从文体学的视角论商务英语词汇的特点

1、 摘 要 随着社会经济的高度发展和中国加入世贸组织，英语作为一门应用最为广泛的全球化语言，被广泛应用于商务活动中，在国际社会发挥着越来越重要的作用。而在商务英语中，词汇又是影响交际效果的一个主要方面。本文通过从文体学视角分析商务英语词汇的特点，为商务英语词汇的学习提供了框架。作者相信从文体学视角分析商务英语词汇特点的有关知识将有助于学习者在国际商务活动中更好地运用商务英语。关键词：商务英语；词汇特点；文体；文体学ABSTRACT With the rapid development of national economy and Chinas entrance to the World Tra

2、de Organization, business English, as the most commonly used language in business activities, plays an increasingly important role in our international community. In English business, the lexicon is a key aspect which can influence the effect of communication. Through analyzing the lexical features

3、of business English from a stylistic perspective, this thesis provides a framework for business English vocabulary learning. It is believed that some knowledge of lexical features of business English from a stylistic perspective help learners make better use of business English in international busi

4、ness activities. Keywords：business English; lexical feature; style; stylisticsContents1Introduction12Brief Introduction of Business English22.1 Definition of Business English22.2 The Development and Function of Business English33. Stylistics and Business English53.1 Style53.2 Stylistics53.3 Stylisti

5、cs and Business English64. Lexical Features of Business English From Stylistics Perspective84.1 Stylistics and Lexical Features of Business English84.2 Lexical Features of Business English84.2.1 Abbreviation84.2.2 Technical term104.2.3 Literary word114.2.4 Loan word124.2.5 Archaism134.2.6 Neologism1

6、45Conclusion17Acknowledgements18References191 IntroductionAgainst the background of economic globalization, English, as a most frequently used medium in cross-cultural communication, plays a vital role in all kinds of international business, such as foreign trade, international marketing, financing,

7、 shipping and insurance. Now, China has undergone 30 years reform and opened its door wider than ever before to the outside world, with Chinas entry into WTO (the World Trade Organization), more and more foreign enterprises and companies are coming to China. Its important for China to establish busi

8、ness relations with foreign companies to promote its economy. It is also noted that foreign companies need the customers from China. It appears that mastering business English is important to Chinas economic development.Vocabulary is the basic element of a specific language. Wilkins said,” Without g

9、rammar, very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary, nothing can be conveyed.” Halliday asserts that lexical features may be the most obvious markets of a register, and may even serve by themselves as identifiers. And stylistics is closed related to word. The vocabulary of business English perta

10、ins to a particular style. Now that business English is a subtype of English of ESP (English for Specific Purpose), it has a special set of words used in business communication. To put it anther way, it is this set of words makes business communication. Words of other styles of English are most like

11、ly to fail to make business English special and to make its purpose fulfilled. However, vocabulary is also where learners find most difficulties in learning the language. That is why this thesis focuses only on the study of lexical features of business English from stylistics perspective.2 Brief Int

12、roduction of Business English2.1 Definition of Business EnglishBusiness English is usually defined as English used in international business context and it falls under the category of English for Specific Purpose (ESP). But it differs other varieties of ESP in that it is often a mix of specific cont

13、ent (relating to a particular job area or industry), and general content (relating to general ability to communicate more effectively in business situations). Business English covers a series of wide English varieties in business, such as foreign trade English, blurbs, print advertisements job appli

14、cation letters, TV advertisements, etc.Business English, as its name suggests, is a combination of knowledge in both business and language. On the one hand , it shares the common characteristics with the other language varieties in that it involves vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures; howeve

15、r, on the other hand , it covers a variety of special fields in the business world, like finance, trade, transportation, tourism, etc. A series called “English for Business” published by the Oxford University Press (1980) describes itself as : “The course aims to train the skill of communication in

16、English speaking, writing, listening and reading within a business contexts. It does not set out to be a handbook of commercial English, but concentrates on the practical application of English within common business and social contexts.”About the definition of business English, different scholars h

17、ave different opinion. Ruth Moyer said that “Business English is a study of English fundamentals (grammar, punctuation, spelling, word usage, capitalization, and so on) applied to sentences containing the vocabulary and concepts of business.”Mark Ellis and Christine Johnson defined that “Business En

18、glish must be seen in the overall context of English for Specific Purposes, as it shares the important elements of needs analysis, syllabus design, course design, and material selection and development which are common to all fields of work in ESP.”Sylvie Donna gave a definition that “Business Engli

19、sh has much in common with General EFL, but in many ways is very different since the aims of a course may be quite radically different from those of a General English course.”Pickett highlighted the fact that there is more than one face to business communication with some of it being “a lot nearer t

20、he everyday language spoken by the general public than many other segments of ESP.”In the course book, International Business English used for BEC examination, the editor defined that the International Business English is for business people who need to, or will soon need to, use English in their wo

21、rk. It may also be used by adult students who will be entering the world of business at the end of their course of studies.From the above definitions, we can find something in common.1. BE shares the same fundamentals with GE.2. BE serves special business purpose.3. Some business-related terminology

22、 and forms are used in BE.Also we can see that business English is not a special language but English used in business contexts. It is a variety of English used in business contexts, for business purposes, and with business-related words and termino.2.2 The Development and Function of Business Engli

23、shBusiness English must be seen in the overall context of ESP. The research into business English should keep pace with the origin and development of ESP. Therefore a brief review of the development of ESP will shed light on the research of business English. Hutchinson and Waters note that two key h

24、istorical periods breathed life into ESP. First, the end of the Second World War brought with it an age of enormous and unprecedented expansion in scientific, technical and economic activity on an international scale. Second, the Oil Crisis of the early 1970s resulted in western money and knowledge

25、flowing into the oil-rich countries. During these two periods, ESP had a rapid development.In the past twenty years, business English has attracted more and more interest and awareness. Seeing that business transacting among countries become increasing many language schools through the world provide

26、 business English courses. According to Mark Ellis and Christine Johnson, there are over 100 schools in the UK alone; there are more than 150 business English titles on UK publishers lists. From these statistics, we can see that business English has been more and more noticeable and useful. Yet desp

27、ite this enormous interest, business English is an area often neglected by linguistic researchers. It was not until 1960s that business English arouse linguists interest. Traditionally the aim of linguistics had been to describe the rules of English usage. The new studies shifted attention away from

28、 defining the formal features of language usage to discovering the ways in which language is actually used in real communication (Widdowson, 1978). Hutchinson and Waters (1987) pointed out that one significant discovery was made in the ways that spoken and written English vary. In other word, given

29、the particular context in which English is used, the variant of English would still change. This idea was taken one step farther. Then in the late 1960s and early 1970s, specialist vocabulary was seen to be what distinguished business English from general English (GE), and as a branch of ESP, busine

30、ss English became a sole language learned and used worldwide.Business English, as a language form, serves as the means of communication and the carrier of rules and regulations governing the business activities in the world of business. It can also transmit new business practice to improve the effic

31、iency in carrying out the business activities.Since the emergence of the British Empire as a worldwide superpower, English began to dominate the international business world; almost all of the major world economic organizations specify English as their official language. International laws regulatin

32、g the business affairs across the border are written in the English language by various international authorities. When problems arise from the international business activities, proficiency of business English is a key factor to win the trial in an international court, thus business English becomes

33、 a useful tool to solve economic conflicts and a powerful weapon to protect oneself from illegal assaults. Since English is the sole language learned and used worldwide, the proficient use of the business English also provides an access to the rest of the world when exploring the international marke

34、t. According to UNESCO statistics，more than one billion and six hundred millions people speak English as the first language, and ninety percent of those, who speak English as the second English, use business English as a medium in their daily business transaction. Business English is used widely in

35、the modern business world.In China , the development of business English has been accelerated since it began to practice the open-door policy, especially since it entered World Trade Organization(WTO). With the rapid development of the Chinese economy, the emergence of joint ventures and foreign-fun

36、ded enterprises in large numbers has greatly stimulated the demand for English-speaking business personnel, as English is the working language of a vast amount of all the foreign-funded enterprises.3. Stylistics and Business English3.1 Style“Style” is a familiar word to most of us, but to give a cle

37、ar definition of it is a headache, even great scholars of language have made a heated dispute on this topic, but they could not simply came to an agreement. While style draws much attention on itself when it was recognizable at the first time. By its definition in the dictionaries, the word “style”

38、has two aspects of meaning: (1) the method of expression in writing or speaking, which changes at all times according to the actual situational elements, such as the participants, time, place, topic, etc. (2) the set of linguistic features that seem to be characteristic of a text. But exactly speaki

39、ng, these aspects of dictionary meaning just give us the broadest sense of the concept on style. In practice, all the stylists have researched the concept so much that the issue of style becomes more and more complex and confused. Until now, there are also many disputes about its definition. Jonatha

40、n Swift thought that style is “proper words in proper places”. Lord Chesterfield said that style is the “dress of thoughts”. To W.B Yeats, it was “high breeding in argument”. In the words of Cardinal Newman, “style is a thinking out into language”. Emerson said “A mans style is his minds voice”.Alth

41、ough scholars could not agree with each other on the definition, they all took effort to investigate style in different aspects according to their own understanding, and it also shows definitely the difficulty in giving an exact definition of style.3.2 StylisticsDefined by G.W.Turner, “Stylistics is

42、 that part of linguistics which concentrates on variation in the use of language.Stylistics means the study of style, with a suggestion, from the form of a word, of a scientific or at least a methodical study.” Widdowson gives further explanation, “by stylistics, I mean the study of literary discour

43、se from a linguistic orientation and I shall take the view that what distinguishes stylistics from literary criticism on the one hand and linguistics on the other is that it is essentially a means of linking the two.” In a word, stylistics is an inter-disciplinary branch of learning which studies va

44、rious differences between formal and informal, between deviant and normal, between magnificent and plain, between professional and popular, between foreign and domestic, between this and that individual.Stylistics has a broad and a restricted sense. In its brosd sense, it studies the use of language

45、 in all kinds of contexts and how language use varies in accordance with varying circumstances. A style is the sum of linguistic features associated with texts defined by a set of contextual parameters, such as the formality of the relation between addresser and addressee, the type of communication

46、is maintained, or the communication function. That is to say, style can be different because of different speakers, different contexts, different means and different kinds of communication.Its history can be traced back to ancient Greece, according to The Oxford English Dictionary, the word “stylist

47、ics” appeared during 1882-1883. However, it was only in the 1960s that stylistics got well established as a discipline. Now its modern development is a branch of linguistics, which uses the theory and methodology of modern linguistics to the study of the style. As English stylist Henry Widdowson say

48、s, the value of style analysis lies in a method providing for learners, which can combine writing with his feeling to language, and to make his or her feeling further. So stylistics may help us develop a logical thought of language analysis and solve problems of translation or writing in language le

49、arning, and it can help us to find the stylistically significant features of language that we often overlook. It also may help us speed up the process of acquisition of the ability by its systematic description of language varieties, by its emphasis on practical analysis, because such analysis is a

50、tool, which will help our get sensitivity to language.3.3 Stylistics and Business EnglishStylistics, studying certain aspects of language variation, is therefore a branch of this academic discipline. However, stylistics is in no way confined to linguistics; it covers many fields such as linguistics,

51、 literature, pragmatics, etc, thus the reputation of an inter-disciplinary branch of learning. Now, stylistics has developed into an interdisciplinary area if study with explicit aims and effective techniques, and promises to offer useful insights into language use and the teaching of language use（H

52、alliday, 1964）.Along with development of economy, business English has become more and more important in our country. Needless to say, the skill how to use language correctly influences the success of the business activities directly. In order to promote sales, market and raise fund successfully, pr

53、ecision and clarity in language are very necessary in the persuasion of the consumers. Using appropriate language or not is the key to the achievement of the business activities. And stylistics may help us to get a “sense of style”. It is very easy to find that the key to effective communication in

54、business is the ability to use language appropriately. If we want to communication in business English successfully, this kind of sense of style should be developed by us too much.Although stylistics has been used in the area of literary works for a long time, however, as a powered tool of language

55、study of business English is comparatively new and there is much more room to improve. By means of stylistics, I hope my study on this area could be more profound and meaningful for the learning of business English.4. Lexical Features of Business English From Stylistics Perspective4.1 Stylistics and

56、 Lexical Features of Business EnglishVocabulary plays a very important role in the language system, as Harmer has it, “If language structure makes up the skeleton of language, then it is vocabulary that provides the vital organs and the flesh. An ability to manipulate grammatical structure does not

57、have any potential for expressing meaning unless words are used.” Although the idea is widely held that English study mainly focuses on pronunciation, grammar and words, it seems that words are extremely important as for the study of this language. On one hand, word study is proved to be the common

58、difficulty that troubles a lot; on the other hand, words of this language that are seldom used in general language are the first thing that sheds light on the language.Vocabulary in business English can be classified into three major groups, they are content words, functional words and stylistic wor

59、ds. Content words generally refer to the expressions with fixed semantic content. Functional words can occupy in various regions, which are interchangeable in different style, such as the pronoun, the numeral, the adverb, the conjunction and so forth. The last one is stylistic words which feature th