What is the correct spelling of the thing that gets you a job and what is the name of the funny thing on top (grave or acute) of the the letter e?
Resume, resumé, or résumé?
June 24th, 2004 by Chas
141 Responses to “Resume, resumé, or résumé?”
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The first and last spellings are both entirely acceptable and correct, but please avoid the middle one. The mark in question is an "accent", and in this case, they are all acute.
Jun-Dai is strictly correct, but I should add that in most of the US the unaccented form is preferred; the accented form is thought of as a sort of affected overcorrectness.
One might think the accented form is foreign, However, I see many resumes from overseas (since I’m in the "oilngas bidness" in Houston), but 99 times out of a hundred they’re just called C.V.’s (for "curriculum vitae").
I typed badly but I’m not in a mood to care about it right now because I’m getting a new kitten as soon as I get off work. :)
I always learned the middle one. Resumé is how it’s almost always spelled around here.
I visited this page to see the plural form of
resumé
Can I get any help ?
Regards,
Ram.
Yeah. To get the plural, just add an S to your favorite of the three forms.
Incidentally, the plural of "CV" is "CVs," but the plural of "curriculum vitae" is "curricula vitae." Hooray for Latin.
that was a great remark speedwell.
Jun Dai is right. Resumé is a french word. The accent that goes up is the acute accent. the accent that slants down is the grave accent. They produce difference sounds.
The grave accents give sounds that are close to "er" than "e" :P
Ivy, there is a difference of opinion on whether and how words borrowed into English from other languages become part of English or remain part of their original languages.
Obviously, since we do not use accent marks in English, any words so adopted as English words will lose their accent marks.
Since the word "resume" is ubiquitous in English (we don’t say CV, nor do we use a construction such as "statement of employment history"), I would argue (and I’m not alone) that it is now an English word and needs no accent marks.
OK, take and spank me with a saguaro…. In the last post I was (naturally) assuming American English. OF COURSE all other English speakers on the planet, practically, say CV.
Yes, of course I know resume is an english word. Just trying to tell u it’s borrowed from the French hence suggesting that French grammatical rules still apply if you choose to use the accent.
And just adding on to jun-dai’s accent tutorial there with acute/grave.
While "resumé" is acceptable (i.e., it is in the dictionary), I would recommend against it, because I don’t see the value in retaining one of the accents and not both. The only function that accent marks have in the English language are to maintain the accented spelling in borrowed words, so it doesn’t make much sense to me to retain the second accent and not the first.
There may be a reason in that the final "e" is spoken and not silent as you might normally expect, but that would be giving a new function to the accent mark in the English language. Anyways, there are plenty of heteronyms in the English language, so there should be no reason to fret over "resume" (I don’t think there are any contexts in which this could be confused with the other word "resume," which is a verb). The argument between "résumé" and "resume" is about the same as between "café" and "cafe."
Just to answer your other question,
é has an ‘acute’ accent (‘accent aigu’ in French)
and
è has a ‘grave’ (‘accent grave’ in French)
‘we don’t say CV’??
Who doesn’t?
WE don’t. American speakers–I mean U.S. speakers (OK, OK, Canadians, get off my case already).
I’m a secretary and I know these things. :P
The word is French. The original spelling is "résumé", and this is the preferred spelling in English as well. However, since no English keyboard has a key with "é" on it (I type it via Alt-130 now) it has become accepted to simply say "resume". "Resumé" is not here not there — if you know how to achieve the accent-aigue, then type the word correctly with both Es accented, if not, well, then use the un-accented version. The plural is "résumés" (or "resumes", depending on how you prefer to deal with the accents.) It is so both in English and in French.
The term "CV" is used too, quite a bit. In fact, it may be preferred because it’s no less foreign than "resume", while being shorter and having no accents :-) …
No <i>more</i> foreign, I meant.
sorry to correct speedwell, but the plural of curriculum vitae is "curricula vitarum"
Nope.
http://www.yaelf.com/aueFAQ/mifplrlsltngrkwrds.shtml
I meant to also post the appropriate paragraph from the link posted below, in case it went down:
"The Latin plural of "curriculum vitae" is "curricula vitae". Some people who know a little Latin think it should be "curricula vitarum" (since _vitae_ means "of a life" and _vitarum_ means "of lives"); but to an ancient Roman, "curricula vitarum" would suggest that each document described more than one life. This is a feature of the Latin genitive of content, which differs in this regard from the more common Latin genitive of possession."
Surely the accent is used to indicate the pronunciation of the word. I pronounce this word "reh-zhu-may", not "ray-zhu-may", so I spell it with only the second e accented. I consider the first spelling (no accents) a convenience for English keyboard users and the second (both e’s accented) as incorrect.
Since English does not use accent marks, I do not use accent marks in words that have been fully assimilated into English.
I’ve never heard the word pronounced "re-zhu-may." Every time I hear people use it, I hear "reh-zoo-may" or even "reh-zoo-meh" (accent always on the first syllable, never the last one).
The punctuation marks on top of the letter ‘e’ in French are for pronunciation, not for ‘accenting’ the sound (as I presume you mean, in the sense of stressing or inflecting it differently).
Without any punctuation, the word is identical on the page (and nearly identical in French pronunciation) to the English word ‘resume’ which has its own distinct meaning. Although printed puns are a good source of cheap hilarity, we’ve got plenty in English already. Let’s not make more if we don’t have to.
I think we should resume using résumé in order to avoid confusion.
It might be harder to type, but are we not human beings???
I always though eliminating accent marks in borrowed French words represented the heighth of laziness in English words and hints a little too much of Americans’ xenophobic nature …
… which is why, for some reasdon, even though I was educated in Georgia public schools which are always either 49th or 50th on nationwide testing scores, always defer to the original British spelling of wods like "honour" and "catalogue". The people I work with make fun of me, but hey … I’m using classical English, so what do they k now?
Now you just need to convince other people to use real English. That, and I’m rather hoping you don’t apologise for any of it.
(incidentally, Australian English uses résumé)
Heighth? Sorry, it rhymes with shite. Go Georgia!
In American academia, I've only seen "CV." Perhaps "resume" is too identified with getting a job.
To those who said that curriculum vitae is not used in American English:
That is not really true. Certain industries use CVs while most others do not. In particular, professionals in academia, medicine, law, and also music and art, typically would have a curriculum vitae rather than a resume.
Furthermore, at least in in American English usage, a resume and a curriculum vitae are not necessarily the same thing.
Usually, a resume is a short, recent, relevant list of accomplishments and qualifications, tailored to a particular job, or even a particular prospective employer. It is generally limited to two pages or less (some employers will intentionally discard any resumes longer than two pages without even looking at them).
By comparison, a curriculum vitae is a complete and comprehensive list of all activities encompassing one's entire professional life. It would include every job, school, award, seminar, performance, etc. and is not targeted to a particular job. It is usually much longer than a resume.
see:
http://www.acinet.org/resume/resume_cv.asp?nodeid=26
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%A9sum%C3%A9
Oh, and according to several dictionaries, all three spellings/accent combinations for resume are correct.
MarkB, as to leaving out the first accent because YOU (and most English speakers) pronounce the first syllable as "reh-", not "rey-" really misses the point. The FRENCH always spell it with two accents because THEY pronounce it "rey-"! It's a borrowed French word, hence the two accents in English. One of my dictionaries, the oldest, actually lists "rey-" as a proper (not preferred) pronunciation. You might find this interesting, Speedwell, the same dictionary shows accenting the last syllable instead of the first as being correct (not preferred). After all, that is how the French say it.
To Full Stop: every dictionary I checked shows the spelling with no accents as the preferred one (all others are correct though).
Whether the accents are appropriate or not I wouldn't recommend you use them. I've submitted several resumes thru job sites and just found out that they convert e's with accents over them to i's. So everywhere I spelled resume with accents came out as risumi. That looks really dumb when you're applying for professional level positions!!
In general I think all three spellings are fine, though résumé looks pretentious to me (just my opinion). I usually write resumé, as I think resume looks like the English verb "to resume," as in, to continue doing something. But after BC's warning, I will make sure to exclude accent marks when sending in a resumé online! Also, I would like to thank Speedwell. "Spank me with a saguaro." That is probably the most brilliant expression I have ever heard.
Yeah I agree with BC. The spell checker did something weird! Someone wasn?t on their personal computer. They didn?t see it until later. Don?t blame it on your assistant because it wasn?t her . Now Mr.Porsche, Do you really think that she?d address you by you?re first name on such a formal document? No, it wasn?t her… it was me! So spank me!
Typo Negative
A good number of English words are French. I prefer résumé because I have a Mac and 'é' is very easy to type. I do get crap for it from time to time but I like to show that I'm educated. For people that are determined to make it an American thing, like Freedom Fries, I would suggest spelling it 'rezuhmay.' If you're in the U.K. avoid 'resume' all together as it spells yank with a capital 'W'. And I don't know why one would bother with one 'é'. Truly, unless you subscribe to the priciples of the Oxford English Dictionary that language should follow set rules, you can spell it however you like. 'Resume' by the way does have it's own meaning.
For what it's worth, the current edition — the Fourth — of the American Heritage College Dictionary (which, as suggested by its title, gives preference to American usage practice), lists resumé first, followed by resume, and then résumé.
For what it's worth, the current edition — the Fourth — of the American Heritage College Dictionary needs to go back to school.
résumé is a summary
resume signifies a continuance
resumé is a botched spelling of the French word
résumé is pronounced "ray-zoo-may", rather elegant
resume is pronounced "ree-zoom"
resumé is pronounced ruh-zoomay or ree-zoomay which to my ear means the spelling was probably coined by some souithern bumpkin or midwest hog breeder
For what it's worth, the current edition — the Fourth — of the American Heritage College Dictionary describes the current accepted spellings of the word. If you're saying this dictionary is wrong, I'd like to know what special powers you have that tell you how the word is really spelled.
>> If you're saying this dictionary is wrong, I'd like to know what special powers you have that tell you how the word is really spelled. <<
Spelling of résumé: For what it's worth, 30 years experience writing résumés (plural) for top professional and executive level personnel. The format I helped design is still offered by a majority of the on-line "resume" services.
I don't see how your job is relevant to how a certain word is spelled. Dictionaries report on the common spellings of words. What other authority do we have, besides the usage of the English-speaking and writing community?
As an Australian I have always used resume, and if you really don't know whether to put in the accents or not then type the title of your document in capitals – the French usually leave off accents in capitals.
I agree that it has been fully assimilated into English and think that people should be able to tell by the context whether it is 'to recommence' or 'CV' – like wind and wind. The 'é' often gets mangled in online transit as mentioned.
The French pronounce acute accents more or less as 'ae' like in hate (as pronounced by an American), grave accents are a straight 'eh' like in hair and e with no accent is flat like in 'hurt'.
As an apostrophe advocate for the annoyance of all I am going to point out that 'it's' equals it is/it has, 'its' is possessive (the cat bit its tongue) and one might have '30 years of experience' or '30 years' experience' if the experience is a result of the years. Nonetheless, I do not intend to criticise (Australian spelling), language is evolving and one is resistant to change…
Frieda, If I' not mistaken, the French pronounce the e with grave accent exactly the same as the e with no accent. The exact pronunciation depends on the surrounding consonants.
Does anyone can help me? When we pronunce the word "resume" meaning CV, is it pronunced as "résumé" or we just maintain its "original" pronunciation meaning recommence, begin again, etc?
>> Does anyone can help me? When we pronunce the word "resume" meaning CV, is it pronunced as "résumé" or we just maintain its "original" pronunciation meaning recommence, begin again, etc? <<
Despite the controversy over correct spelling, "resume" as in CV is still pronouned "résumé" or "ray-zoo-may" fast, or, perhaps more popular, a fast Reah-Zoom-May.
It won't make a good impresion at the personnel office if you hand the person behind the desk your "CV" with the words, "Here's the ReeZoom you requested . . . "
There is only one reason to spell the word "résumé" instead of resume, and that is to distinguish the two words that have different meanings. As F. David Bower noted, we are human beings, and as I'll note, we are generally thinking human beings.
To Anonymous | Jun-12-07 6:17PM, an accented e in French is always pronounced like an American long a, although an unaccented e can also take that sound when surrounded, as you pointed out, with proper consonants…like er in French is also pronounced as a long a…
OP
I'm with MarkG. The spelling, resume', represents the pronunciation "reh zoo may," which is how this word is pronounced in English (in practice, it may also be pronounced that way by the French). I avoid writing resume because it can be confused with "ree zoom," and I don't write re'sume' because this spelling does not reflect the way the word is actually pronounced in English (it is also very hard to write with an English keyboard).
Haha, I stumbled across this page while trying to determine the correct form of resume. i no longer care, i'm more amused that this argument has been going on for 4 years! Cheers!
@JC same thing happened to me :)
I'm actually French and I was looking for the exact way Americans spell this word… And I still don't know after reading all this. But I can tell you how to pronounce it:
it's not Ray-Zoom-May
it's more like Ray-zuum-may
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/resum%C3%A9
Wow, what a discussion. I noticed that I wanted to accent the second "e" in resume, so (as an editor) I thought I'd see what the usual practice is on the web. And I found this highly engaging conversation. (Yes, I do start sentences with conjunctions, a practice for which I refuse to apologize. I have also been known to end sentences with prepositions if they are clearer and less awkward that way. For my target audience, readability is usually a top priority. Obviously not in this comment, though!)
I agree that an accent over the second e is helpful in distinguishing the word from the other word, but it's usually pretty clear from context what is meant. The part of the discussion that got my attention was the whole notion that CVs and resumes are interchangeable, when they are most decidedly NOT. I've worked in science, education, and health care, and I actually need both a CV and a resume. The difference is quite vividly outlined in this little online advice column:
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/0000/how_to_write_a_winning_resume
As a "souithern bumpkin," I'd like to point out to BOS that "southern" does not normally contain an "i"–on either side of the pond–so I'm not sure how much spelling expertise we can rightfully expect from him. Perhaps he is a "yanqui ignoramus," but I still appreciate that he bothered to look up the word and share his findings with us.
Thanks for some fun reading, and may the debate continue!
JC | Jan-15-08 6:42PM–I feel the same way!
I personally think that the accents should stay (perhaps I'm biased, I speak French). We still write the accents for things like "crème brûlée."
But then again, what aren't we willing to do for some burnt cream? ;)
Add me to the "Country Bumpkin" brigade. I had NEVER seen it spelled résumé before until today.
also, since I (and everyone I know of) pronounces it reh-zoo-may, I still prefer the resumé.
right or not :)
former Ohioan
current Floridian
USA…
Seconding that dhraga. I have only seen it as resume or resumé.
'before until today'? Is that valid grammar?
unfortunatley, I typed in what my mind was telling me too…
:(
I had never seen it before. Until today.
there.
A brilliant, sophisticated discussion. Thanks everyone. I still have no idea how to spell "resume" properly, but was entertained and pleased to find a web posting without excessive bashing.
Here here Zirt. Fascinating. I do appreciate the info from BC 4/11/07 about e-mailing with accented "e" turns it to "i." It takes the pressure off my entire predicament ;)
What a fantastic debate!
4 years worth of advice and I am still undecided as to which spelling to use. Therefore, capital letters it shall be. :)
To quote Kent Brockman: here's my two cents.
Spell it either without any accents at all ("resume") or with both ("résumé").
Depending on your particular English accent, say REZ-you-may or REZ-zoo-may.
I am a French speaker but I can tell you that you are not obliged to pronounce this word as if you were an énarque hunting for a position in the fonction publique!
Rez-you-may or CV. That's it.
there is a different between a resume and a CV, actually.
CV is a longer document, a complete listing of accomplishments, awards, publications. ubiquitous in academia.
resume is a shorter (one to two page) document summarizing work experience, accomplishments, etc. used for interviews/employment.
a uc berkeley professor recently corrected me on this point when i emailed him an "attached CV". sort of embarrassing.
As for transmitting résumé electronically, AP style demands both acute accents, and news stories must be able to be transmitted over the wire. Therefore I think you will generally be OK with both accents. Using only the one seems like doing it only half-way, like someone else said. Use both or none, not one.
The accent above the last IS needed, without it the e would not be pronounced in English.
"The accent above the last IS needed, without it the e would not be pronounced in English."
This is the epitome* of nonsense. Of course the "e" at the end is pronounced, with or without an accent. You're confusing the written representation of the language with the spoken language itself.
* So, should this be pronounced "epi-toem"?
You people are too smart for me. But for anyone who didn't already know, the keyboard shortcut to add an accent is Ctrl + ' or`, then the letter (e or a).
Best of luck with your resumes, hope everyone finds a job!
Jim,
Thanks so much for the keyboard tip! This will save me so much effort, as I frequently deal with accented words.
Wow. A loooooooooooot of ppl answered this question lol
u are all wrong, its actually rezoomay
Note that an even easier way to get é (at least with a Brit English keyboard, feel free to try it on yours!) is ctrl-alt-e, combine with a shift for capitals. Similarly á, í, ó, ú.
And FWIW, my opinion on the original question: while as a Brit I use "CV" for the document in question, if I were using the American word I would spell it with accents as otherwise it is too easily confused with the existing English verb meaning to pick up where one left off. (I was writing my CV but was interrupted. I am now going to resume writing my résumé).
LOL came here to see if I should put the accents on my "see attatched resume." Decided yes since the job involves speaking Spanish and it seems good to point out yes, I do know how to use 'em. But I love the (relatively) polite discussion. Thanks :)
This was all very good reading for me. Thanks everyone for the insights.
I have decided I will now use both accents for the purpose of my résumé.
Furthermore, in the process of learning keyboard tips…
"Jim | Oct-23-08 6:57AM
You people are too smart for me. But for anyone who didn't already know, the keyboard shortcut to add an accent is Ctrl + ' or`, then the letter (e or a).
Best of luck with your resumes, hope everyone finds a job!"
Thank you Jim.
This worked well in MS Word but everywhere else I tried using the same keystrokes and I was either opening different programs or resizing the screen.
So I searched and found the following link which has helped, and I thought for those that have reached thus far in reading up on how to spell résumé may also want to know how to type résumé with ease too.
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/finetypography/ht/acute.htm
It may be different for the arts, but we typically do not have to title our brag sheets.
If you do, I suggest you use the original word – résumé, no permutation of it; or, use CV / Curriculum Vitae.
Ironically, résumé originates from Latin (not directly – I know it's French). The word means "Summary". Look at "Summary": Sum + (+m) + -ary. In Latin, sum means "to be", and summa means "the highest part", or "the whole". Like the english word "sum".
If you wanna be a real star, you should title the document, "Mea Laureolae", or "Mei Principati", or something like that.
This was hilarious! I just forgot what the accent was called and stumbled upon this site while quickly researching it. It appears that all three ways are correct but I was glad to see that someone corrected the CV vs. resume issue, I owe a large chunk of money to the institution that taught me the difference and when to use each one.
After taking 7 years of French and spending years as a copywriter, I am applying for a job with an internationally renowned company. While I'm certain my "Resume" would be acceptable, it will be transmitted as a "Résumé" in deference to the company's international ties. Incidentally, I did a spell check using only one accent on the final "e" and Word (2003) spell check corrected it with both accents!
And now for something (not entirely) completely different — that I'm pretty sure we can _ALL_ agree upon:
"Résume" is not an acceptable spelling of the word in question, anywhere, anytime.
:^)
Not sure how it'll render in this comment, in case anyone is interested, the correct way to get an acute e to show up correctly on a Web page is with what's called an HTML entity. The incantation for doing that is this (without the spaces):
& eacute ;
Without the accent's it spells resume as in "I had to take a phone call but now I am going to resume the task of cleaning the garage."
How entertaining, I think I'll resume writing my resume.
Is anybody confused?
As a professional resume or résumé or resumé writer – I note in filling in this comment, the "resumes" with accents are noted as spelling errors.
Some Résumé organizations insist on using the two-accented Résumé as the correct version. Dictionaries say all three versions are acceptable.
As a former computer professional from many years, I now simply use "resume" without the accents. I have seen too many systems make the accented "é" into something which is not a valid character. Also, since Word rejects Resumé as a spelling, I would never use it – why add a flag that does not need to be there.
Hey Robin, what exactly is a professional Resume writer? Do you write resumes for people or are you just perpetually unemployed?
Microsoft Word actually corrected my from resumé to résumé. So I guess I'll trust Bill on this.
but é does not exist in the engrish ranguage
I am the one who originally asked this question, five years ago. It amazes me that it is still getting comments. For the record, I use résumé and I type “é”s with alt-e+e on a MacBook Pro (or as é in HTML)
Ummm, I’m not like some great English Major or anything. I have a degree in Fine Art/Graphic Design. However, it has been my experience that one always uses the accent over the LAST “e” for this purpose. The accent is used to show which way the final “e” in “Resumé” is to be pronounced in the English (American) language.
“Resume”, can be confusing in that you would “Resume your position”. The First “e” is pronounced “eh” like in “epiphany” or “effort” while the last “e” is simply silent.
However in the word “Resumé”, I was taught that while the first “e” with no accent stays the same like in “resume” with the “eh” sound, the accent over the SECOND “e” tells one to pronounce the last “e” as “ay”, as in “Ape” or “grApe”. If this rule is true, then to me, “Résumé” would be pronounced “Ray-zoom-ay”, rather than the correct English (American) pronunciation of “Rez-oom-ay” or “Rez-ü-may”….if you prefer ;)
Thoughts? Opinions? I mean I definitely trust those who have studied English and other languages, MS Word Spell checker, & Webster’s dictionary over me or anything I was taught any day….but just curious….. Thanks!
Would you presume to resume resume writing?
“rodrios says:
April 4, 2008 at 9:05 am
Here here Zirt….”
that comes form a contraction of “Hear him! Hear him!” and so is “Hear, hear,” not “Here, here.”
” ‘The accent above the last IS needed, without it the e would not be pronounced in English.’
“This is the epitome* of nonsense. Of course the ‘e’ at the end is pronounced, with or without an accent. You’re confusing the written representation of the language with the spoken language itself.
“* So, should this be pronounced ‘epi-toem’ ?”
It seems to me that you are overstating the case. There is an English word “ree ZOOM” but there is no word “EH pih tohm.” The accented “e”s make it much clearer (no context required) that the word is “REH zoo may.”
The assertion that it was rewuired was probably too stout of an assertion, but your sweeping it aside seems to me to have been too far in the other direction.
Without the accent, it is pretty sure that context will clear things up without a hitch, but the accent is very helpful as well.
€
Ctrl + alt plus “e” gives me € from within MS Word, nothing outside it. (Those shortcuts, such as ctrl + ‘ followed by e or a are unique to the program being used as well. They work for me in Word, but not outside it.)
If you know the ASCII value for any character, you can create that character by holding the alt key while typing zero folowed by the code, then releasing the alt key. (You must use the number pad, not the number keys above the letter keys.)
è 0232 | ò 0242
é 0233 | ó 0243
à 0224 | º 0186 (degree)
á 0225 | ¢ 0162
ç 0231 | × 0215 (multiplication)
¥ 0165 | œ 0156
€ 0128 | æ 0230
® 0174 | ™ 0153
º 0186 | ¹ 0185
² 0178 | ³ 0179
£ 0163 | § 0167
± 0177 | ÷ 0247
ƒ 0131 | ¿ 0191, ¡ 0161
µ 0181 | ß 0223
¼ ½ ¾ 0188 – 0190
I wondered about the accents myself, so I looked it up back when I was in college (no personal computers then, I’m talking about the 1970s). What I discovered was that the first e would take a grave, not an acute accent, so if you’re going to be pedantic enough to use the accent on the first e, you might as well be pedantic enough to use a grave accent. Personally, I leave both accents off unless for some reason I both know I might encounter and expect to want to impress…a pedant.
Grave accent? Really? Not in French. Why would the accent, if preserved, be changed in type? That doesn’t make any sense. Perhaps your source (or your recollection) was in error?
My impression was, and recollection is, that the grave accent was superfluous in French resumé, and would serve only to distinguish the [ɛ] of the first e from the [e] of the second, if used. I don’t think either my recollection or the source are incorrect, per se, although both might have their tongues slightly in their cheeks when pronouncing those ees.
I prefer to use resumé. One accent.
Wikipedia does a good job of explaining why :
“A number of loanwords are sometimes spelled in English with an acute accent used in the original language: these include sauté, roué, café, touché, fiancé, and fiancée. Retention of the accent is common only in the French ending é or ée, as in these examples, where its absence would tend to suggest a different pronunciation. Thus the French word résumé is commonly seen in English as resumé, with only one accent (but also with both or none).”
Résumé is fancier looking! Go fancy, I say!
I like this article’s response to the question of how to spell resume: http://www.writeworks.biz/newsletter/archives/mythtaken/022003.htm
which gives the basis for each common version, and the best rule of thumb: be consistent or be wrong for sure!
I’m glad I’m not alone. I’ll now resume my resumé.
If you’re going to put accents at all, put both (résumé), because this word is borrowed from French, and in French it has both. And, no, the first accent would not be grave. The difference between é, e and è is in the pronunciation, and they all sound different (think of the words “le,” “théâtre,” and “liège.”) If you drop the accents, you’re already anglicizing the word, so you might as well drop both. Or, keep both if you want to preserve the original French spelling. “Resumé” just looks like an incorrect hybrid.
The CV is most often used in academics and medical professions, and it virtually non-existant in the business world.
The résumé is properly pronounced REZ-oo-MEY. That is, the emphasis is on the first AND the third sylable. (Which is why it has accents there.) Other spellings are often found, but are not correct. Other pronounciations are not correct.
In business, many people ignore the accents in correspondence because they are lazy, or unable to figure our how to make an accent mark. Even though there is a high tolerance for the mispelled “resume” version, and it will probably not make a difference between getting the job or not, it is nevertheless, incorrect. It would be properly pronounced “REZ-oom”.
I am not judgmental. Spell it and pronounce it any way you choose. But, if you want to know the correct spelling, that is it.
To insert the é with accent in one, I always used “Alt130″ .. tried the other keystrokes suggested, but didn’t work. maybe because i am still using Office 2000…
Atomaton, regarding:
“The résumé is properly pronounced REZ-oo-MEY. That is, the emphasis is on the first AND the third sylable. (Which is why it has accents there.)”
I’m sorry but I have to disagree. The acute accent in French has nothing to do with emphasis. It affects pronunciation. The sole purpose of the first accent is to change the pronunciation to “REY…” Without the accent it would be “REH…” as you have indicated. By the way, I agree with you; in English, the common and correct pronunciation is “REH-zoo-MAY”. Perhaps that’s why the spelling with only one accent on the second “e” is also considered correct.
By the way, somewhere along the way, I was taught that when spelling phonetically, a consonant sandwiched between two syllables is nearly always considered to be part of the second syllable. For example, in the very word we’re discussing, it should be phonetically spelled “REH-zoo-MAY”, not “REZ-oo-MEY”. Does anyone have a similar recollection? Of course, dictionary.com spells it “REZ-oo-MEY”.
check it ma dogs
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/r%C3%A9sum%C3%A9
My wife and I had a minor disagreement about this very suject this evening… I spell it resumé, she saw it and said, “WRONG! It’s résumé!” I maintain you can spell it either way, but here’s the kicker, at least for me: my name is “René”, spelled with the accent over the second e, and pronounced “renay” (though I have heard about every mispronounciation there is). So for me, “resumé” is the way to go… MS Word be damned!
OK it was a *minor* disagreement regarding the spelling…
MSft “Bill” enforces one spelling, and some pronunciation SMEs profess another. Either way (both “e”s having the acute accent, or the last having it is fine).
I simply use MSWord rather frequently… and the squiggly red underline annoys my OCD considerably… :-)
Quote: “By the way, somewhere along the way, I was taught that when spelling phonetically, a consonant sandwiched between two syllables is nearly always considered to be part of the second syllable. ”
Porsche,
I was taught the same. Additionally, I was taught that where double consonants come into play, the syllables are split between them; i.e., an-te-bel-lum.
I agree with Savvy and porsche about the accent changing the vowel sound and pronunciation. I would use Resumé based on my past experience with reading French. Two accents looks like you don’t know what you’re doing and would be pronounced with the same sound for both “e” characters, and I think most people here would agree that’s incorrect. Regarding Brian W.’s post, the sound of the vowels in a word is changed by where you syllabicate a word, which is why we pronounce the “e” sound when a syllable break is added before the final “e” (three syllables total). When used as resume (as in restarting something), there are only two syllables, not three, and in that case, the “e” is silent and is used to make the previous vowel sound long.
I finally looked it up in Websters and noticed the definition/pronunciation key included both accents because the word was originally was pronounced with two long “a” sounds for the accented “e.” I think the confusion for us is that in current usage, people pronounce the word incorrectly, using “rez” as the first syllable instead of “ray”. It is really fun to say with a French accent. ‘Here is my ray-zu-may!’
CV.
But if you want to be French and use resumé, go ahead and include as many acute accents as it takes to make you happy and your word choice unambiguous.
I am thoroughly confused after reading this discussion on the correct way to pronounce this word. I am writing content for a website and am not sure how to write the word resume (meaning – summary). It looks like the correct way is resume with the two e’s with an accent above them. I do think the word if written without any accents can be pronounced to resume (or continue). However, this conversation has made me more confused (although it is entertaining to read). Is there an English language expert who can clarify this for all of us?
@frontman: “My wife and I had a minor disagreement about this very suject this evening… I spell it resumé, she saw it and said, “WRONG! It’s résumé!” I maintain you can spell it either way, but here’s the kicker, at least for me: my name is “René”, spelled with the accent over the second e, and pronounced “renay” (though I have heard about every mispronounciation there is). So for me, “resumé” is the way to go… MS Word be damned!”
The reason there is no accent above the first e of “René” is because the first e of this French name is not pronounced the same as the first e of the French word “résumé.” René is pronounced more like (ruu-ney) in French and résumé is pronounced somewhat like (rey-zuu-mey); the aigu accented e’s (é) in French are usually not the AY or AE sound that American English speakers usually give them; it’s a little bit softer.
I prefer “résumé” with both accent marks; it may be because I also speak French (disclaimer: I was born and raised in the USA – I am a southern belle – so excuse my French ;). But I don’t know why it should be held against anyone if there are no, one, or two accent marks as long as all the letters are there and in the correct order.
And in regards to the accented letters (á, è, ñ, ô, ü, etc.), if you set your keyboard to International, you don’t have to do all the ctrl-alt-… shennanigans. You just type the accent mark you wish to use and then the letter. Et voilà!
Actually Resume has the two accents on both e’s (if you mean a “job profile” resume.) It’s spelt like this: résumé
Jodie, a dictionary will back you up on any variant except having a single accent on the first syllable. Pronunciation does not follow spelling; it follows your meaning.
Like, from my NOAD2:
résumé |ˈrɛzəˈmeɪ| |ˈrɛzuˈmeɪ| (also resumé or resume)
noun
1 a curriculum vitae.
2 a summary : I gave him a quick résumé of events.
ORIGIN early 19th cent.: French, literally ‘resumed,’ past participle (used as a noun) of résumer.
I, too, learned it many years ago as resumé. That spelling and the spelling “resume” mean two different things. And, referring to pronunciation, résumé and resumé are TWO entirely different things!! –Unfortunately, with the advent of the Internet (now, lazily typed as ‘internet”, I do not put much stock in the dictionary, either. If something is misspelled enough, then it shows up in the dictionary.
Former newspaper managing editor, freelance writer
and advocate for the correct use of the “‘s” — It’s NOT “business’s” (–yes! I’ve seen it! in nationally published print!)
Wisconsin
After reading this I shall resume writing my résumé.
For what it’s worth – MS Word does NOT like the single accented version… which is why I went looking on the internet for answers, as I do not like to defer to Bill Gates without just cause.
“I’m actually French and I was looking for the exact way Americans spell this word… And I still don’t know after reading all this. But I can tell you how to pronounce it:
it’s not Ray-Zoom-May
it’s more like Ray-zuum-may”
Benoit – I’ve noticed that Americans don’t really make that sound in their speech. Witness “puma” and “dune” which they tend to pronounce “pooma” and “doone” rather than “pewma” and “dew-ne.”
full disclosure: English trap/bath split adherent living in US for 10 years.
I think that, since résumé is a french word and the Americans utilize it, they should keep the spelling correct.
Why not keep it simple?
The thread on resume, résumé is hilarious and the debate fantastically intriguing that so many would spend so much time on the spelling and pronunciation of one word.
Intellectualism is alive and well. Hooray for you folks. :-)
Ok, so I consider myself to be a grammar/punctuation Nazi (if I may use the term).
Despite what may be considered the norm, or even what may appear in dictionaries, the proper way to spell “that paper you create with all your jobs, skills and education”, is: résumé. (By the way, to create the “é”, you hold ALT and press 0233)
Rarely, I think, would an employer ever mention the accent marks or lack thereof but using them shows a level of education and intelligence. It certainly doesn’t hurt and it only takes an extra moment of your time. Pride yourself in learning to write well, don’t cut corners and you’ll do well in life.
Also I would like to mention that this thread of conversation/argument has been going on for almost six years now. Awesome.
@MarkG and @Andrew H. I write today to thank you both for advancing the American stereotype of classless arrogance. Let me see if I understand ya’ll correctly:
• You use a language which obtained a full third or more of it’s vocabulary from French.
• You use a language which DOES NOT use accents or any diacritical marks.
• Since YOU pronounce a word a certain way and formulated rules for the resurgence of accent mark usage in your language, you are now going to go ahead and recommend that WE ALL:
(a) change the spelling of another language’s word which we borrow OR
(b) start using accent marks arbitrarily according to what some guy on the internet thinks is correct.
/// For the love of everything decent, please everyone use resume or résumé. ///
And this is very easy to type:
Mac: [option+E] gives you a hanging (´) accent aigu, then hit the “E” key again to get é.
PC’s: GOOGLE, double click it to select, ctrl-C, ctrl-V into your doc OR learn the geeky alt codes OR, ideally, get a Mac.
This discussion is getting quite long, but as an FYI, a résumé and a CV are not the same thing. A résumé is condensed, while a CV lists out more or less everything you’ve done. I work in a healthcare profession IN THE US and we do NOT use the terms interchangeably. Healthcare professions as well as academia usually use a CV, which can be as long as forty pages. Nobody wants to see a résumé that long, but in these areas, you really do need to see what papers a professor has published, what awards he has won, etc..
Windows, any version, accents:
Ctrl+’ then e = é Hold down the Ctrl key, tap the ‘ and let go…nothing shows until you tap the letter e (either case)
Ctrl+` (above the tab key) e = è
Ctrl + , (comma) c = ç
Ctrl + Shift + 6 with ^ then o = ô Hold the Ctrl and Shift keys together, tap the 6 above t and y, let them go and tap the letter o
Ctrl + Shift + ~ (above the tab key) then o = õ
Ctrl+Shift+ : (colon/semi-colon key) o = ö
If the accented letter exists in any romance language, a bit of imagination and you can create it from our standard, US keyboard.
Clancey, this has been said before, but those methods only work in certain applications like Microsoft Word, Wordpad, etc. They do not work with Notepad or with Windows in general.
Porschee, so are you saying don’t use any accents? Or memorize or look up the ASCII code combos?
Could always create the accents/accented words in MSWord and copy n paste it into any file of choice – including out here.
Where would you use accented letters in “Windows in general” – and who even uses Notepad these days?
No, Clancy, I’m not saying that I don’t use any accents. I didn’t say anything to you about ASCII tables. What I’m saying is exactly what I said, nothing more, and nothing less. The method you mention for creating accents does not work in Windows, per se. It only works in a small number of specific Microsoft applications. Others have posted that it only works in Word. It also works in Wordpad (another rarely used program). It pretty much doesn’t work in any other applications and doesn’t work anywhere at all in the Windows operating system. Nowhere. Perhaps I jumped to conclusions, but when you said “windows, any version…”, I assumed you were referring to the Windows operating system, which would be incorrect. If you meant Word, you should have said Word. If you didn’t, then why so defensive? I would have thought you’d welcome the correct information. On the other hand, if you had actually read the previous posts, we probably wouldn’t even be having this exchange.
Phew Porsche – such ire!
Can’t imagine your reaction to something of importance…
The method that Clancy uses is more widespread than select Windows applications.
That’s how you can do it in X (Unix/Linux), though you may choose a different compose key to use in place of Ctrl.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key
And the usual Mac way is at least as fast, where ⌥ is the Option key:
r
⌥e e
s
u
m
⌥e e
résumé
Thanks Robert!
Résumé – a noun, resume – a verb. If we good ol’ boys can pronounce San Ho-zay and know San Josie makes one snicker or sigh, certainly we can learn a few simple accent keystrokes on any computer keyboard of choice to present words as they sound? Please?
So this argument could go on forever. Literally.
In reality, résumé, resumé, and resume are all correct. When companies (and magazines, etc.) brand themselves, they choose a dictionary to use and follow. When it comes to issues like this, they always defer to the first spelling listed in the dictionary. However, here’s the catch: in the American Heritage Dictionary, it is resumé. In Webster’s, it’s résumé. There are discrepancies between every dictionary. So it all comes down to which dictionary and style you follow. Everyone is right.
If you work for a large company, chances are they have their own style guide that you should refer to, and when that can’t answer your question they give you a style guide and dictionary to default on. Personally, I follow American Heritage because there’s no reason for the first accent in résumé and there’s no reason to pronounce the “e” at the end of resume if it doesn’t have an accent. But that’s just my style. So really, you’re fine no matter what you use.
Hmmm…maybe avoid the entire issue and go with “CV” or “Curriculum Vitae”! When I checked several sources “Résumé” seems be preferred.
Merriam-Webster lists “Résumé” as a noun and “resume” as a verb. One is your CV and the other is to take up again where you left off.
It is interesting reading various phonetic spellings of words. For example in US English “dew” rhymes with “do” and “duke” is “dook”. I was partially raised in England and moved to Canada. I learnt “dew” as “dyew” and “duke” as “dyuke”.
Americans always claim that Canadians pronounce “out” and “about” as “oot” and “aboot”, personally I can’t hear it. So, what do Americans hear when Canadians actually say “a boot” and “oot”?
I agree with your post, Alec, except that to your “So really, you’re fine no matter what you use” — I must add “as long as you’re consistent in your spelling of the word.” ;)
There is literally no etymological justification for American Heritage’s choice of the single accented version, particularly given that they note that it comes from a verb with an accented first ‘e’. I can only imagine they adopt that to help with phonetics, as (in my experience anyway, though others may disagree) the common pronunciation of the word places an acute accent on the last e but not the first. But adding accents is not a characteristic of English (or American English), regardless of convenience. If you wish to note that it is a word imported from French, accent twice; otherwise don’t accent. To take the half-assed approach is to create your own rules of language rather than following those already in existence.
Jack, I’m afraid I have to disagree. To be honest, I think you are even contradicting yourself somewhat. If you imagine that “they” adopt the single accent to help with phonetics, then why isn’t that the perfect etymological justification? By the way, to paraphrase Walt Kelly, “they” is “us”! The editors of American Heritage dictionary didn’t pull the spelling out of their ass and set a new standard for us to follow. They simply recognized the already established standard usage. If that’s not etymologically justified, then what is? Furthermore, adding accents for convenience most definitely is characteristic of English. Resumé is an example. If it were the only example that alone would be sufficient. But consider a word like souflée as well. It makes particular sense in these cases since without the accent, there’s no way to indicate the correct pronunciation (other than context). In spite of the many different ways to pronounce each vowel, the accented -ay for a final -e normally isn’t one of them. As for borrowing a word from another language requiring its exact spelling, notation, or pronuncation, says who? Just isn’t so. Once a word is adopted into a language it becomes that language’s word and any version (or versions) that its speakers universally agree on becomes the word. Writing “resumé” with one accent isn’t creating one’s own rules of language. It’s following the standard of language that’s universally accepted (well, perhaps I should say nearly universally, or this entire thread wouldn’t be here!), at least, according the the American Heritage Dictionary.
porsche10x: I really have to disagree with using the word “soufflé” as an example to support your argument. That is another french word, and it has an accent solely because it has been borrowed directly from another language, just like “résumé,” “café,” or “naïveté.” English uses almost no diacritical marks other than on loanwords from other languages, unlike some other languages that have more regular rules regarding which vowels get stressed on a word where the accent is required to show departure from the norm or to follow other obligate orthographical rules.
I agree that the accents should be all or nothing on résumé. If you are going to bother borrowing one from French, borrow both. Otherwise, leave it unaccented. As a French and English speaker, my opinion is that “resumé” looks misspelled in both languages. While your opinion may be that it does not, you may not know the background of the person to whom you are submitting a résumé. Lots of people in this world speak French, and using the single accent appears ignorant.
A slightly different spin on FrenchMajor’s point –
some people may be indifferent/unaffected by the choice of accents here, subscribing to the ‘they are all equally valid’ camp.
Other people may have a strong preference for one choice, or a strong dispreference for a particular variant – someone may consider two accents pretentious, or one accent ignorant, or no accents confusing.
Personally, I do not worry about confusing anyone by using no accent. If they cannot understand from context, then misunderstanding that word is probably the least of their problems in understanding my prose; and in written form I don’t care about helping people pronounce English words. Having previously used the one accent version, it now appears obviously wrong to me, and I wouldn’t want to appear ignorant to someone who in other ways shares my linguistic preferences; conversely, I have no desire to appeal to anyone who has a very strong preference for the single accent version. FWIW, I will probably use the non-accented version in future, given resume has passed into English in the same way as words like cafe that no longer require an accent; unless the intended audience gives me reason to adopt the double accented version.
This is a very interesting point and most enjoyable to address. From a linguiststic perspective and cultural point of view I will offer the definitive answer and then some commentary. It is a grammatical point that transcends all others in the strictest form of response and clarification. “Rèsumè” is the noun. “Resumè” is the verb. “Resume” is not actually anything. All of this is in French. The question arises from a conveyor’s perspective to his respective audience. Apparently, there is quite a bit of debate over the matter and, obviously, subjective views based on a variety of factors. It is most clear that the noun, in French, is the most correct i. e. if one had to supply evidence and site or substantiate a position. The verb would be the most inefective in correctness. Americans can be excused, since their keyboards do not accommodate the appropriate accent. Afterall, there really is no American word for the document, so they borrowed a French word and modified it based on necessity and convenience. Sure, it ruins the flavour and disuades from the original tone and texture. That is the American way of resolution, evolution, and dissolution. So, if you are in the international sector with a learned group of educated professionals, the choice is obvious. If you are outside of that circle, most likely, no one may notice the inclusion or exclusion of one or two accents. There is argument for the use of any spelling. However, there is no argument for its correct use, according to rule. The linguistically correct is “RÈSUMÈ”. That cannot be disputed. The localization process, the vernacular, the colloquial, et cetera, ecercises some latitude based on either the sorce, the object, or consideration of the two. Personally, I find the two remaining choices illustrative of unfamiliarity of culture, origin, style, and setting; and it speaks volumes of the author. Yes, an American, loud and clear! Hey, try the Frecnh. It is the original and will impress your friends at cocktail parties. They will think you know things that you actually don’t. But about that employer, hmmm? You probably will either take a French class or really polish up your interview skills. That will be all. Resume with the writing of your CV. Probably better take a Latin class for that one……..
Maestro Sonata: Two quick points to add to your thoughts: it is résumé, not rèsumè, and the verb it comes from is actually résumer, not resumè.
Maestro, I find it interesting that for someone with such a strong opinion about what is correct, you’ve used the wrong accent in every case. It’s the acute accent, not the grave accent that’s used in resume.
Porsche:
Correct you are. And very astute in your observation, knowledge, and response. At the same time, the two accent classifications, many times, as in this case, are not controllable, either by the mandated font for web site commentary i. e. I was unable to select a font of choice, or the MS packages, et cetera, are not available. Normally, i correspond with fountain pen on parchment. True story. This provides the latitude for proper angel and accent. I had no choice in the accent in this font. The tough decision again. Include the accent or go naked or half naked. I wentt clothed and, as you noticed, it was a bit painful, yet at least, placed the appropriate markings in the appropriate place. My further point, and quagmire, is the selection of bastardized, or Americanized, or any other forced transitional or evolutional spellings. I do not find it proper to manufacture a word, nor change it from its original form. That’s just my preference. The exception might be creating words of different flavours, as many poets from Cummings, to philosphers as Nietzsche. They are wordsmiths and artists. They have made a mark by innovatively contributing written communication. As for the absolute correctness, as per perspective and designation of French grammar, please do provide the word in this environemnt, with the correct accents (both of them, and point me in the right direction to obtain the character sets. Really, that would be a fantastic help to me. (By the way, even some dictionary sites have the wrong accent). along these lines, I noticed you rely on dictionaries quite a bit. I do not. dictionaries are arbitrary documentation. They are useful only when you consider the motivation and style of the source. So, hey, help me out and send me the exact French correction in “……” format and tell me where you got the correct characters. I look forward to it…….
Well, if I understand your last request, others have already posted a number of ways of generating accents, above. I will suggest another that would certainly work when posting here. Simply scroll up, find someone else’s post, then copy and paste. Regardless of your local font, it should preserve the intended accent correctly. You also don’t have to remember any arcane codes or key sequences.
Coincidence or fate? Yes, Porsche, truly, I was doing that as you were constructing your return email. I went in to many of my documents and found most were correct and I was unhappy with the incorrectness of some. Prior to your helpful comment I had already done the “cut and paste” routine and recomposed the words to be correct. I still cannot originate the correct accent, at will. So, I placed the correct form, in its pre-selected font, in a source file. By the way, the other detailed article referencing “Alt” key and codes, et cetera, did not work for me. Frankly, and I mean this, your comment precipitated a much needed correcting on my documents. I had noticed it before, but was a bit confused as to the method of fixing it. They’re all fixed now and I am grateful for your comments. It wasn’t the lack of knowledge of correct text and accent useage; I simply didn’t know how to get the machine to do it. (Common problem for people in their 50′s)……..Seriously, thanks for being the motivation for getting it done right!
résumé (Eureka)……..
In Canada, the use of curriculum vitae seems limited to medical and university professors. Resumé is used by everyone else. We always seem to be stuck between English and American.
As for the pronunciation, I have always said “reh-zhu-may”. Likewise, the morning dew is “dyew” not “do”, the duke is “dyuke” not “dook”, etc.
What a fabulously entertaining and educational experience reading this thread! After reading all of your great comments, here are mine, with gratitude:
I am delighted with the polite nature of the communication here :o)
For years I have used only one accent, and I cannot even remember where I have been placing it. OMG!
No matter which I use — résumé, resumé or resume — if corrected, I now have an abundant arsenal of arguments. Hee, hee…
In file naming and transmitting resumes via the Internet I will use “resume” or “RESUME” to avoid technical conversion issues. As a graphic designer, I thank you for those tips!
Wow… this thread dates back to 2004. What was I doing in ’04?
In print, depending on the audience, I’ll use résumé. If criticized, that will give me an opportunity to start talking in one of my many accents, thus causing relaxation, improved health, a fun work environment and increased creativity. All those benefits caused by one word and each of you! BTW… if you like accents, check out Amy Walker on YouTube. She’s fabulous!
Thanks for the laughs and the education!
Singer/songwriter | Donna-G.com
Graphic Designer | DonnaGentile.com
I would go with the non-accented spelling: resume
This way you avoid sounding like an idiot, either with resumé or résumé. The first spelling (resumé) gives the true english pronunciation and is likely the “best” spelling, but some people will think less of you for not spelling it like the french. In fact our language has MANY borrowed words from french and most have divergent spellings.
If you spell it résumé I think it is worse since it is (1) pretentious and (2) shows that you don’t know what the accents are for. NOBODY pronounces it this way and given the options available, i would stay away from this spelling.
Resume shows the most sophistication. It is not pretentious, it is “correct”, and you didn’t need to look it up in a dictionary. Most importantly, nobody will judge you for it
You have been helpful in past comments concerning this topic. In fact, after reading some of your prior comments and doing some research, I decided upon “résumé”. It is the most authentic and correct. One should not necessarily conform to the lack of understanding of others, nor cater to selfßimoposed fears of what might be pretentious. consider the environment and the applications. I am, specificallz, in a global and international environment. Most Europeans, if not all, are intimatelz familiar with their neighbors and have understanding of various nuances in intercultural activitz. Hence, one would appear forein, mazbe even sillz and uneducated, bz presenting the moderrized and transcriped adaptation. although it may seem like an obligato, the flowery version has the most flavour. What other people think about it is secondary. I enjoy the zest of origin and authenticity. Those who are confused can be on their merry way to eat at McDonalds as I dine with the chef! We weren’t meant to be together in the first place addressing this term or any other…….