Revert

This is supplemental to my weekly post.

Some time ago I was reviewing a student's correspondence with her, advising on possible changes and enhancements.At the end of the text, she had signed off with 'I will REVERT to you later.'

I immediately offered her a correction when she said, 'But we all use this expression.'

I began to explain to her what revert meant.
REVERT is used in the sense of getting back to, and it's here where the real meaning needs to be seen. In actual fact, REVERT should be used to mean getting, or going back to a previous state. Eg. With backup files, there is always the possibility of REVERTING to the most recent backup if a recent change has caused a problem or been lost.

In its use as a salutation the 'getting back to' has been misunderstood and where the writer intends saying I will continue this conversation at a future date, the understanding is that a previous state or conversation must be chosen. This can only lead to confusion.
When I asked my student where she thought it had come from, we traced the probable origin to some correspondence with some writers from India who have a very good command of English, but can at times misinterpret seemingly obvious meanings.

I would recommend that if you or your company has gotten into the habit of using such an expression, then you instruct your people to choose something less challenging.

Eg; With regard to the new processes recently implemented, I feel that after so many problems we should REVERT to the previous method until substantial changes have been made to the new system. (REVERT is used in its proper sense here) I WILL GET BACK TO you later if any further changes need to be made. (And this is the proper salutation)