外语专业毕业论文politenessinenglishforbusinesscorrespondence外贸函电中的礼貌研究

Politeness in English for Business CorrespondenceAbstract: As an important means of communication in business activities, English for business correspondence plays a crucial role in international business communication. A courteous and appreciative letter can help to build a favorable business image for the company and lead to a successful business. However, a letter without courtesy can not only lead to the failure of the business but destroy the image which the companies have built up. Therefore, showing politeness in business letter is very important. This paper, in the light of G .Leechs Politeness Principle, briefly discusses the pragmatic principles of politeness for business correspondence through many samples. Key Words: Politeness; English for Business Correspondence; Pragmatic Principles外贸函电中的礼貌研究摘要：作为商务活动中一个重要的信息媒介，外贸函电起着重要的作用。一封礼貌的信函能为公司建立良好的形象。相反，不仅会导致交易的失败而且还会损坏公司已经建立的形象。因此，在外贸信函中表现适当的礼貌是必要的。论文以利奇的礼貌原则为指导，主要通过分析例子来讨论外贸函电中的礼貌原则的应用。关键词：礼貌，外贸函电，语用原则ContentsAcknowledgementsiAbstract(English)iiAbstract(Chinese)iiiContentsivChapter One Introduction1Chapter Two The Importance of Politeness in English for Business Correspondence2Chapter Three Principles of Politeness Adopted in English for Business Correspondence43.1 Introduction to Politeness Principle43.2 Tact Maxim43.3 Modesty Maxim63.4 Agreement Maxim73.5 Sympathy Maxim8Chapter Four Several Aspects on How to Adopt Politeness Principles Properly104.1 Keeping Equal Status104.2 Considering Different Cultural Background11Chapter Five Conclusion12Bibliography1313Politeness in English for Business CorrespondenceChapter One Introduction After Chinas entry into WTO, international trade between China and other countries soars. English for business correspondence, as an important means of communication in business activities, draws more and more attention gradually. Thus, how to write an effective letter becomes a heated topic. Business letter has been enjoying great popularity among scholars from the fields of linguistics. Many researchers conduct researches into business letter writing from the aspects of wording, stylistic features, sentence structure, and so on. Scholars learn how to write business letter effectively under a theoretical guidance. They also put forward three c principlesclearness, conciseness, courtesy, which we should abide by when writing business letter. As a matter of fact, however, it seems that we tend to pay more attention to the first two principles than the last one. Still, courtesy is overlooked by a number of writers to some extent. In business communication, a letter only with flowery wording is not ample. It is the letter that realizes the goals the writers want to achieve is an effective business letter. If a message is to arrive at its goal, its tone must be courteous and sincere. Thus, courtesy should draw more attention. In this paper, politeness in English for business correspondence integrated with politeness principles is discussed and it is indicated that politeness is subject to such factors as social differences and cultural differences. Also how to adopt politeness principles properly is analysed in order to improve our writing skills for the result of effective business communication. The paper is arranged in five parts. Chapter One begins with an introduction. Chapter Two illustrates the importance of politeness in English for business correspondence. Chapter Three mainly analyses several principles of politeness adopted in English for business correspondence. In Chapter Four, several aspects are put forward, on how to adopt politeness principles properly. Chapter Five is conclusion.Chapter Two The Importance of Politeness in English for Business CorrespondenceWhat is politeness? As it is known to us, not everyone has the same view about politeness. By politeness, we might say it is showing respect and friendly consideration to other people, acknowledging them, and not imposing unnecessarily on others. According to He Zhaoxiong, “politeness can be understood as a social phenomenon, and a norm imposed by conventions”. (Wang Li 110)Viewed from different cultures, politeness can be explained differently. The actual manifestations of politeness, the ways to express politeness are different in different cultures. Such differences should be traced to the origin of the notion of politeness. In modern Chinese, politeness is believed to have been involved in history from the notion of “li”, which refers to self-denigrating and other-respecting. On the contrary, under the influence of philosophy and Christianity, politeness is used to stress the equal status of the speakers in the West. “After the analysis of the differences between Chinese and English cultures, L.R.Mao concludes that politeness refers to ideal social identity in the Chinese culture and it refers to ideal individual autonomy in the English culture.” (Net.1.)For many researchers, politeness is a feature of language in use, a means to achieve good interpersonal relationship. When applied in English for business correspondence, politeness can express the attitude of the writer as well as harmonizing relationship more than above-mentioned function. A courteous business letter means friendly attitude, fair transaction, cooperative will, the result of which is a better climate for solving business problem and for doing business.Correspondence in business means more than exchanging information alone. You also need to communicate certain effect. One of such effects you need to communicate is goodwill effect. Building goodwill through letters is good practice in that it strengthens the readers favorable feeling for the writer, thus leading to potential business profits. Getting such effect is largely a matter of skillful writing. It involves keeping certain attitude in mind and using certain writing techniques. Furthermore, a friendly and pleasant tone in communication can help to build a goodwill. Moreover, business letter is also a good will envoy of an enterprise. A courteous and appreciative business letter can help to build a favorable business image for the company and lead to a successful business. However, a business letter without politeness can not only cause the failure of the business but also destroy the image which the companies have built up. Thus, politeness in English for business correspondence is very important.Chapter Three Principles of Politeness Adopted in English for Business Correspondence3.1 Introduction to Politeness PrincipleOn the principles of politeness in cross-cultural communication, many predecessors conducted a lot of studies. In 1967, Paul Grice, an American philosopher and logician, made an attempt to explain the course of natural conversation, then put forward “Cooperative Principle”. This pact of cooperation touches on four areas of communication, each of which can be described as a maxim. That is, “the maxim of quality, the maxim of quantity, the maxim of relation, the maxim of manner”.(Dai Weidong 92) In 1980s, on the basis of Cooperative Principle and absorption of Conversational Implicative, G .Leech, an English linguist, proposed the famous Politeness Principle to supplement Grices theory from the angle of stylistics and rhetoric, the core of which is: stressing what is good to the addressee and diminishing what is unwelcome to obtain favorable impression of the other side, urge the communication more easily, make self gain more benefit from it.Although it also suffers from methodological inadequacies, Leechs proposal is more elaborate than Cooperative Principle. It is divided into six different maxims: “Tact maxim, Generosity maxim, Approbation maxim, Modesty maxim, Agreement maxim, Sympathy maxim”. (Jaszczolt 314)The usual object used to study politeness phenomenon is verbal communication, but the theory and results are also applicable in writing form. In business letter writing, the display of politeness principles is obvious. In the following paragraphs politeness strategies adopted in English for business correspondence will be discussed and analysed in combination with Leechs maxims.3.2 Tact Maxim Tact maxim consists of two sub-maxims“minimizing cost to others and maximizing benefit to others”. (Jaszczolt 315) Business letter is beyond a carrier of business information. In the procedures of trade, such as quotation, enquiry, offer, the purpose of the letter varies. Proper communicating strategies are needed to reach their goals in different stages. Quotation is one of the most important links in international trade. Whether the wording is tact determines the possibility of further business. Look at the letter below which adopts this maxim skillfully.Dear SirsWe are very pleased to receive your enquiry of 15th January and enclose our illustrated catalogue and price list giving the details you ask for. Also by separate post we are sending you some samples and feel confident that when you have examined them you will agree that the goods are both excellent in quality and reasonable in price.On regular purchases in quantities of not less than 100 dozens of individual items we would allow you a discount of 2%. Payment is to be made by irrevocable L/C at sight.Because of their softness and durability, our all cotton bed-sheet and pillowcases are rapidly becoming popular and after studying our prices you will learn that we are finding it difficult to meet the demand. But if you place your order not later than the end of this month, we would ensure prompt shipment.We invite your attention to our other products such as table-cloth and table napkins, details of which you will find in the catalogue, and look forward to receiving your first order. Yours sincerely(甘鸿 44)This letter is a reply to the buyers enquiry. In this letter the writer adopts a lot of you-attitude words, such as your order, your reply, instead of i-attitude wording, which shows his/her sincere concern about the reader, the potential buyer, to be exact. Besides, the writer allows 2% discount, which abides by the maximmaximizing benefits to others.English for business correspondence, mainly used to transfer information, aims at reaching agreement and gaining profits. The other purpose of the writer is to draw the buyers attention that the stock is limited and they should place order as quickly as possible. The writer tactfully analyses the status quo from the angle of the buyer rather than himself/herself and ensures prompt shipment so long as the order is not later than the end of this month, which leaves an impression on the buyer that the writer is very considerate for them. Accordingly, the buyer is more easily to accept the terms.3.3 Modesty Maxim In Leechs Politeness Principle, he regards this maxim as: “minimize praise of self, maximize dispraise of self”. (Jaszczolt 315) Modesty, an indispensable principle in communication, should be emphasized in business transaction. If a merchant always shows off his products, customers will suspect not only the quality of goods but also sincerity of the merchant. Whereas, how to show modesty in a business letter also needs strategies. Dear Sirs Your letter of June 20 has had our best attention. We apologize for the delay and also the false information that the antique potteries and porcelain you ordered have been shipped by s.s. “Feng Tao”.The said vessel is a tramp run by a foreign forwarding agency to sail the Pacific. In the past it did serve us to our satisfaction; for instance, a few shipment of glass ware that required special care were handled in a way much better than was expected. In light of such experience, we, therefore, entrusted “Feng Tao” to effect the shipment. Unfortunately, it should have failed our expectation.According to the forwarding agency, the duplicate copies of the B/L were sent by mistake as a result of confusion in work. They in no way implied any intention of deceiving the client. Nevertheless, we have cancelled the shipping space and firmly requested compensation for the losses we have sustained.Now the goods have been shifted to the airport waiting for dispatch to Tokyo tomorrow by Shanghai Airlines, flight SHA-435. We believe this is the best solution of the case. All documents will be mailed by special express as soon as they are ready. Yours sincerely(甘鸿 224)At the beginning, the writer apologizes for the delay and the false information sincerely, which protects the image of the firm. International trade, a complex and painstaking job, needs deliberate cooperation and immediate communication. When trade problems arise, we should not only find the fault with the buyers, but confers carelessness of ourselves objectively.From the letter, we learn that the product is needed urgently, but until to the letter written it has not arrived. In this situation, if the seller only shakes off the responsibility on the forwarding agency, the buyer will consider the seller is not worth believing. Much worse, the seller may lose this trade partner. On the contrary, in this letter, the seller admits his responsibility for the carelessness even though this result is not caused by him, which eases the buyers anger to some extent. In the last paragraph, he expresses that the goods have been shifted to the airport for dispatch. Despite the fact that the goods are delayed due to several factors, modest attitude the writer shows leaves a good image.3.4 Agreement Maxim According to Leechs principle, “agreement maxim refers to minimizing disagreement between self and other and maximizing agreement between self and other”. (Jaszczolt 315) In business, it is unavoidable that there are always conflicts and divergences between two dealers. As it is mentioned above, politeness can lubricate the relationship. When business disputes surge up, agreement maxim is a good strategy to solve the problem, which can bridge the gap between partners to conclude the transaction.Dear SirsThank you for your letter of June 25 offering us your “D.D” brand raincoats.To be candid with you, we like your raincoats, but your prices appear to be on the high side as compared with those of other makes. It is understood that to accept the prices you quoted would leave us little or no margin of profit on our sales. As you know Kuwait is a developing country; its principal demand is for articles in the medium price range.We appreciate your prompt response to our enquiry and would like to take this opportunity to conclude some transactions with you. We would, therefore, suggest that you make some allowance, say 10% on your quoted prices so as to enable us to introduce you products to our customer. If, however, you cannot do so, then we shall have no alternative but to leave the business as it is.For your information, some parcels from Hongkong have been sold here at a much lower price. We hope you will consider our counter-order favorably and let us have your acceptance by telex. It may interest you to know that once you have opened up market here, you would have every advantage of developing a beneficial trade in the Gulf. Yours sincerely(甘鸿 114) At the beginning, the writer expresses his agreement that the product is excellent in quality, which shows his interest in the products. Also it gives the reader a message that the writer is willing to do business honestly. Afterwards, in the following sentences, the writer puts forward his disagreement on the priceyour prices appear to be on the high side as compared with those of other marks. In the previous harmonious atmosphere, this disagreement is easy to be accepted. In succession, the writers statement that the market at his end is promising strikes the readers heart. Actually, the original purpose of the both sides is to establish a long term business relationship to achieve their mutual benefits. The writer seeks their common ground once again. On considering this condition, the reader is more willing to do this business.3.5 Sympathy Maxim In everyday communication, the application of this maxim is evident. With regard to business letter, this maxim also plays an important role. To some extent, to show certain sympathy to others can shorten the distance between the writer and the reader. In business communication, when the buyer makes a complaint, we can not shake our responsibility after shipment completed, neither can we always accept all the complaints so as to continue further cooperation. But how can we refuse others tactically?Dear SirsWe have received your letter of 10th May and very much regret the difficulties you are having with the pens supplied to your order No 8652.All our pens are manufactured to be identical in design and performance and it is difficult to understand why some of those sold to your customers should have given trouble. From what you say it would seem that a number of the pens included in the latest batch escaped the examination we normally give to all pens in our inspection department, where each pen is individually examined before being passed into store.We understand your problem, but regret that we cannot accept your suggestion to take back all the stock unsold from the batch about which you complain. Indeed, there should be no need for this since it is unlikely that the number of faulty pens can be very large. We will of course gladly replace any pen found, to be unsatisfactory and on this particular batch we are prepared to allow you a special discount of 5% to compensate for you trouble.We tru