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incidentally

fujisan

Member
Japanese
Hello,
I think I understand the definition of "incidentally". Still I don't understand the suttle nuance in practical use.

Suppose, you are writing to Mr.C about Mr.A and Mr.B in your email. If you add "insidentally" before referring to Mr. B, does the receiver have feeling that you put less importance on Mr. B?
For example,
--------------------------------
Dear Mr.C ,

(Talk about Mr.A ) .

Incidentally ( talk about Mr.B ).

Regards,

your name
--------------------------------

Thank you in advance
To me (American English speaker), "incidentally" introduces a remark that might be taken as peripheral, what we call an "aside." So in the situation you mention, I'm not sure that you would want to use the word "incidentally" in this case.

I wonder if others have more insight.
I don't know if it is "less importance." In that context, I would view this as "In any event..." or "Anyhow." The use of "incidentally" would really introduce a remark that is totally unconnected to the previous statement (about Mr. A).
I think I'd use it to mean 'by the way', which is very much how Haloween described it. I'd only use it if what you say about Mr B isn't closely related to the main purpose of the communication.
I agree with Thomas and Halloween. You could write, for example:

Would you like to join Mr A.'s volleyball team? Mr. A loves to play volleyball, he plays it every Thursday.

Incidentally, Mr. B's wife used to be a professional volleyball player.

Talking about the first subject reminds the writer of the second subject, and he throws it in as an aside which might be interesting but isn't the main point of the conversation.
The next would be a good example.

Dear Mr. C.
According to conversation with his agent X. ...
............................
I would explain incidentally that Mr C. has failed....

Regards.

For me, "incidentaly" is a sample of word-totem to introduce a different topic

​
Thank you all who replied my question.
The usage of " incidentally" is clear to me.
[...]
I would explain incidentally that Mr C. has failed....​
Hello Diego.

I don't think this is very idiomatic. In BE, I think we'd be more likely to say 'I would like to explain, incidentally, that...' In a semi-formal context we'd probably put the incidentally at the start of the sentence.
Peter:Where is your brother?
Me: He's going to a concert for a local band with his friends. They love their music a lot. Incidentally I'm not one of them.

Hi, am I using "incidentally" correctly? I want to use it as an aside, trying to distance myself as much as possible from my brother's bad taste in music. Peter may not be interested in what I feel about the band, but I really don't care.
Yes, that's a reasonable use of incidentally. On the other hand, I can't tell from your sentence if you don't like the band (them = band) or if you just aren't going (them = my brother and his friends).
Yes, that's a reasonable use of incidentally. On the other hand, I can't tell from your sentence if you don't like the band (them = band) or if you just aren't going (them = my brother and his friends).

Thanks exgerman. Yes, "them" can create ambiguity. It can refer to either his friends and his brother, or the band, or even both. To remove the risk of ambiguity, I think I should say "Incidentally, I'm not one of the fans."
In Disney's Robin Hood, the narrator, after having recounted how Prince John came to power, says, "Incidentally, I'm Alan-a-Dale, a minstrel." Does incidentally mean "by the way" in this context? Is this meaning of incidentally still common in American English? I'm asking because Robin Hood came out in 1973.
Yes, the fact that he is a minstrel has nothing to do with how John came to power. He's just using the available opportunity to introduce himself so you know who is telling you the story. It's a very common, normal word.
Yes, he could say "by the way". In both cases, it is a separate clause with a comma after it. It is not really part of the sentence after the comma. Instead, it introduces that sentence.

Yes, this use of "incidentally" is still common in spoken AE. In writing, the comma might be some other punctuation mark. Whatever it is, it's a pause in speech.

The meaning is only that he is changing the subject. He was talking about Prince John. Now (to change the subject) my name and occupation are ____. People who are familiar with the Robin Hood legend would recognize the minstrel "Alan-a-Dale" from that legend. And one of a minstrel's jobs is telling stories. So the narrator is telling this story.

(cross-posted)
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