外贸函电中词汇的文体色彩研究 （全英文）

外贸函电中词汇的文体色彩研究（全英文）StylisticColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondence一、综述国内外对本课题的研究动态，说明选题的依据和意义：随着中国加入世界贸易组织（WTO）以后，与国外的接触日益频繁，我国对外贸易与对外经济合作的不断向前发展，外贸函电成为了商务交流中互通商业信息，联系商务事务及促进贸易关系的重要桥梁。A.Shley认为“在商务函电中，为了使函电更加礼貌得体，除了选用一些得体的语言外，还多用被动语态……因为被动语态能使你的请求显得更具体更加通和……”。美国L.E佛雷利在《商务书信全书》全面分析了在商务方面的各个环节信函的写作原则，也就是结构严谨，用词简洁礼貌，避免使用虚伪孤傲恐吓之词，真正达到函电交流的目的。国际译编社在《标准英文商业书信》中这样说“商务英语函电是贸易双方互相往来的途径读信人与写信人一样由他自己的感情，我们不得忽视他的感受，我们是一笔代口谈生意，因而，使用的语言不能生硬呆板，冷冰冰显的缺乏亲切感”。我国国内一些业界人士对这一领域同样作了很多的研究，他们从语言学的角度来分析外贸函电，即使用会话原则，合作原则，礼貌原则等。他们应用语用学充分分析语言在外贸函电中呈现的特点和它的语用功能。他们还从语法角度剖析了外贸函电中出现的语法特点和这些语法在外贸函电中起到的作用。全面研究了外贸函电的特点：语言正式规范，用词严谨准确；专业术语使用的专业性和实用性；语言礼貌委婉；使用书面语体的语言结构。本文主要根据我国国内人士在这一领域的研究成果，从外贸函电的词汇方面着手，详细的分析词汇在外贸函电中的文体色彩，解析各种词类在外贸函电中的新的特点和新的用法，指导我们在撰写外贸函电时，准确恰当的选择应用词汇。二、研究的基本内容，拟解决的主要问题：本文主要将外贸函电中的词汇分成几类，一般用词，专业术语，缩略词和古体词等，引进一些典型的词汇例子剖析词汇在外贸函电的中特点和用法。随着经济和科技的发展，不断涌现出新的词汇，外贸函电作为一种特殊的文体，这些词汇如何在函电中正确的应用；如何正确使用一般的词汇表达外贸函电中特殊的含义；以及专业术语、缩略词等为什么大量的出现在函电中和它们所起到的作用。Today,underthebackgroundofeconomicglobalizationandeconomicintegration,foreigntradecorrespondencehasbeenthemostimportantlinksofforeigntradeactivitiesasatoolofbusinesscommunication.Foreigntradecorrespondenceisofaspecialstyleandhasformeditsownlanguagecharacteristicsgraduallyintheforeigntradeactivities.Also,wordisanindispensableelementoflanguageformation.Intheforeigntradefield,alotofnewinformationandadvancedtechnologyemerge,withthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology.Beyondalldoubts,intheprocess,therearemanynewwords.Eachwordhasitsownstylisticcoloringrespectivelyinforeigntradecorrespondence.Thisthesismainlyanalysesthewords’featuresandusesinforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologismthroughalotofexamples.Also,intermsofpragmatics,accordingtopolitenessprinciplesandotherrelevanttheoriessuchas‘3c’principle,wordscanbefurtherstudiedonhowtobeappliedinforeigntradecorrespondenceandwhateffecttheycanproduce.Thisthesisfirstlyintroducesforeigntradecorrespondenceanditsmainfeatures.Then,intermsofstylistics,thethesissimplyexplainswhatstylisticsisandelaboratesthestylisticfeaturesofforeigntradecorrespondence.Thethirdpartdetailsstylisticcoloringofwordsintheforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects.Oneshouldemploywordsappropriatelytoachievethepurposeofmoreefficientbusinesscommunicationinforeigntradecorrespondence.外贸函电作为一种商务交流的工具,在经济全球化和经济一体化的大背景下，它是对外贸易往来中很重要的一个环节。外贸函电是一种特殊的文体,在贸易活动往来中逐渐形成了自己的语言特征,而词汇又是构成语言的一个最重要的因素。随着科学技术的不断发展,外贸领域中不断有新的信息和先进的技术出现,无疑,大批的新的外贸词语随之涌现。在外贸函电中，这些词呈现出它们各自的文体色彩。本文从以下五个方面即常用词汇、专业词汇、缩略词、书面用词和新词等通过大量的实例全面地分析这些词汇在外贸函电中的特点和用法。同时，从语用学的角度来讲，根据礼貌原则和相关的理论如‘3C’原则等对词汇进行深入的分析研究，它们怎么样应用到外贸函电中，以及能产生什么样的效果。本文首先介绍了外贸函电及外贸函电的特点，接着，从文体学的角度，简单的解释了什么是文体学，又阐述了外贸函电的文体特征。第三部分从五个方面详细地分析了外贸函电中词汇的文体色彩。在外贸函电中，正确使用词汇将会达到有效的商务交流目的。ContentsIntroduction……………........11FeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondence…………………11.1DefinitionofForeignTradeCorrespondence…….21.2MainFeatureofCorrespondence………..22StylisticsofForeignTradeCorrespondence…………………42.1Stylistics…………………..42.2StylisticFeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondence……..43StylisticsColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondence……………53.1PopularWords…………..63.2TechnicalWords………103.3Abbreviation……………133.4LiteraryWords……….....153.5Neologism………………17Conclusion…………………..17IntroductionWiththedevelopmentofeconomyglobalization,businesscommunicationbetweencountriesismoreandmorefrequent.Intheforeigntradefield,foreigntradecorrespondenceplaysavitalroleforexchangingbusinessinformationandestablishingforeigntraderelationships.Athomeorabroad,manypeoplehavemadealotofresearchesontheforeigntradecorrespondence.SomeofthemwereinfluencedbypolitenessprincipleproposedbylinguistLeechandcooperativeprincipleproposedbyGrice.Theyanalyzedtheapplicationofcooperativeprincipleandpolitenessprincipleintheforeigntradecorrespondenceintermofpragmatics.Also,therearestudiesonstylisticfeatureofEnglishforforeigntradeandcharacteristicsofforeigntradecorrespondenceanditscountermeansoftranslation.Buttheresearchesonthewordsincorrespondencearenotsomany.Therefore,thisthesismainlyconcentratesonthewordsstudy,whichcanbecategorizedintofiveaspects:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologism.Thisthesiswillexplainthosewords’characteristicsandtheirfunctionsintheforeigntradecorrespondence.TheaimofthisthesisistoofferinformationormaterialaboutwordsasmuchaspossibletostudentsmajoredinEnglishforforeigntradeandsomeotherpersonswhoworkonforeigntradeorrelevantjobs.Toacertainextent,someprinciplesonwordsinforeigntradecorrespondenceplayanimportantrole.Inpractice,itisusefulforpeopletomasterthoseprinciplesandtoemploythemlimberlyatdifferentcircumstancesinforeigntradecorrespondence.1FeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondenceWiththedevelopmentofeconomyandsociety,thetradeactivitieseconomiccooperationwithforeigncompanieshaveincreased,especially,afterChinaenteredWorldTradeOrganization(WTO).Theimportanceofforeigntradecorrespondencetoestablishtraderelationsbetweentwoco–operationsindifferentregionsordifferentcountieshasbeenseentoday.1.1DefinitionForeigntradecorrespondenceisoneoftheimportantcommunicationtoolsofforeigntradeinordertoexchangebusinessinformation,lookingfortransactionandestablishingbusinessrelationships.Itisawayofcommunicationinwriting.Itconcludesinquires,offers,counteroffers,ordering,pressingforpayments,andshipmentetc.1.2MainFeaturesofCorrespondenceForeigntradecorrespondenceisakindofformalwriting,unlikepersonallettersorotherinformalwritings.Inthebusinessfield,asamajormeanstocommunicatewithcustomers,foreigntradecorrespondenceischaracterizedbyformallanguageandaccuratewords.Formallanguageandaccuratewordingareamongthoseimportantfeaturesofcorrespondence.Foreigntradecorrespondenceisdistinguishedfromthegeneralletter.Itreferstomanythingsonbusiness,suchasinquiry,offer,counteroffer,insuranceetc.Therefore,formallanguageandlotsofformalexpressionsmustbeusedinforeigntradecorrespondencelike‘withregardsto’insteadof‘about’,‘deliver’insteadof‘send’,‘inquiry’insteadof‘ask’,‘inreplyto’insteadof‘answer’,and‘duplicate’insteadof‘copy’etc.E.g.(1)We’regladtoinformyouthatthegoodsyouorderedhavebeenshippedbyS.S.peaceonOctober20th.Inthissentence,ifweuse‘tell’insteadof‘inform’,thewholesentenceapparentlyissoinformalthatitislikethetalkbetweentwopersons,notseriousatall.Buthere,using‘inform’makesthelanguagemoreformal.E.g.(2)Wewillaffecttheinsuranceonourcoverinviewofourlongcooperationrelation.Aspriortosentence,here,‘inviewof’ismoreformalthantheword‘for’inforeigntradecorrespondence.Then,anotherfeatureofcorrespondenceisusinglotsofcourteousexpressions.Thefinalaimofforeigntradecorrespondenceistoreachanagreementandtoestablishbusinessrelationship.Thus,politenessprinciplemustbeusedincorrespondence.Sometimes,courtesymaybringfriendshipandmakeprofitsforpeople,becauseeveryonehopesthatotherscanrespectthemandunderstandthem.Forsavingface,euphemismisagoodmethodtorefuseotherswhorequestyoutodosomethingyoucan’tdo.Inthiscase,itnotonlyexpressesyoumeanings,butsavesfaceandkeepsthelongbusinessrelationshipsfriendly.E.g.(3)a.WewillbeappreciatedifyouextendyouL/Cfor20days.b.YouhavetoextendyourL/Cfor20days.Afterreadingthetwosentences,distinctly,thesentencea.feelsmorecomfortablethansentenceb.,because‘wewillbeappreciatedif...’insentencea.isapoliteexpression,whilethereisatoneoforderinsentenceb.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,manypolitewordsareusedlike‘please’,‘you’reinvited’,‘welookforwardto’,‘we’reappreciated’,‘thankyoufor’,‘wouldyouplease’,etc.E.g.(4)WethankyouforyourquotationofMarchthe3tdandthesamplesofsocks.(5)WeappreciateyourarrangingtoshipuponreceiptoftheL/CthefirstfouritemsbythefirstavailablevesselsailingtoNewYorkdirect.(6)Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.(7)Weregretthatwecannotbooktheorderatthepricewequotedsixweeksago.Thosesentencesarecourteousexpressions,whichcannarrowthedistancebetweentwopersonsorcompanies.Courteousexpressionisnecessaryinforeigntradecorrespondence.Besides,usingmoretechnicalwordsisanothermainnotablefeature.TechnicalwordscontainspecialmeaninginforeigntradeactivitiessuchasD/A(documentsagainstacceptance),D/P(documentsagainstpayment),D/D(documentarydraft).Inaddition,othertypicalwordsareshowingasbelow:addressingbank(通知银行),jointventure(合资企业);transportationterms:partialshipment(分批装运),containertransport(集装箱运输)etc.E.g.(8)Onecopyofnegotiablebillofladingtogetherwithadraftandothershippingdocumentshasbeenforwardedtoyourbankforcollectionofthepayment.Inthislongsentence,thewords‘negotiablebilloflading’,‘draft’,‘shippingdocument’,‘collectionofpayment’,aretechnicalterms.2StylisticsofForeignTradeCorrespondence2.1StylisticsWhatisstylistics?XuYouzhisaid‘simplydefinedstylisticsisadisciplinethatstudiesthewaysinwhichlanguageisused;itisadisciplinethatstudiesthestylesoflanguageinuse.’(3)Inotherwords,stylisticsisthatlanguageinuseisorganizedfollowingcertainmeansforsomespecialpurposes.‘Stylisticsisadisciplinethatappliesconceptsandtechniquesofmodernlinguisticstothestudyofstylesoflanguageuse.Ithastwosubdivisions:generalstylisticsandliterarystylistics,withthelatterconcentratingsolelyonuniquefeaturesofvariousliteraryworks,andtheformeronthegeneralfeaturesofvarioustypesoflanguageuse...’(3).Ofcourse,thestylisticswearediscussinghereistheformerone.Wemainlyanalyzethestylisticofforeigntradecorrespondence.2.2StylisticFeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondenceWiththedevelopmentoftelecommunicationsandinternet,thewayofcommunicationhasdevelopedfromtraditionalletter,telegram,telextofax,evenE-mail.Duringthedevelopingprocess,thefeaturesofitsformanditscontenthavechangedinforeigntradecorrespondence.But,afterbusinesspracticeforafewyears,foreigntradecorrespondencehasformeditsownstyle.Thoughthisstylehasnotformeditsowngrammarsystem,rhetoricsystemandwordssystem,ithassomecertainfeaturesongrammar,rhetoricandwords.(孟广君65-66)Grammarisadispensableelementofasentence.Incorrespondence,obviously,itsgrammarischaracteredbycompoundsentences,declarativesentences,fewnegativesentences,passivesentencesandsomeinvasivesentences.Sothesegrammardevicesareusedhereforthepurposeofmakingthecontentofcorrespondencemoreclearandavoidingmisunderstanding.Foreigntradetransactionisacomplexprocess,socompoundsentencescanexplainclearlytheproblemsinthewholeprocessatonetime,suchastime,place,price,quantityetc.Inaddition,declarativesentencesaremoreoftenused,becausedeclarativesentencedeclaretheexistedfactsandsomeinformationwithnopersonalfeelings.Atthesametime,rhetoricaldevicesareusedinEnglishcorrespondence,likesubjunctivemood,whichiseasytoexpressopinion,view,requirementorsuggestioninfriendlyatmosphere.Metonymyisalsoarhetoricaldevice,whichexpressessomethingbysimplelanguagelike‘kettle’insentence‘thekettleisboiling’insteadof‘thewaterinthekettle’.Obviously,nomatterwhatrhetoricaldevicesweuseinforeigntradecorrespondence,wemustfollowtherequirementsofclarityandcourtesy.(孟广君70-71)Soweneedtopaymoreattentiontothewords.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,wordsarequiterichandhavespecialfeaturessuchasshiftingfromgeneralmeaningtospecialmeaning;pluralnumbersexpressingthemeaningofsingularnumber.Besides,manyloan-wordsareseenhere,suchas‘statusquo’(拉丁语：现状),‘delcredere’(意大利语：保付货价)etc.Thosewordsareloadedduetotradebetweentwocountries.Thedetailofwordswillbediscussedinnextsection.3StylisticColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondenceAccordingtothefeaturesaboveandstylisticofforeigntradecorrespondence,weknowthatthemaindifferencesbetweenforeigntradecorrespondenceandcommonletterlieinwordsused.Whilewordsinforeigntradecorrespondencehavetheirownvividstylisticcoloringdistinguishedfromthewordsinotherwritings.‘...thereforethereisapreferenceforclear,logicalthoughtemphasizedbythekindsofwordsthatindelicatethelogicalprocess(forexample,‘asaresult’,‘forthisreason’,‘inorderto’).Thereisoftenaneedtobeconcise–particularlywhencommunicatingbyfaxortelephone–andcertainfamiliarconceptsmaybeexpressedinwordclusterstoavoidcircumlocution(forexample,‘cashwithorder’,‘justintimedelivery’).Certaintermshaveevolvedtosavetimeinreferringtoconceptswhichpeopleinbusinessarefamiliarwith(forexample,‘primaryindustry’,‘parentcompany’).Manyoftheseareacronyms(forexample,CIFandFOB)’(EllisandJohnson20-30).Thisthesiswillgivedetailsonthefeaturesandnewusesofwordsinforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects.Thatistosay,next,thewordswillbeanalyzed,whicharedividedintoseveralparts:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologism.Itisessentialtoknowhowtochoosethewordsexactlyandproperlyandthentoapplythemintotheforeigntradecorrespondence.Wordisacoreoflanguage,soitisnecessarytoanalyzethewordsintheforeigntradecorrespondence.3.1PopularWordsForeigntradecorrespondenceisapartofbusinessEnglish,whichisakindofEnglishforspecialpurpose.Duetothespecialbusinesspurpose,usuallysomebodyinacompanyinformshispartnerdetailedinformationefficientlybyforeigntradecorrespondencethatbelongstowrittencommunication.Underbusinesscircumstance,foreigntradecorrespondence,communicationinwritingisrequiredtofollow‘3C’principle(conciseness,clarityandcourtesy).(李力维102)First,concisenessisarequirementoflanguageinforeigntradecorrespondence.ConciseandclearexpressionsinforeigntradecorrespondencereflectthatbusinessEnglishcommunicationownssomefeatureslike:areeasytounderstandthepurposeofthecorrespondence;aretofindtheessentialinformationquicklyincorrespondence.Thus,foreigntradecorrespondencealwaysfollowssomeprinciples.A.Preferenceforsimplewordsandshortwords.Wemustknowthepurposeofforeigntradecorrespondencethatchangeinformationistoestablishbusinessrelationsfinally.Aslongasweknowthepurpose,wecouldunderstandthenecessityofusingconcisewords,becausesimplewordsandshortwordsareeasiertounderstandthancompoundwordsandlongwords.E.g.(9)Wehavebeguntosellourmachinetocountriesabroad.Wehavebeguntoexportourmachines.Afterreadingthosetwosentences,apparently,wethinkthesecondsentenceismoreconcisethanthefirstsentence.Also,readersarealwaysgladtoreadsuchasentencelikethesecondonewhichexpressesmeaningefficientlybyusingconcisewords‘exportourmachines’insteadofcomplexexpression‘sellourmachinestocountriesabroad’.Manyshortwordsarebetterthanlongoneslike‘end’betterthan‘terminate’,‘do’betterthan‘accomplish’,‘ask’betterthan‘request’,‘about’better‘approximately’,‘need’betterthan‘require’,‘use’betterthan‘utilize’,‘duty’betterthan‘obligation’etc.B.Preferenceforsinglewordsandprepositionalphrases.E.g.(10)a.Intheeventofthatyoucouldlowpricealittleinregardtoproductionourcompanymaygiveconsiderationtoourcooperationagain.b.ifyoulowpricealittleaboutproduction,ourcompanymayconsiderourcooperationagain.Comparingthesetwosentences,sentenceb.ismoreproperinforeigntradecorrespondence.Sometimes,inthecorrespondence,wordslikes‘soon’isbetterthan‘inthenearfuture’.Otherwordsarelike‘now’insteadof‘atthepresenttime’,‘because’insteadof‘forthereasonthat’insteadof‘insomecases’etc.C.AvoidingwordyandredundantphraseLetusseethefollowingsentences.E.g.(11)Theregulationsareprovidedinthebooklet.Theregulationsareinthebooklet(12)WeareinreceiptofyourletterdatedMay5th.WereceivedyourletterdatedMay5th.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,theexpressionslikefirstsentenceoftwogroupsofsentencesabovearefewseen.‘Inreceiptof’isanoldbusinessterm,buttoday,weusuallyusetheword‘received’.Thethreekeypointsabovereferredtoaremoreimportanttofollowandtohavethelanguageconciseinforeigntradecorrespondence.Second,clarityisthebasicprincipleamong‘3C’principle.Itisimportanttoexpresscorrespondencemeaningclearlytoreceiver,because,themeaningconveyedtoreceiverdirectlyinfluentsthedecisionwhetherthereceiverestablishbusinessalien-ionwiththewriter.Sothewordsincorrespondenceareexactandclearinordertoavoidmisunderstanding.Wetakeanexampletoillustrateclearly.‘Pleasequoteyourbestpricesforyourbestqualitycoal.’First‘best’means‘lowest’whilethesecond‘best’meansgood.But,inforeigntradecorrespondence,weneverseesuchlikesentenceabove,whiletheexactexpressionisthat‘Pleasequoteyourlowestpricesforyourbestquality.’‘weshalltakeafirmlinewiththefirm’srepresentative’,inthissentence,thefirst‘firm’means‘strong’,whilesecond‘firm’means‘company’,sothesentenceiscorrectedlikeas‘weshalltakeastronglinewiththefirm’srepresentative’.Thus,foravoidingmisunderstandinginforeigntradecorrespondence,fewthesamewordsemergeinthesamesentencetoexpressdifferentmeanings.Besides,incorrespondenceusuallytheexactnounsontimeordatelike‘January’or‘February’areusedinsteadofuncertainwordslike‘instant’,‘approx’,inordertoavoiddivergenceemergedduetovagueconcept.E.g.(13)Thispolicyisissuedinduplicateatshanghaionthe7thdayofMayintheyeartwothousandandone‘The7thdayofMayintheyear’isanexactdateinthesentence,sothereisnoantherexplanationofthedate,anditcannotbeenmisunderstood.Inaddition,courtesyisalsoanessentialprincipletoconformincorrespondence.AccordingtopolitenessprincipleofG.N.Leechandface-savingtheoryofP.BrownandS.C.Levinsm,inthebusinesstextual,politenessisalsonecessaryusedinforeigntradecorrespondence.(林旭涛51-52)Mostly,thereareseveralmethodsofpoliteexpressionsincorrespondence.A.Usingpositivewords,notnegativewords.Usually,positivewordsmakepeoplehaveagoodimpression,whilenegativewordsseemlikecriticizing.Althoughsometimespeoplemakemistakes,wecannotusenegativewordstoblamethemdirectly.Ifnot,thepeoplewouldloseface,asresults,thebusinessrelationshipmaybebrokenup(何光明6-8).Now,wecomparethefollowingtwosentences.E.g.(14)(Negative)Thepricingschemeyousuggestedforthisproductisnotpractical.(Positive)Ifwecanincreasetheprofitby10percent,thepricingschemeyousuggestedcouldwork.Evidently,thesecondsentenceismorecourteousormorepoliteandiseasiertobeenacceptedthanthefirstsentence.B.You–attitudetoacknowledgewhattheothersidedid‘Business’isaspecialword,butitcontainsaveryinterestingthing.‘U’standsfor‘you’and‘i’standsfor‘I’.Intermsofthis,you-attitudeshouldbeputfirstplaceinbusinessletters(何光明11-15).E.g.(15)Youwillbepleasedtoknowthat...Yourcompliancewillbeappreciated.Yourorderisreceivingourimmediateattentionandyoucandependonustoaffectdeliverywellwithinyourtimelimit.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,suchsentencesarealwaysbeenused.C.EuphemismInordertoavoidhurtingother’sside,usuallyeuphemismisefficientwaytoexpressiontheunfortunateinformation.E.g.(16)Thepriceweofferedyouisverypractical,sowearesorrytosaythatyourcounterofferisunacceptable.D.VaguenessIntheinternationalbusinesscorrespondence,sometimes,therearesomedisagreementswhichcannotbesaiddirectlyandclearly.Inthiscase,vaguewordsareusedtokeepgoodsituationandleaveenoughspacetomakenegotiation.Itisillustratedbythefollowingletter:Someofyourrefereeshaverepottedthatduringthelast12monthssomepaymentshavemadeupto1/2monthslate.Weunderstandthatthelatenessofthepaymentmighthavebeenexceptional.Wouldyoucaretotellusaboutthissothatwecouldstillconsiderwhatcreditcouldbearranged?Asweshouldliketokeepyousupplied,weshallholdbackyourorderfor10dayswholeweawaityourreply.(qtd.inZhangQingsong58)Inthecorrespondenceabove,therearefourvaguetermsinall:‘some’,‘somepayments’,‘weunderstand‘and‘mighthavebeen’.‘Some’and‘somepayments’arereferentialvagueness.Here,fortheaddresser,thereferentialmeaningsof‘some’and‘somepayments’areclear,becausehemadeinvestigationofcreditinformation,butforthereceiver,therearevaguemeanings.Also,using‘some’canprotectthethirdpersonwhoprovidesthecreditinformationofreceivertotheinvestigation.Theaddresser’sattitudeisnotseenclearlyfromtheterms‘weunderstand’and‘mighthavebeen’.Thefunctionofthetwowordsarethattheaddressergivethereceiveraexplainingchanceandsendsuchinformationtothereceiveratthesametimethatwritertrusthisreputation,onlytoconfirmitagain.3.2TechnicalWordsInforeigntradecorrespondence,therearelargenumbersoftechnicalwords,whichisoneofthenotablefeatures.Itisthemainreasonwhyitisdifferentfrompersonalletters.Incorrespondence,thespecialwordshavethreekinds,suchastechnicalterms,wordswhichshiftfromcommonmeaningtospecialmeaningandwordsoffunctionalshift.Eachkindhasitsfeaturesanditsspecialfunctionsinforeigntradecorrespondence.Technicaltermshavevividstylisticcoloring,becausetheyaresharedbyinternationalbusinessandtheirmeaningsareuniquewithoutanypersonalfeelings.Itiseasytocomprehendthetechnicaltermswithoutdependingonthetext.Sostylisticsofforeigntradecorrespondencemustusetechnicaltermsforunderstandingclearlyrequire,quote,offerandcounteroffer.(廖瑛120)like‘Performainvoice’,‘soleagency’,‘termsofpayment’,‘documentsagainstpayment’etc.,thosewordsemergefrequentlyinforeigntradecorrespondenceduringtheforeigntradeprocess,especiallyinthecorrespondenceaboutpriceclause,termsofpaymentandinsuranceandsoon.Forexample,thefollowinglettercontainsmanytechnicalwords.Jan.10th,2011Dear...:Chrysanthemum”brandvacuumcleanerWereceivedyourletterofdec.29,1988andappreciateyourintentiontopromotethesaleofourvacuumcleanerinyourcountry.WeregretthatweareunabletoconsideryourrequestforpaymentonD/Aterms.Asarule,weaskforpaymentbyL/C.But,inviewofourfriendlyrelations,wewill,asanexceptionalcase,acceptpaymentoryourtrialorderonD/Pbasis.Inotherwordswewilldrawonyoubydocumentarydraftatsight,thoughourbank,oncollectionbasis,withoutL/C.Wehopetheabovepaymenttermswillbeacceptabletoyouandexpecttoreceiveyourtrialorderinduecourse.Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.Sincerely(qtd.inQiYunfang125)Inthiscorrespondence,therearemanytechnicaltermssuchas‘payment’,‘L/C’,‘trialorder’,‘D/P’,‘D/A’,‘documentarydraftatsight’,‘collection’,‘paymentterms’etc.Also,thosetechnicaltermsemergemanytimesinthiscorrespondence.Technicaltermsrepresent18%percentofthewordsinallhere.D/A:DocumentagainstacceptanceL/C:letterofcreditD/P:documentagainstpaymentAlltheabovetechnicalwordsinthecorrespondencefulfillitsspecialfunctionandconveyaddresser’ssuggestedmeaningandsomeinformationtoreceiveraccurately.Infact,wordsshiftfromcommonmeaningtospecialmeaninginthebusinessEnglishisoneordinarykindoftechnicalwordsinforeigntradecorrespondence.Somewordsmeaningsinbusinesscorrespondencearequitedifferentfromtheirordinarymeaningslike‘against’.Itsgeneralmeaningis‘oppose’,‘alongside’,butothermeaningsareusedinforeigntradecorrespondence.E.g.(17)TherateofHongKongdollaragainstUS.Dollarisappreciating(againstmeans兑换)(18)Itisourcustomtoacceptordersagainstconfirmedirrevocableletterofcredit,validforatleast21daysbeyondtheprescribeddatedofshipment.(againstmeans凭…)(19)Againsttheinvoicedweighttheconsignmentwasfoundshortof1,500kgs(againstmeans与...相比)Thefollowingwordshavedifferentmeaningsindifferenttexts.WordsgeneralmeaningspecialmeaningCoverage覆盖所投保险的险别Document文件单证Literature文学书面材料Offer提议报价、发盘Quotation引用报价With与...，随着向...投保(qtd.inMengGuangjun65-66)Actually,insomesituation,functionalshiftofwordsinforeigntradecorrespondenceisalsoagoodmethodtoexpressthespecialmeaning.‘Achangeinthefunctionofaword,asanexamplewhenanouncomestobeusedasaverb(withoutanyreduction),isgenerallyknowsasconversion.’(Yule67-68)Thiscommonprocessisfunctionalshift.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,thisformusedseemsmoreformalandliteralstyle.Anumberofadverbsandadjective,suchas‘forward’,‘further’viatheprocessoffunctionalshift,cometobeusedasverbs,asinthefollowingsentences:E.g.(20)Yourletteraddressedtoourshanghaioffice,hasbeenforwardedtousattentionandreply.(21)Wewishtoputforwardourplanforsettingupajointcompanyintheunitkingdomtofurtheryourbusinessonawidescale.Someverbsoradjectivalchangetheirfunctionstobeusedasnouns,suchas‘particular’,forexample:E.g.(22)Air-waybill,givingfullparticulars,willbesenttoyouassoonastheconsignmentisreadyforairinchina.3.