Hi everybody,
Could you tell whether it's possible to use 'relatively' in the meaning of 'regarding, conserning, about, etc...'.
For example:
'Regarding you letter, I haven't read it yet.'
Is it possible to use 'relatively' here instead of 'regarding', i.e.
'Relatively your letter, I haven't read it yet.'
Thanks in advance.
Con
No, you cannot use relatively to mean regarding.
I think you can say "Relative to your letter, ..."
"I think you can say "Relative to your letter, ...""
Perhaps, but you would sound rather odd.
Informal: "About your letter...I haven't read it yet".
Formal: "With reference to your letter, I have not yet read it".
Disregard the word "relatively", it's not suitable in this context.
One of the best plays which our drama group at uni put on was called "Relatively Speaking", by the playwright Alan Ayckbourn. It was basically a comedy involving mistaken identities in a family relationship and all the comic situations arising from that one fine summer Sunday morning on the patio of a house in a village in Buckinghamshire.
Relatively speaking usually means a reference to an appropriate connection; a relative also means a member of your family.
Thank you all for your help. I really very appreciate it.
Con
The Free Dictionary gives the frollowing definition for "relative to":
With regard to; concerning: questions relative to the deficit.
According to this definition, "relative to" may be used here as well.
Anton