those fat fees they could afford a dictionary 
if it is Singlish, it should include the redundant ‘back’ as in, “We will look into the matter immediately and revert back to you as soon as possible.”
I have also heard it quite often in dealing with Latin American business units.
In my conversations with people in India, they have used “revert” or “revert back” in all cases when I would have said “reply.”
“Please revert”
“I reverted back to him this morning”
“I have not yet reverted his mail”
It drives me up the wall.
If someone instructed me to revert anything with my email, they would get the biggest ‘WTF?’ look they’ve ever seen.
It’s common in Australian and English legal correspondence.
Where would such a horrid thing come from!?
I mean revert and reply aren’t even similar words.
…HOW?
They must do this when a meeting has been preponed. That’s another Indianism I’ve picked up.
In a recent conversation, an Indian asked me what word we use in America, since we don’t say “preponed.” I honestly couldn’t remember ever having any need for such a word. Things get postponed all the time. I can’t remember anything ever being subject to the opposite.
Errrrr… brought forward?
I’ve always heard “I’ll check into it and revert as soon as possible”. 'Course, I’m one of them “lah” people as well, so I understand what it means.
How about “rescheduled” ?
It’s not specific enough. “Rescheduled” could mean either “postponed” or “preponed.” The question is what we would say that has exactly the same meaning.