politeness principle in English business correspondence.doc

毕业论文（设计）Politeness principle in English Business Correspondence1. Introduction22. An overview of politeness and English business correspondence32.1 An overview of politeness32.1.1 Lakoffs view on politeness32.1.2 Leechs politeness principle42.1.3 Positive and negative politeness52.2 Brief introduction to English business correspondence52.2.1 Definition of business correspondence52.2.2 Classification of English business correspondence62.3 The relationship between politeness principle and business correspondence73. Politeness in English business correspondence83.1 Politeness in good-news business letters83.1.1 At the word and expression levelUsing specific wordsUsing “You” instead of “I” or “We”103.1.2 At the sentence level Using short sentencesUsing active voice123.2 Politeness in bad-news business letters133.2.1 At the word and expression levelAvoiding you-language when concerning impolitenessUsing general words143.2.2 At the sentence level Using passive voiceUsing longer sentences with complex structures163.3 Politeness in persuasive business letters173.3.1 A-Attention183.3.2 I-Interest183.3.3 C-Conviction183.3.4 A-Action194.Functions of politeness principle in English business letters194.1 Maximizing the face-building effects of the good news204.2Minimizing the face-building effects of the bad news204.3Lessening the degree of imposition of the persuasive news215. Conclusion21References231. IntroductionEven though politeness is prevalent in our daily life, it is still hard to define in the linguistic field. In fact, politeness is not only a way to convey information, but also an important means to build and maintain social relationships in communication.Lakoff (1973:298) thinks that politeness is used for “reaffirming and strengthening relationships” .According to her, “Politeness is a system of interpersonal relations designed to facilitate interaction by minimizing the potential for politeness and confrontation inherent in all human interchange.” Leech (1983:250) defines politeness from the perspective side and proposes that it is used to create and maintain harmonious interactions. Brown and Levinson (1987:300) consider politeness as forms of behavior that allow communication to take place between potentially aggressive partners. All the above definitions contribute to explain the essence of politeness. Simply speaking, politeness is a set of patterns to show the consideration for others and to achieve harmony in communication.Business correspondence, as a basic means of business communication, plays a vital role in economic activities. It is an effective way to exchange information build up and maintain harmonious business relationships. Without business correspondence, business activities cannot go on smoothly. With the globalization of world economy, the popularity of the Internet, English business correspondence, including not only traditional letters but also emails and facsimiles, is widely used. This thesis is going to analyze the application and functions of politeness principle, mainly the Politeness Principle of Leech and the Face of Theory of Brown & Levinson in English business correspondence. 2. An overview of politeness and English business correspondence2.1 An overview of politenessPoliteness, as a social activity, attracts great attention from the linguists. Before the analysis of politeness in English business correspondence, some main theories of politeness should first be mentioned.Politeness can be perceived in almost every aspect of our daily life, it is still hard to define. Different linguists have different definitions for politeness.Brown and Levinson (1987:300) define politeness as a redressive action taken to counter-balance the disruptive effect of face-threatening acts. Lakoff (1973:298) holds that politeness is a device used in order to reduce friction in personal interaction. According to those definitions, politeness is not merely recognized as a means of conveying information, but also an important means that help to establish and maintain social relationships.2.1.1 Lakoffs view on politenessLakoff (1973:298) refers to politeness as “a device used in order to reduce friction in personal interaction” and introduces two rules: (1) be clear; (2) be polite, as Pragmatic Competence. She also proposes three maxims of politeness from the perspective of the speaker.1) Dont imposeUsed when formal/ impersonal politeness is required2) Give optionsUsed when informal politeness is required3) Make H feel goodUsed when intimate politeness is required (Lakoff, 1973:300)From Lakoffs opinion, the speaker should avoid putting any imposition on the hearer, and choose to give the hearer options, in order to keep his positive face. At last, “make the hearer feel good” is very important (Lakoff, 1973:300). Lakoffs view of politeness is in accordance with the politeness concerns in bad-news business letters, where the basic need of being polite is far more important than the need of clarity.2.1.2 Leechs politeness principleLeech (1983:250) thinks that politeness, as a phenomenon, exists in all language. Leechs politeness principle can be stated as follows: other things being equal minimize the expression of beliefs which are favorable to the hearer (Leech，1983:251). Leech sums up six maxims of the politeness principle as follows: Tact Maxim, Generosity Maxim, Approbation Maxim, Modesty Maxim, Agreement Maxim, Sympathy Maxim. Tact Maxim is the most important one. Leech proposes politeness principle as a way of explaining how politeness operates in conversational exchanges. His politeness principle can be used to interpret the guidelines of business correspondence writing.2.1.3 Positive and negative politenessPositive politeness is the politeness shown for the addressees positive face, which let the addressee know that he or she is liked and approved of (胡俊琦，2003:100). When the reader is threatened by some acts, it is good to take compensating action to protect the addressees positive face, such as praising, agreeing and so on.Negative politeness is the politeness shown for the addressees negative face. When stating face threatening act, it is good to take compensating action to protect addressees negative face, such as apologizing, minimizing the imposition and so on (秦晓杰，2001:102).Writing international business communication without politeness is like fighting a battle, it is important to enhance positive politeness and maintain negative politeness.2.2 Brief introduction to English business correspondenceThe English business correspondence is quite important in international business communication. It is a vital factor in making international business run smoothly and effectively. 2.2.1 Definition of business correspondenceGenerally speaking, business correspondence can be defined as the correspondence used in business transaction, in which the participants are commonly described as the writer and the reader (司福成，2003:200). In fact, there exists a high level of trust and cooperation between the writer and the reader. Since doing business itself is a kind of cooperation, it will definitely be shown in business letter writing. Being one of the most popular ways of communication in business activities, business correspondence plays an irreplaceable role in business communication.2.2.2 Classification of English business correspondenceOwing to different criteria, business correspondence can be classified from different angles. For example, according to the different functions, business letters can be classified as letters for the establishment of business relations, letters for the enquiry of business, quotation letters, negotiating letters, letters answering requests, claim and adjustment letters, credit and collect letters, sales letters, employment letters and social business letters, etc. (Stewart, 1984:380-381)The latter way of classification focuses on the function, according to the classification of illocutionary functions by Leech (1983:251), it can be divided into four categories as follows:1) Collaborative letters, they include inquiry letters, offer letters, conformation letters, notification letters and so on. The main purpose of the letter is to exchange information. Messages conveyed by this type of letter are neutral-news messages.2) Convivial letters, they include approval letters, letters of appreciation letters of invitation and so on. This kind of letter conveys favorable messages and is good for building friendly business relationship. 3) Competitive letters: including request letters, collection letters, sales letters and so on. This letter is to persuade the reader to take certain action, thus is impolite in nature. Skills of persuasion should be used as it is possible to change the letter from “impolite” to “polite”.4) Conflictive letters: including all types of refusal letters, claim and adjustment letters and so on. This letter may damage the business relation between the writer and the reader. Messages conveyed in this type of letter are called bad-news messages.In terms of its effect on the readers needs, Stewart (1984:382) has summed up four different kinds of information: neutral news, good news, persuasion and bad news. Based on this classification, here comes neutral-news letters, god-news letters, persuasive letters and bad-news letters, which are separately equal to the above-mentioned collaborative letters, convivial letters, competitive letters, and conflictive letters.2.3 The relationship between politeness principle and business correspondenceBasically speaking, a business letter is written for three purposes: to inform, i.e. to convey large amount of information in order to complete the day-to-day operations of the business; to influence, i.e. to influence the readers attitude and prompt to react favorably, like promoting a product; and to entertain, which means to show goodwill to the reader, give a good impression and maintain friendly relationship between the both parties of a business (Stewart, 1984:382). Among the three basic purposes, the third one is mainly realized through showing politeness.In most situations, the greatest amount of politeness is required. For example, a writer has to make a request (a speech act threatening the readers negative face) within a credit rejection letter (a type threatening the readers positive face). In this situation, the use of “Please pre-pay your order” would be less appropriate than the use of a polite structure like “Your order will be shipped as soon as we receive your payment”. The polite structure introduces several face-saving features, by using a declarative sentence to imply the directive and the verb has been nominalized as “payment”, which is impolite expression. On the other hand, the original sentence uses an imperative to issue a directive to the reader and making the reader the agent of the verb, thus threatening the readers negative face.From the above example, it can be clearly seen that, politeness is widely used in business English letters. It helps people build up the image for the whole company and show sincerity, consideration and goodwill to the business partner, and enhances harmonious business relation, thus facilitates the business communication and realizes the ultimate goal of gaining profit.3. Politeness in English business correspondenceThis part centers on how politeness principle is employed to meet the need of successful communication in good-news letters, bad-news letters and persuasive letters.3.1 Politeness in good-news business lettersGood-news business letter, as its name suggests, conveys favorable messages to the reader, and thus is easier to get a favorable response from the reader (汤军，2003:300). In a good-news business letter, the message conveyed is just what the reader expects, so is beneficial to the reader. It is better to maximize the favorable effect of the letter and apply the message in the most effective way so as to achieve the positive politeness (汤军，2003:300). Writing a good-news business letter, the more direct and concrete the language is, the more polite and effective it is. 3.1.1 At the word and expression levelWord is one of the most basic elements of language. It not only focuses on the meaning of the message conveyed, but also on how it is conveyed. Good words and expressions deliver the message effectively, and at the same time maintain the readers positive face. In the following, some frequently used techniques will be discussed in good-news business letters.Using specific wordsGenerally speaking, while conveying a favorable message, specific words work better than general words. As the message is good for the reader, the more direct it is, the more polite it is. Specific words are clearer than general words, as it can help develop a more vivid image to the reader and enhance the readers positive face. Here is a comparison of the two sentences.1) Your acceptance speech last night for the Business Woman of the Year award was terrific.2) Your acceptance speech last night for the Business Woman of the Year award was graceful and witty. (Roddick, 2005:250)These two sentences are from a letter of congratulations. In sentence (1), “terrific” is used to describe the speech of the reader. The word is so general that it is hard to give the reader a deep impression. The reader might even think that the writer is lack of sincerity. However, in sentence (2), the words “graceful and witty” are specific enough to make clear that her speech is wanted and enhance the readers positive face.From the above comparison, it can be concluded that specific words are easier to understand and attract the readers attention. It is more effective to show the writers sincerity. Therefore, using specific words in good-news business letters contributes to getting a better response from the reader.Using “You” instead of “I” or “We”Using “you” or using “I” and “we” is totally two different approaches in writing, namely you-oriented approach or I (we)-oriented approach. The former focuses on the reader, while the latter focuses on the writer himself/ herself. Because it is good-news business letter which benefits the reader, thus the more attention the reader pays to the message, the better it is for the writer. It can arouse the readers interest and make the message accepted. Most importantly, the “you” language benefits the reader from the writer and shortens the emotional distance between the writer and the reader. Here are two examples below.3) Our savings accounts pay 6% interest.4) You will earn 6% interest from your savings account.In sentence (3), it totally focuses on the writer himself/ herself. This sentence seems to have nothing do with the reader, not to mention benefiting the reader, though it is really good for the reader. Because of the improper way of expression, it is hard to get positive response from the reader. But in sentence (4), this sentence really arouses the readers attention and makes the reader wonder what has to do with him/ her. In this way, the message is conveyed more effectively. The word “You” compared with sentence (3), sentence (4) is easier to be accepted.3.1.2 At the sentence levelIn most situations, words cannot express meanings clearly and completely because of their limitation, so they should be put in a sentence. This part is going to learn how to choose proper sentence, most importantly, to discuss some useful techniques in order to achieve politeness in good news business letters. Using short sentencesIn writing a good-news business letter, it is recommended to use short sentences with simple structures. Admittedly, short sentences contain fewer words and are simple in structure, thus they are easier to read and understand. Using short sentences greatly decreases the possibility for the favorable messages to be missed or misunderstood, thus guarantees the successful delivery of the messages. Moreover, short sentences emphasize the contents. By giving a single message without the interference, the beneficial message can be emphasized. Thus the positive politeness is achieved.5) Congratulations to Jade Gillespie in customer service, our Employee of the Month.6) Congratulations to Jade Gillespie in customer service! She is our employee of the month. (Roddick, 2005:300)In sentence (6), the ideas of sentence (5) are expressed in two short sentences, so the name Jade is emphasized and becomes the main information of the sentence. However, there is always too much unnecessary information in the sentence which makes the reader confused and greatly weakens the main idea of good news. Due to short sentences, the beneficial message becomes more powerful and more outstanding.Using active voiceActive voice is preferable to passive voice in conveying good messages. With active voice, meanings are clearer and more direct than those in passive voice. Besides, active voice clearly shows who carries out the action and puts the actor, especially the subject at the very beginning of the sentence. In terms of conveying good news to the reader, active voice shows the writers willingness to take the readers benefit into consideration, thus it enhances the positive politeness. For instance:7) We are in receipt of your payment. 8) We have received your payment.9) Thank you for sending us your payment. (