商务英语专业设置论证报告及商务英语信函写作中的语言特点及写作技巧

英语专业设置论证报告中国经济发展速度加快，对外商务活动频繁，对外贸易稳步增长。英语作为最重要的语言交流工具，在对外贸易和商务活动中起着越来越重要的作用，然而经贸英语人才的短缺在很大程度上影响着对外经贸的充分开展。中国加入WTO后，对外经贸英语人才的缺口情况更加明显，培养一大批合格的经贸英语人才成为当务之急。通过对社会调查的仔细分析及各专家的讨论，我系认为，开设面向经济发展需求的商务英语专业，培养懂语言和贸易的复合型专业人才是可行的。一、专业设置的必要性随着我国从事商务英语企业的数量大幅增加，大批中小企业、民营企业、制造业企业、国内零售企业大规模入盟外贸行业，从而产生了更多的涉外就业岗位。众多新获得进出口经营权的企业都希望在短时间内将自身的业务扩大，职业化、技能化的商务英语专业人才已成为企业参与国际商务竞争必备的因素，涉外企业对专业人才需求规模骤升，对业务人员的专业化要求也更加丰富，据商务部统计，目前我国外经贸企业各类高级管理人才缺口将近10万人。各类外贸进出口企业大量需求从事实际业务操作的既擅长英语又精通商务英语的双向型技能人才。面对人才市场存在的巨大需求，国内本专业的人才供给却十分有限，专家估计，未来五年全国外贸实用型人才缺口至少在100万以上。商务英语专业毕业生具有较强的职业竞争性和发展性。另外，商务英语专业有利于扩大我系的专业设置口径，有利于我系与市场和企业进一步接轨，有利于教育教学资源进一步挖掘和整合，因此，在新形势下开设商务英语专业是外语系专业建设迈上新台阶跨出的实质性的一步。二、专业设置的原则（一）、专业的设置、调整，原则上遵循教育部颁发的《中等职业学校专业目录》和《关于中等职业学校专业设置管理的原则意见》，事实上依据我国社会发展状况，经济建设情况和本地经济发展的需要，人才需求的情况，积极稳妥地设置、调整专业，以适应行业、企业的人才需求，社会发展，学校前进。（二）、专业设置以学校发展、面向市场为主，突出对学生创新能力和实践能力的培养，有利于树立现代化教育教学观念，优化课程结构，改进教学方法，促进学校内部各项改革、各项资源的合理配置。（三）、专业设置的遵照教育部及有关行业制定的相关专业设置标准，业务范围的基础上，依据该专业在本校已经具有的硬件条件，及完成该专业教学计划所必须的理论和实践，师资队伍等主要条件。三、专业设置的可行性1.师资力量我系具有雄厚的师资力量，教师对工作精益求精，能胜任主干专业理论教学，掌握本职工作基础理论，能运用理论指导实践、解决问题，是一支具有较高理论水平、较强实践能力、热爱本专业教育工作、工作认真细致、积极主动、有奉献精神、热心高等职业技术教育的师资队伍。教师们积极投身教育教学研究和实践，努力提高学术水平和综合素质，形成了一支由学科带头人、中青年骨干教师为中坚力量，热爱教育事业、团结互助、爱岗敬业、知识结构新、创新能力强、实践能力过硬的“双师型”专业教师队伍。目前，专业共有校内任课教师15人，其中副教授4人，讲师6人；具有硕士学位3人，其中10名教师具有“双师”素质。40周岁以下青年教师8名，2名具有硕士学位，占60%。整个教师队伍的年龄、职称、学历、能力等结构合理，形成了有良好发展前景的学术梯队。无论从职称到年龄，专业教师结构十分合理，符合高等职业学校专业设置标准规定的要求。2.实验实训设施在实践实训硬件保障方面，系部已有语音实验室和听力实验室各一个，学院为商务英语专业另配备2个语言实验室，基本能满足本专业实践、实训教学。另外，我们已经联系了商务英语专业校外实训基地，现预商确定了4个，地点在岳阳市的有2个，基本能满足教学实验实训需要。我们此前已经与华能国际电力总公司岳阳分公司、云溪工业园、广东东莞志强木艺制品有限公司、广东建发植有限公司等建立了一定的业务关系，可与这些单位建立长期的实训、培训协作关系，加强校企之间的联系；拓宽实训渠道，使这些单位成为商务英语专业长期性的专业实习基地，为学生提供实习机会，寻求就业前景。另外，还可积极采取多形式的实习方式，如顶岗实习，自择自习，校内模拟实习等，从而能够有力地保障学生的实训质量。四、专业建设与发展的主要思路商务英语专业建设和发展应该坚持与时俱进，实事求是，立足市场和企业需求，坚持职业化和专业化紧密结合的指导思想，体现在以下几个方面：1、以就业为导向，以岗位需求为目标；2、立足培养具有满足涉外商务工作需要的良好的职业道德、职业素质和职业技能的应用型、技能型人才；3、所有课程设置、教学内容、教学过程、教学方法都紧密围绕商务+英语的复合型人才岗位需要进行设置；4、加强产学研合作，争取以多形式、多层次与相关企业建立长期稳定的产学研合作关系。5．加强硬件设施的建设。首先是有目的地、重点地、分批地提高师资水平；其次是不断地完善实验实训设施，从而不断地满足教学发展的要求。6．不断深化理论教学和实践教学的改革。在理论教学方面，要花大力气多调查研究，科学定位人才的培养目标，合理设置专业课程，增加选修课，切实做到理论与实践密切结合。在实践教学方面，要坚持以培养商务英语职业技能为宗旨的实训方针，加强校企联系，广开实训渠道。五、专业培养目标及要求（一）专业培养目标和毕业生的业务规格1、培养目标商务英语专业目标旨在培养学生掌握综合英语语言应用技能、实用商务应用技能、现代信息应用技能、能适应现代社会发展需要的复合型商务英语应用人才。本专业培养目标定位与社会需要及学生就业相结合，使学生掌握必需的服务外向型经济发展需要的知识与技能。2、基本规格商务英语专业学生需具备听、说、读、写、译的综合英语语言知识、计算机基础知识和现代办公能力、商务基础知识、政治理论知识、基础二外知识、中文及社会礼仪知识、涉外贸易业务素质、与时俱进的政治素质、为社会贡献的身体素质、解决问题的心理素质等。商务英语专业学生能适应以下工作岗位：1．外贸业务员2.外贸跟单员3.国际商务单证员4.商务翻译5.

商务助理6.

商务代表（二）能力分解1基本素质要求思想道德素质、身心健康素质、心理素质、乐观的人生态度、谦逊礼貌和良好的文明言行、信息收集和处理的素质、2职业能力要求（1）专业方面：掌握国际经济贸易的基本理论，基本知识与基本技能；了解当代国际贸易发展的现状；熟悉国际贸易、金融、投资的基本规则和惯例以及通行的国际经济规范，能熟练运用英语从事国际经济合作、国际贸易等项业务。具备英语的听、说、读、写、译的基本技能。（2）专门职业能力(1)运用英语处理商务英语业务的能力(2)在外事、商务等部门从事翻译和管理等工作的能力(3)在教育部门从事英语教学的能力(4)运用英语进行商务交谈和交际的能力(5)本专业应有的基本素质和基础能力3．职业延展能力(1)一定的组织、管理、调研、策划的能力(2)一定的公关、推销能力(3)较强的社会适应能力和社交能力(4)择业、就业、转岗和自主创业的能力(5)一定的审美能力1IntroductionBusinessEnglishcanberegardedasanapplicationofEnglishlanguageincommercialoccasions,aimingatenablingspeakerstocommunicateandinteracteffectivelyusingthemostcorrectandclearestbusinesslanguage.BusinessEnglishCorrespondenceisanimportantcarrierofinternationalcommercialactivitieswhichisusedtodelieverinformation,addresscommercialissuesandasawayofcommunication.Lexiconisanimportantfactorofapassage.InthewritingofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence,weshouldpayparticularattentiontotheselectionoflexicon.Differentwordsmaycarrydifferentmeaningandeventhemoodofthemcanbeverydistinct.Therefore,itisofgreatnecessitytodoresearchofthefeaturesoflexiconinthewritingofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Thisthesisattemptstodosomeresearchesonthefollowingsubjects:TohaveagoodknowledgeofcharacteristicsoflexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.TomakesenseofthereasonwhythebusinessEnglishcorrespondencehavesuchrequirementsoflexicon.Toprovidesomesuggestionsthatlearnerscanimprovetheirwritingskills.2DescriptionofBusinessEnglishcorrespondence2.1DefinitionofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceNowadaysmoreandmorepeoplechoosetoworkincompaniesanddocommercialwork.AsChinajoinedtheWTO,enterprisesareallchoosingtoopentheirmarketsandexpandthemintotheinternationalworld,thusmakingEnglishinevitablybecomethemostusedlanguageintheworld.Andinthiswayanewsubjectappearedthatwecallit“businessEnglish”.IntermsofbusinessEnglish,werefertothelanguageusedinordertoadapttothejobmarketwhosecontentsincludealotofaspects(Kansi,1983;134).UnlikethegeneralEnglishlearners,peoplewholearnbusinessEnglisharemoretargetedandspecialized.Businesscorrespondencemeanstheactofcommunicatingbymeansofcorrespondencesorthecorrespondencesbetweencorrespondents(曹菱,2000;87).Itisthemainwayfortraderstodobusiness,exchangecommercialinformationandconsultandgiveanswerstocommercialquestionsininternationaltrade.Besides,itisareflectionofdifferentcultures,socialbackgroundsandrepresentativeofinterestsofbothpartiesofatradingactivity.BusinessEnglishcorrespondencesisdifferentfrompersonalcorrespondences,foritismoreformalandcanbealegaldocumentforbothenterprisestodobusinesstransactionanddealwithcommercialdisputes.ThisisaseriousproblemthatbusinessEnglishcorrespondencewritersshouldpayattentionto.Differentfromthestatecorrespondenceorpersonalcorrespondences,businessEnglishcorrespondenceshasitsowncharacteristicsbothinthearticlestyleandlanguage(Ober,1998;98).Inparticular,itishighdemandedofthecorrectnessandstandardsoflanguage.Thebusinesscorrespondenceshouldbeclear,concise,concrete,andofcourtesyinlanguage.2.2AssortmentofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceItcancategorizebusinesscorrespondencesintothreekinds.Theyareasfollows:Thefirstkindisinaccordancewiththeletters’content.Wehaveinvitationletters,sellingletters,employingletters,andetc.Intermsoftherolethebusinesslettersplaysincommercialactivitiesofenterprises,wehavenegotiatingletterswhichaimsataddressadispute,friendlyletterswhichisusedtokeepafriendlytouchwithanothercompany,andetc.Thelastisthecorrespondence,whichisusedtogivesomeinformation.Theinformationmaybegoodorbad.Inaword,wecanclassifythebusinesscorrespondencesfromdifferentperspectivesjustasthewaymentionedabove.Sometimes,eachkindisnotsoisolatedfromothers.Besideswehavementionedabove,therearealsomanykindsofbusinessEnglishcorrespondencessuchaslettersforsettingupbusinessrelationships,conclusionofbusiness,salescontractorconfirmation,salespromotion,orderandfulfillment,productsshipment,shippingadvice,insurance,claim,askingforanagent,processingtrade,compensationtrade,andetc.2.3FunctionofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceTodayithascomeintoaninformationsocietywiththedevelopmentofinformationtechnologyandtheInternet.BusinessEnglishcorrespondencesplaysanimportantpartininternationaltradingactivitiesduetoitscourtesy,completeness,concisenessandothergoodfeaturesinordertoobtainanddeliverinformation,makeeffectivecommunication,addressrelatedissuesincommercialactivitiesandmaintaingoodandnormaloperatingrelations.Businesscorrespondencemeanstheactofcommunicatingbymeansoflettersortheletters,whichpassbetweencorrespondents(曹菱,2000;76).Itisthemainwayfortraderstodobusiness,exchangecommercialinformationandconsultandgiveanswerstocommercialquestionsininternationaltrade.Besides,itisareflectionofdifferentcultures,socialbackgroundsandrepresentativeofinterestsofbothpartiesofatradingactivity.BusinessEnglishlettersisdifferentfrompersonalletters,foritismoreformalandcanbealegaldocumentforbothenterprisestodobusinesstransactionanddealwithcommercialdisputes.Allinall,wesummarizeditsfunctionasfollows:First,itcanimprovetheworkingefficiencyofforeigntradeandreducethecost.Second,ithelpsenterprisestoseekmorenewclientsanddeepentheirrelationswiththecompanies.Third,thebusinessEnglishletterscanpromotetheforeigntradeeconomy.Andfinallyitisboundtoplayanimportantroleinfulfillingtheglobalizationoftrade.3Basicwritingprinciplesforbusinesscorrespondence3.1PolitenessBeingpoliteisanimportantprincipleinbusinesscircles.Apolitecorrespondencecanhelpyouwinothers’will.Therefore,itisappropriatetousemorefrequentlywordssuchas“please”,“Iwillbehighlyappreciatedthat...”,Itisourpleasureto…”andetc.Thereareinevitablyconflictsanddisputesinbusinesstransactions.Anditispolitenessthatcanfunctionasalubricanttobreakdeadlocks.Whendoingcompensation,makingcomplaints,andrefusingtoacceptsomerequests,businessEnglishcorrespondences’writersmustbemorepoliteandtrytousewordsnotsoimperative.Whenrespondingtoothers’correspondences,thewritersshallalsousepolitewordsnomatterhowbadtheattitudeoftheotherpartyis.First,thewritersshouldbegoodatusingpassivesentences,whichcanmakeyourwordsmoretemperate.Forexample,thesentence“Youmadeaverycarelessmistake”maybebetterifitischangedinto“Averycarelessmistakewasmade”.Second,thewritersshouldbegoodatusingquestionsentencestoshowpolitenessandeuphemismandconditionalsentencestomakeyourrecommendationssoundsmoretentativeandeuphemistic.3.2ConcisenessandCompletenessEmphaticanddescriptivewordsaregoodwaystomakebusinessEnglishcorrespondencemoreeffective.Writerscanchooseabbreviatedwordsinforeigntradefieldsthatarefamiliartopeople.Besides,thesentencestructureshouldbeconciseandsimple.Writersshouldusemorewordstoreplacecomplexsentencesandtrytomaintainthecompletenessandmakesentencesmoreconcise(Baugh,1986;39).Forinstance,“Aswhatyouhaverequested...”canbesimplifiedinto“Asrequested...”.Moreover,itisakeyfactortokeepthecompletenessofinformation.Somewordsusedinourdailylifesuchas“theabovementioned”,“theformer”,“respectively”shouldnotbeusedinbusinesscorrespondencesasmuchaspossible.Makesureprovidecompleteinformationtolettheotherpartybeclearatthefirstglance.3.3Clearness,ConcretenessandCorrectnessClearnessisthemostimportantprincipleinbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Anunclearcorrespondencemaycausemisunderstandingandambiguousandeventradingloss.Therefore,writersshouldpayattentiontoselectcorrectwordsandmakeyoursentencesstructureisabsolutelyright.InbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceswriting,theinformationthatisdeliveredshouldbeconcreteandvividtoavoidtheriskofambiguity.Correctnessnotonlyrequiresthatgrammar,syntax,andmarksandspellingberight,butthecommercialtechnicaltermsshouldberepresentedappropriately.Thecommunicativeeffectswillbegreatlydamagedifmistakesaremadeinspelling,person,punctuationmarks,tense,andetc.Besides,writersshouldusemoreformalwords.Forexample,abbreviationsas“I’ll”,“we’re”shouldnotbeused.4Lexiconandwritingprinciplesofbusinesscorrespondence4.1TheDefinitionoflexicologyIntheOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,thedefinitionoflexicologyisthestudyoftheform,meaningandbehaviorofwords.Technically,lexicologyisabranchoflinguisticsconcernedwiththestudyofthevocabularyofagivenlanguage.Itdealswithwords,theirorigin,development,history,structure,meaningandapplication.ThetermlexicologycontainstwoGreekmorphemes:lexikonandlogie.Theformermeans“word”,thelattermeans“learning”or“thestudyof”(Nation,2001).4.2Reviewofstudiesonlexicalfeatures4.2.1ReviewofstudiesonlexicalfeaturesinEnglishforSpecificPurposesEnglishhasbeenmoreandmorefrequentlyusedinvariouscircles.WehavesummarizedthissituationasworkplaceEnglishincludingtourismEnglish,lawEnglish,medicalEnglishandetc.Andinthisthesis,wemainlyfocusedonitsuseinbusinessfieldthatis“businessEnglish”.Wearenowlivinginaglobalizedworld,andafterChinaenteringtheWTO,ourcountry’scommercialactivitiesareincreasingrapidly,whichmakesbusinessEnglishbecomeanindispensablelanguagetoolforcommunicationintheworld’seconomicalactivities.BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisoneofthemosteffectivewaysininternationalcommunication.AgoodknowledgeofEnglishistheimportantfoundationforwriterstowriteagoodandeffectivebusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Inthemeanwhile,therearemanyotherfactorsshouldbepaidattentionto,suchasavoidingChinglish,havingknowledgeofthebackgroundknowledgeofwesternculture,keepingeyeonthetradingstyleoftheotherpartyandetc.Inoneword,withthecontinuouschangesoftheformsofcommercialactivities,thebusinessEnglishcorrespondencesmustchangeaccordingly.4.2.2FormerstudiesonlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceLexiconplaysanimportantpartinwriting.AndinbusinessEnglishwriting,thelexiconisofmoresignificance.ManyscholarshavemademanyresearchesofthelanguageandlexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesfromvariousperspectives.Theystudiedmanyaspectssuchasthelexiconmeaning,function,correctness,andetc.Therefore,itisofmuchresearchvaluetodoresearchinthisaspect.ThisthesistriedtoexploremoremeaningfulthingsexpectingtoprovidesomeusefulinformationtothereadersandbusinessEnglishlearners(何勇斌,2005;196).4.3TheLexicalFeaturesRepresentedinCourtesyandConsiderationIthasmentionedthatthereare7Csprinciplesinbusinesswriting,here,I’lldividetheminto3classificationstoillustratethelexicalfeaturesineachclassification.Thefirstclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedincourtesyincourtesyandconsideration.Inbusinesscorrespondences,weoftenusesomepolitewordstoexpressourkindnesstoother.Andweoftenusesomespecialwordstopresentconsiderationtotheotherparty.Sofromsomeaspectwecansaythattheconsiderationfortheotherpartyisalsoshowourcourtesy.Thesecondclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedinconcisenessandcompleteness.AsImentionedabove,businesscorrespondenceshouldbeconcise,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatthelessthebetter.Atthesametime,weshouldnoticethatwegivethecompleteinformationthatneeded.Thelastclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedinclearness,concretenessandcorrectness.Thesethreeprincipleshaveonecommontargetthatistomakethebusinesscorrespondencebeaccurateandnottobemisunderstanding.4.3.1UsepolitewordsEnglishbusinesscorrespondencesisanimportantwayofcommercialcommunicationandplaymanyrolessuchasdeliveringinformation,buildingcooperativerelationship,promotingcompany’soperationsandstrengtheningcommunicationincommercialactivities(汤军,1998;148).Toachievecommercialgoalssuccessfully,itisessentialtousepoliteandappropriatelanguage.AccordingtoLeech(Leech,1983;236),thereisasetofPolitenessPrinciple(PP)thatsociallygovernscommunicativebehavior.ThePolitenessPrinciple(PP)isformulatedasfollows:Minimize(otherthingsbeingequal)theexpressionofimpolitebelief,andmaximize(otherthingsbeingequal)theexpressionofpolitebeliefs.4.3.2UsepositivewordsThemeaningofwordiscombinedwithconceptualmeaningandassociativemeaning.Heformeroneisthecoreofawordandtheassociativemeaningisacombinationofaword’semotionalandstylisticmeaning.Wordsofpositiveemotionalmeaningwilldeliveranunhappyfeelingonreaders.InEnglishbusinesscorrespondences,wordsofpositivemeaningcansendpeopleanemotionofdelight,happinessandpositivenessandmakethemfeelrespected,thusmakingwordsmoreacceptable.Therefore,inEnglishbusinesscorrespondences,wordsthatcanexpressgratitudeandpraiseareoftenused.Forinstance,Wewouldbeverygratefulifyoucouldletustakedeliverybeforethesellingseason.Itgivesusmuchpleasuretoreceivethecatalogueandsamplesyousentus.Inaword,itismoreacceptabletochoosewordsofpositivemeaninginEnglishbusinesscorrespondences.4.3.3HedgesHedgewordsarethosehavecertaincoremeaninginlanguagewhilenotallthesenseofthemaredefinite（伍铁平,1999;143）.Theyaredifferentfromsemanticambiguity.Theyhavetheiruniquecharacteristicsandrichpragmaticfunction.Usinghedgewordsappropriatelywillmakecorrespondencelanguagemorepoliteinsteadofaffectingitsprecisenessoflanguage.Hedgescanbedividedintotwokinds.Ononehand,wecanusesomewordsorexpressionsthatcanchangetheoriginalmeaningofdiscourse.Forexample,wecanuse“alittle,roughly,greatly,approximately“andetc.Ontheotherhand,weusewordsthatdonotchangethetrueconditionofdiscoursebutcansoftenthelanguagemood(陈楚君,2004;71).Incommercialactivities,therearesomeinevitablydisputesthatcannotbeavoidedinthecooperationofbothtradingpartiesbecauseofsomeinterestsconflictsandcontradictions.Inthosesituations,writerscouldusehedgestodelivertheirinformationmorequicklyinordertogivebothpartiesmorespacetosavetheirtradeandface,thuseasilychangingtheirwayoftrading.Forexample,thesentence“Wecannotagreewiththepriceyouoffer.”maybechangedinto“Iamafraidthatwecannotagreewiththepriceyouhaveset’.Andinthisway,yourwordscanbemoreacceptablebytheotherparty.4.3.4UsemoremodalverbsModalwordshavemodalmeaningandmodalmeaningisthecourageofaverbthatcanexpressthespeaker’sattitudetowardsandemotiontothesubjecthetalksabout.Whetherthelanguageispolitedependsonwhetherthemodalwordsarestrong.Modalwordslike“could,might,would,should”andetc.moreofnegotiablemoodthatcanmakelanguagemoodmoreeuphemisticandareoftenusedinEnglishbusinessletters.4.4Thelexicalfeaturesrepresentedinconcisenessandcompleteness4.4.1ChoiceofconcisewordingWritersofbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,whenwriteabusinessEnglishcorrespondence,redundancyofwordsshouldbeavoided.Trytomakethewordsandsentencesmoreclear.Toomanydetaildescriptionsshouldalsobeavoidedasmuchaspossible.Forexample,inthesentence“Wehavebeguntoexportourmachinetocountriesabroad”,theword“export”and“countriesabroad”areofthesamemeaning.Andinthiscase,wesuggestthat“countriesabroad”shouldbeomitted.EmphaticanddescriptivewordsareagoodwaytomakebusinessEnglishcorrespondencemoreeffective.Writerscanchooseabbreviatedwordsinforeigntradefieldsthatarefamiliartopeople.Besides,thesentencestructureshouldbeconciseandsimple.Writersshouldusemorewordstoreplacecomplexsentencesandtrytomaintainthecompletenessandmakesentencesmoreconcise(Baugh,1986;94).Forinstance,“Aswhatyouhaverequested...”canbesimplifiedinto“Asrequested...”.Moreover,itisakeyfactortokeepthecompletenessofinformation.Somewordsusedinourdailylifesuchas“theabovementioned”,“theformer”,“respectively”shouldnotbeusedinbusinesscorrespondencesasmuchaspossible.Makesureprovidecompleteinformationtolettheotherpartybeclearathefirstglance.4.4.2SynonymsinpairsSynonymisanotherimportantwordformusedinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Itreferstowordsofthesameoralmostthesamemeaningbuthavedifferentspellingformsorsounddifferent.ThesewordsareoftenusedinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Forinstance,”wehavesometermsandpactsneedingyoutocheckcarefully”.Itisverycommontouseagreatdealofsynonymsinbusinesscorrespondences.Ononehand,theuseofsynonymsreflectsthediversityandflexibilityoflanguageinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Ontheotherhand,thesesynonymshavealittledifferenceinthemeaningorusage,whichcanindirectlyreflecttheprecisenessofbusinessEnglish.Suchasgoods,commodity,merchandise,shipment,freight,cargoandconsignment.Thesewordsthatwelistedhereallcanrefertothingsincommercialtrading.Butifweusedifferentwords,werefertothesamething.However,thereshouldbenotedthatwecannotstillmixthemtogetherorjusttakethemasoneword.Becausetheyaredividedintoaccordancewithvariouslinkofinternationaltrade,theyrepresentdifferentlinks.Shipmentandcargoaregenerallyreferredtothingsintransportation,whilemerchandise,goods,commoditiesaremorelikelytorefertothingswhentheyaresoldorbought.Therefore,thisisaspecialfeatureoflexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesthatdeservinglearnerstopaytheirattentionto.4.4.3UseAffixLanguageischangingwiththedevelopmentofoursocietyandbusinessEnglish,asanapplicationofgeneralEnglishincommercialactivitiesischangingaswell.Andthegreatwavedoftheeconomy’sglobalizationbringmoreopportunitiesforbusinessEnglish.InthelexiconofbusinessEnglish,themoststrikingfeatureisthattheusageofsomenewprefixandaffix,whichcontributedthebirthofsomenewwordsinbusinessarea.Forexample,theprefixe-,eco-,tel-,andsuffix-ism,andetc.Somenewwordsmadefromthemsuchase-commerce,tele-message,eco-friendly,endism,andetc.4.4.4UseabbreviationsAbbreviationsareanimportantpartofbusinessEnglishlexiconthatformedinthelong-termcommercialpractices.Theuseofabbreviationscanmakeyourexpressionmoreconciseandclearandtheyarefrequentlyusedincommercialactivities.Abbreviationsareoftenrepresentedbythecapitalizedcorrespondences,suchasL/C(correspondenceofcredit),B/L(billoflanding),EAT(estimatedarrivaltime),ASAP(assoonaspossible),andetc.4.5.TheLexicalfeaturesrepresentedinclearness,concretenessandcorrectness4.5.1ChoiceofprecisewordingInbusinesscorrespondences,therearesomespecialexpressionsandwordsthatrenotsofrequentlyusedinsituationsofdailylife.ThesewordsalmostdonotappearingeneralEnglish.Insomecases,theyareusedinordinaryEnglish,butwillhavedifferentmeaninginbusinessEnglish.ThisisalsoalexicalfeatureofbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Forexample,inthephrase“onthetermsandconditions”,thewords“term”and“condition”arebothofthemeaning“insomesituationorwithsomerequirements”.Inourdailylife,thereisnoneedtousethetwowordsofthesamemeaningatthesametime,whileinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,theyaremustbeusedtogetherlikeabovetoguaranteethatthelettersarepreciseandrigorous.Inanotherexample,theword“advise”inthephrase“advisesbofsth”isusedasthemeaning“giveasuggestionorrecommend”indailyusage.ButinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,itmeans“notice”.TherearealotofsuchwordsinbusinessEnglish.Forinstance,theword“offer”generallyrefersto“provideorsupplysth”,whileinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesitcanusedasoftheameaningassociatedwiththestocks.Again,ininsuranceindustry,“theword“policy”means“thecredittoproveyoumakeaninsurance”ratherthantheordinarymeaning“principles”.Therefore,itisofgreatnecessityforwritersofbusinessEnglishwriterstopayattentiontothis.4.5.2PreferenceofconcretewordstoabstractwordsInbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,writersshouldmakesurethattheinformationthattheydeliverisspecific,correctandvividaspossibleastheycan.Trytocomparethefollowingsentences:“WehavesenttoyouasusualunderyourL/C”.“WehavesenttoyouoursightdraftNo.231oftheCentralBank.”Bycomparison,itisapparentforustoseethatinformationofthesecondsentenceismorespecific,whichmakereaderscanclearlymakesenseoftheinformationthewriterwanttodeliverattheirfirstglance.However,thefirstoneissogeneralthatreaderscanunderstandwhatdoesthesentencemeanaftercarefulthinking.4.5.3UsesimplewordstomakesureofclearnessInbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,theprincipleclearnessisofgreatsignificanceaswell.Itreferstodelivertheinformationthatwriterstrytopassonclearlyanddirectlywithoutcausinganymisunderstandingorbringinganytroubleforbothtradingparties.AclearexpressionhasbeenanimportantlinktomakesureofeffectivecommercialcommunicationallthetimeandthusbecometheobjectiveandstandardofbusinessEnglishwriting.IfthereceiversofthebusinessEnglishcorrespondencescannotmakesenseofwhatthewritersintentionis,thecorrespondencewillbeboundtoturnouttobemeaninglessnomatterhowfiguredandmagnificentthelanguageis.Andinsomecases,suchcorrespondencesthat