The Application of Pragmatic Principles in Business English Correspondence 英语专业毕业论文.doc

The Application of Pragmatic Principles in Business English Correspondence1 A Brief Introduction of the PaperAs technology advances and trade and exchanges between countries increase, it is becoming more and more important to understand both spoken and written English in many situations such as face-to-face, on the telephone, in business meetings, lectures, speeches, television, and so on.There have been a lot of books and studies related to the Business English Correspondence. Some of them start with introducing the importance and influence of Business English Correspondence and the basic types of Business English Correspondence. Some focus on instructing Chinese readers on how to write business correspondence in English by analyzing the language characteristics. Some discuss a lot on Business English Correspondence by presenting the frequently used techniques by general means or providing necessary background information for some frequently seen Business English Correspondence.Although Business English Correspondence is always included in the above-mentioned studies, they dont separate it from other forms of writing. Besides, the standards for business writing have been changing all the time. At present, with the rapid development of economic globalization, people have more chances to contact with the outside world and conduct business universally through Internet, broadcasting and Business English Correspondence as well. The Business English Correspondence, as a particular sort of media, is a complex blend of national, social, economic and linguistic tradition. Thus, varieties of problems often arise when people confront writing Business English Correspondence, especially in a foreign language. Generally speaking, People may have no problem in completely understanding Business English Correspondence; however, in no way can one write out a good piece of Business English Correspondence without studying the general knowledge of pragmatic principles. Problems existing now in Business English Correspondence are how to ensure the success of letters and what can make a Business English Correspondence a qualified one. Consequently, the analysis of Business English Correspondence to develop English writing skills is reasonable and practical. For instance, in writing to persuade reader to accept an unfavorable offer, the techniques of persuasion are used. In applying for a job, one can use techniques that emphasize his or her qualifications. And in telling bad news, one can use techniques to work them into your letters.Business style is less descriptive and imaginative than literary style because business world is concerned with practical and immediate situations. The pragmatic principles, which play a vital role in Business English Correspondence, mainly consist of Politeness Principle and Cooperative Principle .By means of appropriate use of them, the pragmatic strategies can be applied effectively to business correspondence discourses to achieve desired efforts.In the first chapter of this thesis, a brief introduction of the paper will be presented. In the second part of the thesis，the author attempts to discuss the main principles of the present Business English Correspondence. In the following chapter theories regarding pragmatic principles will be presented. Chapter Four presents the approaches to apply pragmatic principles to Business English Correspondence by contrasting examples, so that readers can find out the differences easily. Chapter Five mainly discusses the characteristics of desired Business English Correspondence and how to achieve the effects by pragmatic principles from the point view of both language and function. In the concluding chapter, implications of the study are discussed. 2 The Main Principles of Writing Business English Correspondence Early English business writers borrowed heavily from the formal language of law and from the flowery language of the nobility. From these two sources they developed a style of letter writing that became known as the “language of business”, which was written in the driest possible manner and in language so stilted and formal that the true personality of the writer was completely hidden. It was a cold, stiff, and unnatural style. Unfortunately, that role as the “language of business” was never abolished, and even now it was generally accepted throughout the English-speaking world. This problem becomes more serious in cross-cultural communications. Admittedly, there is something in the writing principles of business letters as followed.2.1 Courtesy Business protocol is an essential part for businessmen; we then can imagine how important the courtesy is for a business correspondence. However, courtesy not only means politeness, but also refers to thinking about the readers interests. The readers desires, problems, emotions and possible reactions to the request, all of these details need to be taken into consideration. The message and information expressed by the correspondence represents the image of the person and his organization. Therefore, it is certain that others only can establish and maintain business relationship with those of high quality of courtesy due to the fact that they can feel being respected by the sender. Being courtesy, firstly, suspicion shall be avoided. Because once the sense of suspicion is expressed in the correspondence, others will feel that the sender doesnt believe the receiver, which does harm to the sender. Compare the two sentences as follows:(Polite) We have received with many thanks your letter of Oct 7, and we take the pleasure of sending you our latest catalog. We wish to draw your attention to a special offer which we have made in it.(Courtesy) You will be particularly interested in a special offer on page 5 of the latest catalog enclosed, which you requested in your letter of Oct 7.Courtesy has the function of making the receiver comfortable and respected. The effect will, of course, enable business to be completed smoothly and successfully.2.2 ConsiderationConsideration refers to thinking for customers, including their requirements, wishes and feelings, etc. Thoughtful consideration enables us to better understand the customers and receive good reactions from them. For this purpose, you-attitude, which means putting ourselves in the position of customers, is advocated by many scholars and researchers. When writing a letter, keep the reader's requests, needs, desires, as well as his feelings in mind. Plan the best way to present the message for the reader to receive.When using you-attitude in business letters, insincerity shall also be avoided. We shall remember that the objective is to treat people courteously-the way they like to be treated. It is the attitude that places the reader in the center of things, it sometimes just involves being friendly. It involves skillfully handling people with careful chosen words to make a desired impression.The following points are necessary for writing a letter to embody consideration:A: You-attitude: CompareWe allow 2 percent discount for cash payment. We won't be able to send you the brochure this month.You earn 2 percent discount when you pay cash.We will send you the brochure next month.B: Focus on the positive approach. Compare:(Positive) We feel sure that you will be entirely satisfied.(Negative) We do not believe you will have any cause for dissatisfaction.(Positive) Perhaps next time we can send you what you require.(Negative) we regret our inability to serve you at this time. 2.3 CompletenessA business letter should include all the necessary information. It is essential to check the message carefully before it is sent out. All of the readers questions shall be answered to make sure that the reader can gain enough information to evaluate the messages and take action accordingly. Business correspondence, to some extent, is a kind of contract regulating the two parties involved. Unnecessary disputes will come into being without completeness of the letters. For example, loss of goodwill, sales and potential customers, and more time and energy to make sense of the incomplete information will be caused due to the incomplete letters. The completeness of business correspondence should include all the necessary information and date. A correspondence of completeness will bring the sender a good result and the receiver goodwill. To the opposite, a correspondence without completeness may cause increased costs of communication. Generally speaking, 5 “Ws” -who, what, when, where, and why or how are used to determine whether the correspondence is complete or not.2.4 ClarityThe writer must try to express his meaning clearly so that the reader will understand it well. To achieve this, he should try to: A: Avoid using the words that have different understanding or unclear meaning. B: Pay attention to the position of the modifiers. C: Pay attention to the sentence structure. D: Paragraph carefully and properly.2.5 ConcisenessTo achieve conciseness is to use concise sentences and fewest words, without losing completeness and courtesy, to explain the meaning of a letter clearly. Since successful business correspondence shall save the readers time, there is no doubt that the correspondence should make statement concise. Long sentences shall be written shortly, the writer, meanwhile, shall avoid unnecessary repetition. To achieve this purpose, the writer shall write in the fewest possible words, because a wordy message needs more time for the reader to read. However, attention should be paid that conciseness only can be effective without sacrificing the completeness, clearness, and courtesy as well as accurate grammar, or the reader will feel that it is rude. To reach the goal of conciseness, we, firstly, should make an effort to avoid wordiness. Short words and phrases, that is to say, shall be used more than long ones. Being more vivid and easier to read, short ones tend to communicate better than long words. One example is as follows:“During the preceding year, the company was able to accelerate productive operation”.If we change this sentence into “last year, the company was able to speed up operations”, it will be easier to read and understand, the expression, meanwhile, can save readers time. There is no doubt that those short words and expressions are easier for readers to read and understand. Apart from avoidance of wordiness, redundancies should also be avoided to keep the conciseness of the correspondence. This is very different from other forms of documents, which rely largely on repetition to achieve the effect of emphasis. Avoiding redundancies is, in other words, to avoid coordinate or synonyms in one sentence.The following are the methods of making a letter concise: A: Avoiding using wordy expressions. B: Avoiding unnecessary repetition. C: Using short sentences, simple words and clear explanations. D: Avoiding padded expressions. E: Using subject line flexibly and properly.2.6 ConcretenessMake the message specific, definite and vivid. The correspondence should be written vividly, definitely and concretely, especially when writing letters demanding the partner to give definite response or letters concerned with business activities. For example:We have drawn on you as usual under your L/C. The information in this sentence is not so concrete for we dont know the concrete issues after reading it. Then lets change it into “we have drawn on you our sight draft No.845 for the Invoice amount, US$560.00, under your L/C No.246 of the China Bank”. Now everything is clear.2.7 CorrectnessCorrectness refers not only to correct usage of grammar, punctuation and spelling, but also to standard language, proper statement, and accurate figures as well as the correct understanding of commercial jargons since grammar mistakes often occur in business writing.To conclude, good business writing meets seven basic criteria: completeness, concreteness, conciseness, courtesy, clearness, consideration and correctness. In the following examples of business letters, both poor and better business letters are presented. Example 1 (Poor Writing)Dear Mr. Hun，We are in receipt of and would like to thank you for your letters and catalogue of June 14, 2006. After close examination we have come to the conclusion that your products are of no interest to us but wish you every success in your future endeavors.Sincerely,(Better Writing)Dear Mr. Hun，Thank you for your letter and catalogue sent on July 14, 2006. We appreciate your interest in our company though your products fall out of our line for the time being. We wish you every success in your future endeavors.Sincerely Yours,In the above example of poor writing, it seems that the writer is somewhat self-oriented and only cares about his or her own interest. Besides，it sounds impolite as well. While in the better one, the idea is expressed in a more indirect way, and it is relatively more concise and courteous. Problems illustrated in the poor example are common in business letters. The contrasts will hopefully clarify the different impacts of poor and better writing on the readers, which will guide conscious efforts to improve our business writing skills. 3 Theories of Pragmatic PrinciplesTheories are required in any studies to provide the theoretical foundations and conceptual frameworks for the study. Broadly speaking, Pragmatics is the study of language usage from a functional perspective and is concerned with the principles that account for how meaning is communicated by the speaker or writer and interpreted by the listener or reader in a certain context.For one thing, Pragmatics is concerned with the principles governing the appropriate use of language in a certain context. For another, the main import of an utterance or a letter may, in fact, lie not with the thought expressed by the utterance or the letter but rather with the thoughts that the hearer or reader assumes the speaker or writer intends to suggest or hint at. More technically, it lies with what is implicated, or communicated indirectly. Therefore, Pragmatics need to explain how implicitly communicated ideas.By far, the most influential solution to the problem was developed in the mid-1960s by the Oxford philosopher Paul Grice. He argued that people are disposed to presume that communicative behavior is guided by a set of principles and norms, which is called the Pragmatic Principles. In other words, once a set of principles in communication are broke, the communication may find itself hardly conducted naturally or smoothly in most of the cases. Thus, a set of pragmatic principles are proposed, namely, Irony and Banter Principle, Hyperbole and Litotes Principle, Interest Principle, Cooperative Principle, and Politeness Principle, etc.To be sp