Why I write resume not résumé
Sometimes, when writing in English, we borrow a word from German, French, or other language. Words that are spelled in the Latin alphabet, but sometimes with extra letters invented since the Romans. Touché is a fine example. We don’t use it a lot, and when we do, it’s fine for it to be French and to be a term from fencing. It brings a bit of art or poetry to the writing. We keep the Frenchiness of Touché. We want its Frenchiness.
Cool. We like, we do, and we happily use foreign letters such as é.
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But one word, originally French, has become so commonly used, different considerations apply. When trying (emphasis on ‘try’, for me) to land a job,
we send a summary of our skills, past employment and contact info. We call this a résumé and pronounce it rez-oo-may. Fine, for decades ago.
But now, for the last four decades or longer, we’ve been using this word a heck of a lot more. Not like touché to add a bit of class or style or art to what we say. These days, résumé is an everyday practical work tool. As common as mosquitos at a Michigan picnic.
This word needs to be a full-fledged ordinary English word.
English does not include é in its alphabet. Call me a simpleton, but full-fledged English words, in contrast to borrowed words, should be written entirely in the English alphabet. No matter if it’s UK, American or Australian English. Consider all the words in English taken from French, that have lost their extra diddly-over-e marks and twisty under-the-c things: facade [https://refactoring.guru/design-patterns/facade] replaced façade, matinee [https://movietheaterprices.com/matinee-movie-times/] replaced matinée, and cul-de-sac replaced.. oh wait, bad example. Metro from métro.
So: let’s use resume not résumé.
