The use of 'as per': 'Enclosed is the shipment...'

[Tom]

Hi

Could you please tell me how you find the usage of as per in the following sentence?

“Enclosed is the shipment of #2 toggle bolts as per your order of June 14”

In fact, I had been using as per in the same sense up until now, but recently read that it is not only redundant but also ugly.

Could you please tell me why?

Tom

[Yankee]

.
May I ask where you read this, Tom?

'As per' doesn't sound at all unusual to me in the type of sentence you wrote and the phrase is used widely.

If you wanted to sound more formal and "elegant", you might say 'in accordance with' instead. But I would argue that could sound like overkill in some contexts.

Amy
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[Tom]

OK, Amy

See the link!

Common Errors in English

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Thanks for the link. I liked the alternative sentence that was given there:

"Enclosed is the shipment of bolts you ordered June 14."

That eliminates both "as per" and "in accordance with" quite nicely.

Please note what your linked page is called: "Common Errors"
And "Common" is exactly right: The sentence you posted was an extremely typical one.

Amy
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[SkiIucK]

[Tom]

Thanks a lot, Amy for all your time and support! I am grateful!

Now, Amy, I am left with two questions:

First, if a native American/ English teacher like you finds no problem with as per in the sentence in question, then why consider it incorrect? If your experienced ears found it OK, then why go after bookish knowledge? In fact, I was quite at ease when you also found the use of as per OK there. Then I told myself not to worry about that bookish knowledge and go on with the use the same way I had been going on. Because such rules make things all the more difficult for non-native speakers like us--but now you seem to be speaking in favour of the link here--poor Tom!

Could you please discuss it a bit further?

[Yankee]

[Torsten]

[Yankee]

Hi Tom

Technically speaking, the word "as" probably is redundant, but I think the phrase should simply be seen as idiomatic. It is widely used and is typical in the sort of context your sentence illustrated. When I write "typical" I mean "usual" or "normal". It is also worth noting that the author of the website didn't actually recommend using "in accordance with" -- that was simply given as the definition. Ultimately, the recommended sentence excluded both phrases.

Tom, you will find plenty of disagreements about plenty of things in English. Some experts will tell you A is correct, and then other experts will tell you B is correct, and then still other experts will tell you that only C is correct. And it's quite likely that A, B and C are all "correct" to one degree or another.

I noticed that the website also had the word "issue" listed. The use of 'issue' to mean 'problem' is relatively new and I myself still laugh at it because it often seems to be nothing more than a denial of reality: There is, in fact, a problem. But this is another usage that you'll hear and read everywhere, so how can it really be "wrong"?

I haven't read everything on the site, but based on a quick sampling, I'd agree with Torsten's take on things.

Amy
_________________
Amy
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ESL teacher, translator, and a native speaker of American English

[SkiIucK]