【商务英语信函中委婉语的应用探究（英文）（论文）】

.Introduction1.1PurposeWiththeglobalizationofeconomy,cooperationbecomesamaintrend.Itisindispensibleforcountriesamongtheworldtousebusinessletterasausefultooltoconnectthesidesandenhancecommunication.Withthechangeoftimes,sodoescooperationways.Theapplicationrangeofbusinesslettersbecomewiderandwideranditswaysofusagebecomericherandricher.Inbusinessletters,euphemism,aspeciallanguageform,likelubricant,canmakecommunicationmoresmoothandpromotebusinesscooperation.Usingcorrectandappropriatelanguageusuallycanachieveagoodeffectinconversation.So,oneshouldlearntouseeuphemismtostatethefact,expressattitudeandviewsinthebusinessletters.Thispaperwillintroduceeuphemism’susingprinciples,devicesandfunctionsinbusinessletters.1.2StructureThispaperismainlydividedintofiveparts.Thefirstpartistheintroduction,whichmainlyintroducesthepurposeofwritingthispaperandthebasicstructureofthepaper.Thesecondpartisliteraturereview.Thepartincludestwoaspects:previousstudiesoneuphemismandpreviousstudiesoneuphemisminEnglishbusinessletters.ThethirdpartintroducesusingprinciplesanddevicesofeuphemisminEnglishbusinessletter.ThefourthpartmainlyintroducesthefunctionofeuphemisminEnglishbusinessletters.Thefifthpartisaconclusion,whichisasummaryofthecontentandmeaningofthestudy.2.LiteratureReviewEuphemismisaspeciallanguageformaswellasaculturalphenomenon.Itreferstoakindofunclearexpression,whichcanmakepeoplefeelhappy.Theuseofeuphemismcanmakebothsidesintheprocessofcommunicationavoidembarrassmentorcontradiction,expressclearlyideasandgoals,andmaintaineachother'sdignity.Therearemanyresearchesoneuphemismathomeandabroad,whicharemainlyembodiedinthedefinitionandpragmaticfunctionsofeuphemism.Itisnotdifficulttofindthateuphemismhasbeenpaidattentionbyscholarsandmadegreatachievements,butsomelimitationsremain.Atpresent,domesticresearchesoneuphemismaremainlyfromtheaspectsofChinese-Englishcomparisonaboutit,grammaticalfunctionandculturalconnotation.Therearemanyresearchesoneuphemisminthepast,buttheirdepthisnotenough.Thereisalackofresearchesoneuphemismfrommulti-anglelinguisticperspective.Inforeigncountries,researchersmostlystudyeuphemismfromtheperspectiveoflinguisticsandpragmatics,focusingontheteachingvalueandusevalueofeuphemism.Basedontheusingprinciplesofeuphemismsinbusinessletters,thispaperwillanalyzethegrammaticaldevicesandusingprinciplesofeuphemisminEnglishbusinesslettersandsummaryfunctions,soastoenlightenreaderstouseeuphemismscorrectlyandrealizetheimportanceofeuphemismsinbusinessletters.2.1PreviousStudiesonEuphemism2.2.1DefinitionWesternscholarshavestudiedeuphemismforalongtime.GeorgeBlunt,Hedefinedeuphemismlikethis:“Euphemismisagoodorfavorableinterpretationofabadword”(Blunt1983:123-124).Lakoff,aforeignscholar,firstproposedtheconceptofeuphemisminhisarticlein1972.Hebelievesthateuphemismisoneormorewordsorphrasesanditsmainfunctionistomakeeventsinspeechvague(Lakoff1972:183-228).TherearedifferentviewsonthedefinitionofeuphemismamongdifferentscholarsinChina.In1989,ProfessorWuTiepingclassifiedeuphemismsintofourcategories:1.Usefuzzywordstorefertoprecisewordseuphemistically.2.Usethevaguenessofthesamegroupofwordstomeanlessvaguenesseuphemistically.3.Usefuzzywordsthatdonotbelongtothesamesettoreplaceanotherword.4.Useaprecisewordtoeuphemisticallyrefertoanotherpreciseword(WuTieping1999:122-126).ChenWangdaothinksthateuphemismisnotdirectlyexpressingtheoriginalmeaningwhenspeaking,butusingeuphemisticandimplicitwordstoimply(ChengWangdao1979).InChina,scholars'researchesoneuphemismaremainlyintermsofrhetoric,andthescopeofresearchisrelativelynarrow.Theydidnotgiveanaccurateboundarytoeuphemisms,nordidtheyexplorethesocialreasonsfortheiremergence.(ShuDingfang1995:17-22).2.2.2FunctionsThepragmaticfunctionofeuphemismisreflectedinpeople’sdailycommunication.Asalanguagephenomenon,people’sunderstandingisconstantlyupdatedinthedevelopmentofsocietyandculture,andthescopeandfunctionofeuphemismwillbecomemoreextensive.Wecanbetterunderstandanduseitthroughfurtherresearch.Thepragmaticfunctionsofeuphemismcanbedividedintoavoidanceoftaboowords,politenessandwithholdinginformationandself-protection(ChenLei2010:188-189).Theproductionoftaboofunctionisrelatedtotaboowords,whichisaphenomenonoflanguagecustomsandisinfluencedbysocialculture.Peopleusuallyusesomewordstoreplaceterriblethings.Justastherearemanyeuphemisticexpressionsaboutdeath.Bepoliteinverbalcommunication.In1983,Britishlinguistleechproposedthepolitenessprincipleanditssixprinciples(Leech1983).Theyarestrategyprinciple,magnanimityprinciple,praiseprinciple,modestyprinciple,approvalprincipleandsympathyprinciple.Adoptingtheprincipleofpolitenessincommunicationcanmakecommunicationsmoother.Thefunctionofpolitenessistobetterreflecttherespectfortheothersideandunderstanding,whichisbeneficialtoimprovethecommunicativefunctionoflanguageandobtainbettercommunicativeeffects.Thewithholdinginformationofeuphemismismainlyreflectedinpolitics,diplomacyandmilitary.Inthefieldofdiplomacy,vagueexpressionsareoftenusedtoreplacesomeunjustactsofaggression.Ininternationalpolitics,euphemismsareoftenusedtoconcealtheessenceofcertainthings.Ininterpersonalcommunication,positionandattitudeusuallyneedbeexpressed,buttherearesomelanguagesthatwecannotexpressdirectly,whicharerequiredtouseeuphemisms.Indailylife,peopleoftenconsidertheirsocialstatusandidentitytoprotecttheirowninterestsandface.Somelanguagesthataretoovulgarcancauseembarrassmentininterpersonalcommunication.Ontheonehand,Itcanmaintainthedignityoftheothersideandcreateaharmoniouscommunicationenvironmentthroughusingeuphemisms,ontheotherhand,itisalsocanmaintainone'sfaceandinterests.Self-protectionisanimportantsocialfunctionofeuphemism.2.2PreviousStudiesonEuphemisminBusinessLetterBusinessletterplaysavitalroleininternationalbusinesscooperationandpromotethedevelopmentofeconomy.Withtheeconomicglobalizationandthepopularizationofinformationtechnology,businessletterhasalsomadegreatprogress.Vocabularyisnotonlythebasicunitoflanguage,butalsoanecessaryelementoflanguagetokeepintegrity.Businessletterhasitsuniquelexicalfeatures.LiuRunqingpointsoutthat“thethreeelementsofalanguagearepronunciation,vocabularyandgrammar.Wordsarelikebricksinabuilding.Nomatterwhatkindofbuilding,itisbuiltwithbricksblockbyblock”.Therefore,vocabularyislikethemostbasicbuildingmaterialsoflanguageanditisessential.Ingeneral,vocabularyischaracterizedbybrevity,specializationandcomplexity.Businesslettersbelongtopracticalwritingstyle,soithasthestyleofpracticalwriting，includingthecharacteristicsofeuphemismandpoliteness.Inbusinessletters，usingeuphemismsandpolitenessprinciplesskillfullycanestablishagoodcooperativerelationshipbetweenthetwosides.ThepolitenessprinciplewasfirstproposedbyLeech.Leechbelievedthatineverycommunication,thespeakerandtheaudienceshould"expresspolitenesstothemaximumextentandminimizetheimpoliteexpression.”Leech'spolitenessprincipleincludessixprinciples,theyare:thestrategyrule,thegenerosityrule,theapprovalrule,themodestyrule,theconsistencyruleandthecompassionrule.Theruleofstrategyistodolessharmandmoregood.Theruleofgenerosityistobenefitothersmore.Theruleofpraiseistopraiseothersmore.TheRuleofhumilityistopraiseyouless.Theruleofunanimityreferstoreducingdifferenceswithothers,andhassameopinionasfaraspossible.Previousstudiesoneuphemismsmainlyfocusonthedefinition,pragmaticfunctionsandconstructionmethodsofeuphemisms,andthestudyoneuphemismsinbusinesslettersmainlyfocusesonthelexicalfeatures,translationmethods.Theresearchfieldsofeuphemismsinbusinesslettershavelessreferencematerial.Therefore,thestudyfromthisperspective,intermsofeuphemismandbusinessletters,areasupplement.Thepapermainlystudiesthegrammaticalmeans,usingprinciples,pragmaticfunctionsinEnglishbusinessletters.3.UsingPrinciplesandDevicesofEuphemisminEnglishBusinessLetters3.1UsingPrinciples3.1.1CooperativePrincipleIn1960,Grice,anAmericanphilosopher,proposedthecooperativeprinciple.Theprincipleofcooperationrequiresbothpartiestoprovideeachotherwithtrue,appropriateandrelevantinformation.Thecooperativeprincipleincludesfourmaxims:Qualitymaxim,Quantitymaxim,Relevancemaxim,andMannermaxim(Grice1960：145-158).Qualitymaximrequiresbothpartiestospeakthetruth.Youcan'tsayanythingthat'snottrueandyoucan'tprove.Thecontentofthebusinesslettermustbetrueandprecise.Forexample,1.Thisisthenewestdevicesathomeaccordingtothescientificmagazine.根据科学杂志的报道，这是国内最新的设备。Quantitymaximdictatesthattheinformationtobespokenissufficient.Youshouldpresentallcontentswhichyourcooperatorwantstoknow.Itisunnecessarytoexpressirrelevantviews.Acompletebusinesslettercanreflecttheseriousattitudeoftalkerandgiveeachother’ssatisfactoryreplysothatleaveagoodexpressionandpromotecooperationbetweenthesides.Therefore，whenonewritesabusinessletter,fullinformationsuchasthepurposeofwriting,reasonandsomequestionswhichtheothersidewanttoknowshouldbeincluded.Therelevancerulestatesthatwhatissaidmustbegroundedandrelevanttothetopicbeingdiscussed.Abusinessletterthathasnothingtodowiththetopicofconversationwillbringinconveniencetothecommunicationofbothsidesandarousetheantipathyoftheotherside.Forexample,2.A:Weareinterestedinyourproductsandwehopethatyoucangiveusalowestprice.B:Thedesignconceptoftheproductisunique;itcombinessomegreenelements,whichcanstimulatepeople'senvironmentalawarenessB'sanswerisimpertinent,Amainlywantstoknowthepriceoftheproduct,andBistoanswerintroductionoftheproduct.Bdon’tdirectlyanswerA'squestion,whichwillmaketheotherpartyloseinterest,orevenlosetheopportunitytocooperate.TheMannermaximstipulatesthatthecontentoftheconversationshouldbeconciseandavoidambiguity.Businesslettersshouldbesimpleincontent,clearinmeaningandexpression.Forexample:3.Thankyouforyourorderdated2Junefor200widgets.However,Iregrettosaythatyoumayhavetowaitafewweeksbecausetheinventoryisn’tenough.Wearesorryforthedelayandwaityourinstructions.感谢您在6月2日订购了200件产品。但是，遗憾地是，因为库存不够，您可能需要等待几周才能收到货。我们感到十分抱歉，静候您的指示。3.1.2PolitenessPrincipleIn1983,BritishscholarLeechputforwardthepolitenessprincipleonthebasisofcooperativeprinciple(Leech1983).Incommunication,appropriatelanguagesusuallyreflectone’sliteracy.Theuseofeuphemismscanmakethecommunicationbetweenthetwosidesmorepleasant,andthepolitenessprincipleshouldbepaidattentiontowhenusingeuphemisms.Inbusinessletters,wenotonlypayattentiontotheuseofvocabulary,butalsograspthedegreeoflanguage.Euphemismisoneofthecharacteristicsofpolitenessprinciple.4.Wecan’tdeliverthegoodsintimebecausethereissomethingwrongwiththecompany’scapitalchain.我们不能及时发货的原因是公司的资金链出问题了。 Inthisexample,thespeakeristoodirectandnotpolite.Itiseasytoleaveabadimpressionontheothersideandaffectthefurthercooperation.Wecanmakeamodification:Wearesorrytotellyouthatthegoodscouldn’tbedeliveredintimebecauseourcompany’scapitalchainruptured,andhopeyouunderstand.5.Weareextremelyandsincerelysorryfortheerrorandaskthatyouacceptourhumbleandsincereapologyfortheundueinconvenience(HuZhiwen2003:100-104）.我们对这一错误表示极其真诚的歉意，并请你们接受我们为给你们带来的不便而表示谦卑和诚挚的歉意Intheexample,itisobviousthatthetalker’sattitudeissohumblethathecan’thaveagoodcommandofpolitenessprinciple.Politenessdoesn’tmeanhubrisorflattery.weshouldchooseproperexpressionaccordingtocontext.3.2LexicalDevices3.2.1FuzzyWordsFuzzinessmeansthatuncertainty.Butbusinesslettersrequireclearandaccuratelanguage.Infact,thetwoarenotcontradictory.Appropriateuseofvaguelanguagecanmakethelanguagemoreappropriateandflexible.Theambiguityofbusinesslanguagecanbeachievedthroughfuzzywords.Fuzzywordsmainlyrefertowordswithuncertainextensionboundariesinthelanguage.Fuzzywordscanbedividedintothefollowingcategories:degreefuzzywords,quantityfuzzywords,qualityfuzzywordsandscopefuzzywords.Degreefuzzywordsrefertofuzzywordswithdifferentdegreesofsemanticssuchasvery,quite,alittlebit,andkindof.Quantitativefuzzywordsgivearoughrangeorapproximatevalueintermsofquantitysuchasaround,about,most,andapproximately.QualityfuzzywordsrefertoeuphemismsthatleaveroomforwhatissaidsuchasIthink,IamafraidandIamnotsure.Scopehedgeswilllimitthescopeofthetopicsuchasaccordingtoandroughly.Someexamplesareasfollows.6. Thepriceoftheproductsisveryreasonable.这批货物的定价是非常合理的Inthissentence,verybelongstothedegreeoffuzzyword,whichstrengthensthereasonabletoneandexpressesaffirmation.Itreflectsthatweareverysatisfiedwiththepriceoftheproduct,lettheotherpartyunderstandourattitude,andlaythefoundationforafriendlycooperativerelationship.7. Thepriceoftheproductsishigh.这批货物的定价太高了Thepriceoftheproductsisalittlebithigh这批货物的定价有点高ThefirstsentenceinExample2willmaketheotherpartythinkthatyouarecomplaining,andthetoneistoodirect,whichwillmaketheotherpartyfeelunhappyandevenaffectthecooperationrelationship.Alittlebitisusedinthesecondsentence,whichindirectlyexpressestheneedandhopesthattheotherpartycanlowerprices.Thisreflectsanegotiatingtone,whichisconducivetotradecooperation.3.2.2EmotionalWordsTheemotionalcolorofeuphemismsisauniquewayofwordstoexpressemotions.Throughusingemotionalwords,itcanreflectourattitudemoreclearlythattheotherpartycanunderstandourtruethoughtsandopinions.Atthesametime,italsocanpromoteeffectivecommunication,andestablishlong-termfriendlytraderelationswiththeotherparty.TheemotionalwordsinbusinessEnglishincludessorry,regret,appreciateandsoon.Forexample:8.Wearesorrytotellyouthatthequalityofproductscan’treachourstandard.抱歉，你方的产品质量达不到我们的要求。Inthisexample,sorrysetstheemotionaltone,euphemisticallyexpressesourdissatisfactionwiththeotherparty’sproducts,withouthurtingtheother’sself-esteem,andcanpromotetheother’sreflectionandfurtherimprovethequalityoftheproduct.9.Weappreciatethecleverdesignofyourproducts，butunfortunatelyyourpriceisalittlebithigh我们很欣赏你方产品的巧妙设计，但是遗憾地是产品价格有点高Inthisexamplesentence,itexpressesourapprovalandsatisfactionwiththeotherparty'sproductdesign,andmakestheotherpartyfeelthatweliketheproductsandtheexpectationofestablishingacooperativerelationship,whichmaytouchtheotherpartyevenlowertheprice,andfinallypromotingthecooperationbetweenthetwoparties.Euphemismhasaspecialwayofexpressingemotions.Differentfromconventionallanguage,emotionalvocabularyisanimportantpartofeuphemismthatreflectstheemotionalcolor.Itcannotonlyenhancelanguagecommunicationskills,butalsoincreaselanguageexpressioneffects.Itplaysanimportantroleinbusinesscooperation.Learningandaccumulatingrelevantemotionalwordscanallowustodoagoodjobinthewritingofbusinessletters.3.2.3PoliteVerbsInbusinessactivities,peopleoftenusesomeverbsinsentencestomakethelanguagemoresubtleandeuphemistic.Whenmakingsomesuggestionsorrequests,weusuallyuseeuphemisticexpressions.Therefore,wecanusesomepoliteverbstomakethetonemoregentleandtheattitudemoresincere,whichcannotonlyprovideindirectopinionsbutalsosavetheother'sface.Itavoidsconflictscausedbyimproperspeechbetweenthetwoparties.Theuseofpoliteverbsshowsarespectfortheotherpartyandamanifestationofourself-cultivation.Inbusinesscooperation,itplaysanimportantroleinbusinesscooperation.Somepolitewordssuchashope,recommend,couldandsoon.Forexample:10.Ihopethatthegoodscanbedeliveredassoonaspossible我希望这批货物可以尽快发送Inthisexample,wehaveexpressedourexpectationsreasonablyandwillnotcreateasenseofoppressionontheotherside.Thissentencedoesnotreflecttheurgetotheotherparty,butthroughtheuseofpoliteverbstoeuphemisticallyexpressrequestthattheshipmentisslowandhopethattheshipmentcanbeshippedassoonaspossible,whichiseasierfortheotherpartytoacceptandmaymeetourneeds.Itcanexertapositiveinfluenceonbusinesscooperationbetweenthesides.11.Irecommendyoutotransportthegoodsbyair，whichcansavetime.我建议你空运这批货物，这样可以节省时间。Inthisexample,thepolitewordrecommendisused,andthelanguageismild.Adviseandrecommendhavethesamemeaning,butrecommendhereismoreappropriate.“Advise”hasacompulsivemeaning,andthetoneistoostrong,whichmayirritatetheotherparty,causetheotherpartyunpleasedandaffectthecooperativerelationshipbetweenthetwoparties.3.3GrammaticalDevicesInbusinesscooperation,inordertoachievecooperation,reachaconsensuswiththeotherparty,andpromoteawin-winsituation,itisindispensabletoadoptcertainmeans.Inbusinessletters,alotofeuphemismsareneededtoestablishtraderelations,inquiries,pricing,complaints,andclaims.(LiuLi2012).AvarietyofmethodsisusedintheapplicationofbusinessEnglish.Thefollowingmainlydiscussesflexiblegrammaticalmethodsofeuphemisms.3.3.1PastTenseEuphemismisaspecialgrammaticalfunctionofEnglishpasttense.Weoftenchangethepresenttenseintothepasttensetomaketheexpressionmoretactful.Thepresenttensegenerallymeansthepresenttime,andthepasttensemeansthetimeinthepast.Whenusingthepresenttensetoexpressattitudesorrequestsinaconversation,itoftengivespeopleanunavoidablesenseofdirectness,whichistoorash.Replacingthepresenttensewiththepasttensecanwellhidethissenseofdirectness.whenweaskaquestion,wecanuserelativesentences：couldyou……？wouldyou…?“Could”and“would”insteadof“can”and“will”，andthetoneismoreplacid.Whenwemakearequest,wecanusetheexpression“Iwanted...”insteadof“Iwant…”tobemorepolite.Forexample:12.Wewantedtoknowtheminimumpricingofproducts 我们想知道产品的最低定价Inthissentence,weeuphemisticallyexpressedakindofrequest,andaskedthelowestpriceoftheproductinanegotiatingtone.Thelanguagewasgentleandwouldnotoffendtheotherparty.Wedidnotdirectlyaskforapricereduction,butinsteadaskedpolitely.Apoliteandsincereattitudecanleaveagoodimpressionontheotherpartyandincreasethepossibilityofpricereduction.13.Wecouldnotagreethetreaty.Itwillhurtourinterests.抱歉，我们不能同意这个协议，因为它可能会伤害到我方的利益。Wecan’tagreethetreaty.Itwillhurtourinterests.我们不同意这个协议，因为它可能会伤害到我方的利益。Inthissentence,“could”isthepasttenseof“can”.Theexpressionismoreeuphemistic.“Can”appearstobetoorigid.Itreflectsourstrengthandarrogance,whichwillcauseconflictsandworsentherelationshipofbothsides.Therefore,“could”bemoreappropriate.Itexpressesourattitudeeuphemisticallyanddoesnotputtheotherpartyintoadilemma.14.Wehavecollaboratedonmanyprojectsovertheyears.Couldyougiveusadiscount？我们这些年已经合作了许多项目，您能给一个折扣吗？Inthisexample,couldleadaninterrogativesentence,expressingaeuphemistictone.Directlyaskingtheotherpartyforadiscountormakingtheotherpartyreducethepriceisoftencounterproductive.Theexpressionintheexampleisappropriate.Thisisapoliteinquiry,butitactuallyimpliesthatwehopetheotherpartytoreducetheprice.Thismethodwillnotcausetroubletotheotherparty,andexpressesrespectfortheotherpartyandthetoneoffriendlynegotiation.3.3.2NegativeWeakening Inbusinessletter，someviewsaretoodirecttostatebaldly.Inordertoavoidharmingeachother’sself-esteemandaffectingthecooperationbetweenthesides,negativeexpressionisusuallytorelaxatmosphereandshowideaspolitely.Bythismeans,itnotonlypreventunpleasantmoodhappeninginconversation,butalsoleaveafavorableimpressiononthecooperator.Negativeweakeningisacommonmethodinbusinesscommunication.Inbusinessletter,theexpressionofdirectnegationisakindofimpolitebehavior,soitisnecessarytoexpressone'sviewsandattitudesindirectlybymeansofverbalnegation.Therearesomefixedsentencepatterns.“I’mafraid,Idon’tthink,wearesorryto…”Inaddition,someadverbsofdegreealsocanweaknegative,suchas,really,too,hardly,andparticularly.Someexamplesarefollowing:15.IamafraidIcan’tagreetoyourproposal.我恐怕不能同意你的提议 Inthisexample,wewanttoexpressanegativeview.Itisadisapprovaloftheotherparty’sproposal.Ifwedirectlyexpressitlikethis:wecan’tagreetoyourproposal.Thedirectnegationisabitstiff,maycausedissatisfactionoftheotherpartyandnotconducivetocooperationbetweenthetwoparties.Addingsentencelike“Iamafraid”tothefrontcaneuphemisticallyputforwardopinions,weakenthenegativetone,andreflectourpolitenessandrespectfortheotherparty.16.Wearesorrytotellyouthatthegoodswhichbedeliveredlastweekareunqualified.很抱歉，你们上周发来的货物质量不合格。Thegoodswhichbedeliveredlastweekareunqualified.上周发送的这批货物不合格Bycomparingtheabovetwosentences,itisobviousthatthefirstsentenceismoreappropriate.Iteuphemisticallyraisesthequalityproblemofthegoodstotheotherparty.Itiseasytoacceptandprotectstheotherparty’sface.Thesecondsentenceistoodirectandwillcauseembarrassmenttotheotherparty.Conflictsbetweenthetwopartieswilladverselyaffectfuturecooperation.17.Wecanhardlytellyouthedesignschemeoftheproducts我方很难告诉贵方产品的设计方案。Inthisexample,thewordhardlyisusedtomaketheexpressionmoreeuphemistic.Wedidnotdirectlyrejecttherequestoftheotherpartytounderstandtheproductdesign,butrespondedeuphemisticallybyweakeningthenegative.Incontrast,wecan’ttellyouthedesignschemeoftheproductswillappeartobetooarbitrary,alienatingtherelationshipwiththeotherparty,andnotconducivetoestablishingacooperativerelationship.3.3.3PassiveVoiceEnglishvoicesaredividedintoactivevoiceandpassivevoice.InBusinessEnglish,theactivevoiceisoftenusedtoexpressbothsides'viewsandsuggestions.Itshowsthefeatureofdirectness.Whenmakingacriticisminabusinessletter,itisbesttousethepassivevoice.Comparedwiththeactivevoice,itcanweakenthesubject,avoiddirectcontactwithbothsidesoftheconversation,andmakethelanguagemoreeuphemisticandacceptable.Therefore,theuseofthepassivevoiceinbusinesslettershasanirreplaceablerole.Itnotonlycantactfullygivesuggestionsandrequirements,butalsocanprotecteachother'sfaceanddignity.Forexample:18.Thegoodshavebeendamagedandneedtobere-shipped.这批货物损坏了，需要重新发货。Inthisexample,usingtheobjectasthesubjectcanconcealtheidentityoftheactor.Thereisacertainconnectionbetweenthedamageofthegoodsandtheotherparty'sdefault.Iftheactivevoiceisused,itmaymeanblameandhurttheotherparty'sface.Usingpassivevoicecanmakelanguagemorepolite.Itisalsoeasytoaccept.Thiscanlettheothersidebetterunderstandownresponsibilities,andpromotecooperation.19.WehavecoveredtheRiskofBreakageforthegoodsandthecompensationshouldbepaidinthreeworkdays.我们已经为这批货物投过破碎险了，在三个工作日内我们应该得到赔偿金。Inthisexample,weusedthepassivevoicetoremindtheotherpartyoftheresponsibilitiesandobligations,andthetonewasobjectiveandfair,whichplayedarolethattheactivevoicecouldnotplay.Thepaymentofcompensationistheresponsibilityoftheotherparty.Ifwedirectlyexpress:“Youshouldgiveuscompensation”,thetoneisabittough,whichisnotconducivetoacceptance.However,ifwesay“Thecompensationshouldbepaid”,becausethesubjectoftheactionisomitted,itcansavetheotherparty'sface.3.3.4SubjunctiveMoodSubjunctivemoodcanexpressviewsorsuggestionspolitely,moderatethetoneofspeech,reflectthewriter'srespectforeachotherandformagoodcommunicationatmosphere.Inbusinessletters,businesspeopletendtousethesubjunctivemood,whichismoreeuphemistic,avoidingimpolitebehaviorwhichthedirecttonecaused.Implicitexpressionwillmakepeoplefeelmorecomfortableandrespected.Itplaysanimportantroleintheestablishmentofcooperativerelationsbetweenthetwosides.Whenusingthesubjunctivemood,weoftenusethepredicateshould,would,could,might.Forexample:20.Wewouldsuggestthatyoutransportthegoodsbyair.我方建议贵公司空运货物Wewantyoutotransportthegoodsbyair.我方想要贵公司空运货物21.Weshouldbegladifyoucoulddelivertheproductsthisweek如果贵公司能在这周之前发货，我方将十分高兴Wewantyoutodelivertheproductsthisweek请贵公司本周发货Intheabovetwoexamples,itisobviousthattheexpressionofsentencepattern1ismoreeuphemisticthansentencepattern2,andthesubjunctivemoodplaysanimportantrole.ThesubjunctivetoneguidedbySuggestandiftactfullyputsforwardopinionstotheotherparty,andgivestheinitiativetotheotherparty.Itisnotcompulsiveandcaneasethetoneandleaveagoodimpressionontheotherparty.Inthissentencepattern:Wewantyouto...Theexpressionisstrongandsubjective,puttingtheotherparty'sopinioninasecondarypositionandcompulsiv