I have heard RSVP described as an acronym for Respond Very Promptly. Yeah it’s a bit of a manipulation, but it makes it English.
You’re not the only one. This is one of my pet peeves. People who do that clearly have no idea what RSVP mean.
I’ve heard regrets only for invitations where you’re supposed to tell them if you won’t attend - but what do you say if you only want people telling you that they will attend?
Probably something along the line of ‘Please contact X to reserve your place’…
When I was a kid, I learned what RSVP stood for and meant. At that point, I know I parsed it as a French phrase, and probably considered a “Please” to be redundant. However, I didn’t have much opportunity to use it. Now that I’m married to the Evite Queen of Chicago, though, I think of RSVP as an English word and the “Please” as softening what would otherwise sound like a command. In addition to the verb form at m-w.com, I also use it as a noun: “How many RSVPs did we get?”. I wonder if nouning it divorces it from the French more than just verbing it.
Like some of the posters here, I am very liberal on the question of proper words and grammar, but I do object to using apostrophes to inflect acronyms. Mostly on aesthetic grounds.
Ha. I just wrestled with this one.
(Canada by the way. It is assumed everyone has at least a smattering of French and knows what S il vous plait means.)
I just sent out birthday party invitations to my son’s entire class. All kinds of pleases and thank yous. But since its being sent out to a class of kids in FRENCH IMMERSION it says RSVP to (phone number), ask for **Mona Lisa Simpson **or Horatio Nelson Muntz No redundant pleases or thank yous.
However, people have been slow to Respondent.
And Hortatio Nelson Muntz thinks its redundant, but he is French.