1、Politeness Principle and Its Presentation in Business Letters Abstract Through a comprehensive and systematic analysis and comparison of English business letters, this paper argues that the Principle of Politeness in English business letters should be upheld. Also presented in this paper are several
2、 aspects of politeness in English business letters. With the development of economy, business letters have become an important way to communicate. By sending business letters to each other, we can exchange information, contact business, negotiate and solve the problems existing in trading, and also
3、promote friendship. Because of its characteristics and functions in business letters, politeness should be paid more attention to. Business English letters are the major means of written communication between two parties in the international trade. How to write business letters idiomatically is very
4、 important to business of the enterprise. A courtesy and decent business letter can help to build a favorable business image for the company and do business. However, a letter without courtesy can not only lead to the failure of the business but also destroy the image which the companies have built
5、up. Therefore, the courtesy of business letters is very important. Key words: Business Letters, Politeness Principle, Representation 英语商务信函中的礼貌原则 摘 要 本文通过系统分析和大量实例的比较，论述商务英语信函应坚持的礼貌原则，归纳出当代商务信函中的礼貌表现。随着社会经济的迅猛发展，商务信函逐渐成为人们在经济领域内的一种重要的交际手段，通过它人们可以交流信息、联系业务、商谈贸易、磋商、处理问题、传递友谊等。商业信函的特点和功能决定了商业信函中必须注重礼貌策
6、略的表现。商务英语信函是国际贸易双方进行书面商务信息沟通的重 要手段 ,其撰写的成功与否对企业的业务有着极其重要的影响。一封礼貌有加、措辞得体的商务信函可以帮助一个公司建构起良好的商业形象 ,进而做成一笔好生意；反之，一封礼貌欠佳、用语不当的信函则会给一个公司带来负面的评价，使之弄砸了生意不说，还有可能毁了公司苦心经营的形象。可见，礼貌在商务信函中的作用不容忽视。 关键词 : 商务信函 , 礼貌原则 , 表现 Contents Abstract . i 摘 要 . ii Introduction . 1 1.1 The Importance and Function of Business L
7、etters . 1 1.2 Principles of Business Letters . 2 Politeness Principle . 3 2.1 Why to Study Politeness Strategies in English to co-ordinate and to make decisions. The behavior of the members of an organization can have a far-reaching effect on the reputation and ultimate success of the company. Ther
8、efore, communicating effectively can contribute in a variety of ways to the development of the business organization because successful messages can eliminate unnecessary-disputes, save time and expense, create favorable impression, enhance goodwill, and help to increase the companys profit. However
9、, all those require one to be quite familiar with the recipients culture to behave properly while doing business. Otherwise one would be considered impolite or rude, leading to unexpected failure in the process of doing business. Therefore, it is important not only for the Chinese to know about the
10、foreign cultures, for example, the English-speaking countries, but also for those foreigners to know about Chinas. In a word, the impression created by a politely written business letter can be a crucial 太原科技大学外语系 2007 毕业论文 2 factor in successful communicating with our business counterparts. It is c
11、oncerned with the successful transfer of an idea from one to another, which is a vital factor in making our business communication run smoothly and effectively. Business communication may take many forms, such as letters, reports, telegrams, cables, telexes, resumes and printed forms that are used f
12、or special goals. Here, we will concentrate on the letters, because the purpose of the study is to facilitate international business communication. Moreover, letter is the main form used to exchange information between business organizations. Therefore, choosing letter can make the results of the st
13、udy more representative and more helpful. In addition, it will be easy to collect data for the study. 1.2 Principles of Business Letters Consideration Try to put yourself in his or her place to give consideration to his or her wishes, demands, interests and difficulties. Find the best way to express
14、 your better understanding and present the message. That enables a request to be refused without killing all hope of business or allows a refusal to do favor to be made without harming friendship. Correctness Correctness means not only proper expressions with correct grammar, punctuation and spellin
15、g, but also appropriate tone which is a help to achieve the purpose. It is likely to convey the real message in a way that will not cause offence even if it is a complaint or an answer to such a letter. Business letters must be factual information accurate figures and exact terms in particular, for
16、they involve the right, the duties and the interest of both sides often as the base of all kinds of documents. Therefore we should not understate nor overstate as understatement might lead to less confidence and hold up the trade development. While over statement throws you into an awkward position.
17、 Completeness As you work hard for completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind: Why do you write the letter, what are the facts supporting the reasons, whether you have answered all the questions asked or not and what the reader is expected to do. 太原科技大学外语系 2007 毕业论文 3 Concreteness What the
18、letter comes to should be specific, definite rather than vague, abstract and general. Take, for example, some qualities or characters of goods that should be shown with exact figures and avoid words like short, long or good. Give specific time (with date, month, year and even offer hour, minute if n
19、ecessary). But avoid expressions such as yesterday, next month, immediately and etc. Conciseness Conciseness means complete message but briefest expression with no sacrificing clarity or courtesy. A good business letter should be precise and to the point. Single words are more efficient than phrases
20、. Wordy languages and redundancy require more time and money to type and to read. They are not what modern business people want. Clarity Keep constantly in mind what you want to say in your letter. It is welcomed if you express yourself clearly and directly in the simplest language. Plain, simple wo
21、rds are more easily understood. A properly paragraphed message is required for the purpose of clarity. For instance, we use semimonthly instead of bimonthly for two times a month., because bimonthly may mean both two times a month and once every two month. Courtesy Courtesy means to show tactfully i
22、n your letters the honest friendship, thoughtful appreciation, sincere politeness, considerate understanding and heartfelt respect. Answer letters in good time and write to explain why if you fail to do it promptly. Even if you dont think the recipient is right, you should still respond tactfully an
23、d politely. Sometimes it is a help to use you-attitude instead of I-attitude. Politeness Principle As we all know, politeness phenomena pervade in all human societies, and all human interactions. Since different societies enjoy different cultures, and different cultures have different norms, values,
24、 points of view, habits, conventions, customs, etc., differences in their criteria for judgments and their linguistic means in realizing politeness may inevitably exist. 太原科技大学外语系 2007 毕业论文 4 A good knowledge of those differences and behaving politely will do much help in accomplishing the communica
25、ting business goals between nations. 2.1 Why to Study Politeness Strategies in English I) The maxim of self-denigration and other-elevation, 2) The maxim of using address terms. 3) The maxim of refinement. 4) The maxim of agreement 5) The maxim of virtue, words and deeds. (Cai Xiane 2002:10) To disc
26、uss the politeness strategies, one should first make clear what constitutes “face” 太原科技大学外语系 2007 毕业论文 6 and “FTAs” in the two cultures, for they play a crucial part in strategic choice of certain verbal forms in communication. “Gu Yueguo says that face is the essential element of politeness, to be
27、polite is to be face-caring: face and politeness hold a means-to-end relation between them ” (Cai Xiane 2002:10). According to Brown Example 1: Excuse Forgive me. Pardon Example 2: Accept my thanks. According to Brown while Gu Yueguo proposes five maxims and maintains that the Chinese hold dear to s
28、uch values as respectfulness, modesty, attitudinal warmth and refinement. In this dissertation we are going to analyze how those business letters written under the stated politeness principles achieve die communicating goals by skillful employment of those politeness strategies and maxims. Represent
29、ation of Politeness in Business Letters 3.1 Politeness Positive Representation in Business Letters Generally speaking, politeness strategies totally include Approbation, Sympathy, Agreement, and Intimacy in business correspondence. 3.1.1 Approbation In Brown and Levinsons viewpoint in the business c
30、orrespondence, Approbation is such a strategy that it helps meet audiences requirement. It is communication activator. It helps satisfy the audiences amour-propre by using compliment and fair words so that the audiences attention and interesting is aroused. Using appropriate words can bring happines
31、s and satisfactions in life in different occasion, and make the friendship better. In business correspondence, it is necessary to praise the addressee usually, but not over praising. Even if the addressees reputation, products, and technology is worthy of being praised, we also need to keep the prai
32、sing words in control, and avoid the over magnified words. “Too much water drowned the miller.” So while writing business letters, the writer must obey Politeness Principle and try to apply the Approbation as much as possible, besides, the writer also need to praise the addressee by appropriate words. The following sentence is a classical example:
