系统功能语法视域下商务英语谈判中的人际功能探析（英文）

PAGEAcknowledgementsIwouldliketoexpressmyappreciationtomanywhosupportedmyeffortsinwritingthisthesisduringthepastfewmonths.AndIwanttotakethischancetoshowmygreatgratitudetoallthepeoplefortheirhelp.Firstly,IwouldliketoexpressmygratitudetomysupervisorProf.ZengMeiforprovidingmewithgreathelpfromthetopicselectiontothefinalcompletionofthepaper.Sheprovidedmewithguidanceandsuggestionsineveryaspectofthepaperwithgreatcareandrigor.Herprofoundknowledge,approachablepersonality,rigorousacademicattitude,andseriousandresponsibleworkstylehaveleftadeepimpressiononme.Iamalsogratefultoalltheteachersduringmyuniversityyearsfortheirguidanceandselflesshelpinmyprofessionalstudies.IamparticularlyappreciativeofmyheadmasterHuangShuyunwhotaughtusmanyprinciplesofhowtobeagoodpersonanddothings.IamultimatelygratefultomyfriendsGuanJiayang，whosesupportandcompanionhavegivenmethemotivationtocompletemystudies.AbstractBusinessnegotiationisanimportantformandmeansofbusinesscomminicationandbusinesscooperation.Inrecentyears,withthedevelopmentofcommodityeconomyandtheintensificationofmarketcompetition,businessnegotiationwillplayanincreasinglyimportantroleandbecomeanindispensablepartofeconomicactivities.Negotiationprocessisnotonlyaprocessofinteractionbetweenenterprises,butalsoaprocessofcommunicationinwhichnegotiatorsunderstandandgetfamiliarwitheachother.Therefore,successfulbusinessnegotiationcontainsrichinterpersonalsignificance,whichdirectlyaffectstheresultsandeffectsofbusinessnegotiation.ThispapertakestheinterpersonalmetafunctionaltheoryofHalliday’sSystemicFunctionalGrammarastheresearchperspective,andanalysestheinterpersonalmeaningofbusinessnegotiationdiscourseinauthoritativebusinessEnglishnegotiationworks.Itisfoundthatbusinessnegotiationdiscoursetendstoexertitsinterpersonalfunctionthroughmodality,moodandpersonsysteminagesturetoestablishandmaintainfriendly,respectfulandcooperativeinterpersonalrelationships,tobetterconveytheenterprise'sstanceandviewpoints,tomeetthenegotiatingparties'wishesandrequirements,topromotetheconsensusofbusinessstrategies,toensurethatbusinessnegotiationnegotiationactivitiesareefficientlyandpeacefullycompleted,andtocontributetothedevelopmentoftheenterprise.Keywords:interpersonalfunction;businessnegotiationdiscourses;modalsystem;modalitysystem;personsystem摘要商务谈判是商务交往和商务合作活动的重要形式和手段。近年来,随着商品经济的发展和市场竞争的加剧,商务谈判将会发挥越来越重要的作用,成为经济活动中不可或缺的环节。谈判过程不仅是企业与企业之间的交往过程，更是谈判者之间不断了解和熟悉的交际过程，因此成功的商务谈判蕴含着丰富的人际意义，直接影响着商务谈判的结果和效果。本文以韩礼德系统功能语法的人际元功能理论为研究视角，对权威性商务英语谈判著作中的商务谈判语篇进行人际意义分析。发现商务谈判语篇中倾向于通过语气、情态和人称系统发挥其人际功能，以建立和维持友好、尊敬、合作的人际关系，更好地传达企业立场和观点，满足谈判双方的意愿和要求，促进商业战略达成共识，保证商务谈判协商活动高效和平完成，为企业发展做出贡献。关键词：人际功能；商务谈判语篇；语气系统；情态系统；人称系统PAGEContentsTOC\o"1-3"\h\u1.Introduction 11.1ResearchBackground 11.2ResearchSignificance 11.3ResearchFramework 22.LiteratureReview 22.1PreviousStudiesonBusinessNegotiationAbroad 32.2PreviousStudiesonBusinessNegotiationatHome 33.TheoreticalFramework:Systemic-FunctionalGrammar 43.1Halliday'sstudyoninterpersonalmetalfunction 43.2Matin’sstudyoninterpersonalmetalfunction 74．AnAnalysisofInterpersonalFunctioninEnglishBusinessNegotiation 114.1TheMoodSystem 94.2TheModalitySystem 94.3PersonSystem 115.Conclusion 16WorksCited 17PAGE11.Introduction1.1ResearchBackgroundAlongwiththerapiddevelopmentofeconomyinChina,greatchangeshavebeenwitnessedinalmostallareas.MoreandmoreChinesecompaniesareopeningtheirarmstowelcometheglobalchallengesandgettingreadytobuildrelationshipsandmaketradewiththeforeigners.Inthisglobaleconomicsituation,Englishbusinessnegotiationisanimportantformandmeansofbusinesscommunicationandbusinesscooperation.Awell-performedbusinessnegotiationcanleadtothetwobusinesscounterpartsmakeasatisfactorydealandbenefitbothparties.Somescholarshavepaidsomeattentiontothisspecialgenreandhaveconductedseveralstudiestoexaminethelanguageuseinpragmaticapproach.However,thereisnomorecomprehensiveresearchonbusinessEnglishnegotiation.Therefore,thisthesisstudiesEnglishbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesfromtheperspectiveofinternationalfunctionofSystem-Function-Grammar(SFG).1.2ResearchSignificanceForalongtime,thestudyofdiscoursefromtheperspectiveofSFGhasmainlyfocusedonadvertisingdiscourse,newsdiscourse,andliterature.FewscholarshavestudiedbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesfromtheperspectiveofSFG.Thisthesismainlystudiesthefollowingquestion:howdorealizeinterpersonalfunctionbymood,modalityandpersonsysteminbusinessnegotiationdiscourses.Wecangainadeeperunderstandingofthestrategiesnegotiatorsemploytoconveytheirpositions,establishtrustandnegotiatesuccessfuloutcomes.Thisunderstandingcanbeappliedtoawiderangeofnegotiationcontexts,fromsmall-scalebusinessdealstointernationaltradeagreements,whichtosomeextentbroadenstheapplicationofsystemicfunctionalgrammarinanalyzingtexts,andlaysafoundationforfurtherverificationofHalliday’smeta-functionanalysisofbusinessnegotiationdiscourses.1.3ResearchFrameworkThethesismainlycontainsfiveparts,namelyintroduction,literaturereview,theoreticalframeworkandanalysis,andconclusion.ChapterOnemainlyintroducesthreeparts:researchbackground,researchsignificance,andresearchframework.ChapterTwoisdividedintotwoparts,includingthestudiesofbusinessnegotiationabroadandathome.ChapterThreemainlyintroducesoneofthethreemeta-functionsofsystemicfunctionalgrammar,especiallyinterpersonalmeta-function,whichisintroducedfrommoodsystem,modalitysystemandpersonsystem.ChapterFourisdiscussedfromthreeparts:analysisifEnglishbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesfromtheperspectiveofmoodsystem,modalitysystem,andpersonsystem.Amongthem,inmoodsystem,Englishbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesareanalyzedindetailfromtwoaspects:declarativemoodandinterrogative;inmodalitysystem,Englishbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesareanalyzed;Englishbusinessnegotiationdiscoursesareanalyzedfrompersonsystem.Finally,summarizetheconclusiondrawn.ChapterFivesummarizesthewholethesisfromthreeaspects:mainfindings,limitationsandsuggestions.2.LiteratureReviewWiththedevelopmentofeconomicglobalization,internationaleconomictradesaremorefrequentandactivethaneverbefore.Businessnegotiationhasbecomeanindispensableformandplaysanimportantroleinthesuccessfulbusinessactivities.Sincebusinessnegotiationscanpromotecountriestoreachaconsensusoncommercialstrategiccooperation,somescholarshavestudiedbusinessnegotiationsfromtheperspectiveofcross-cultureornegotiationskillsandstrategies.Fewscholarshavestudiedbusinessdiscourses.Therefore,thischapteriscomposedoftwosections.Inthefirstsection,previousstudiesonbusinessnegotiationabroadwillbeintroduced.Inthesecondsection,previousstudiesathomeonEnglishbusinessnegotiationdiscourseswillbereviewed.2.1PreviousStudiesonBusinessNegotiationAbroadActually,thedevelopmentofforeignnegotiationresearchhasalonghistory.Mostofthenegotiationclassesinforeignuniversitiesaresetunderthebusinessschool,andmostoftheteachersarealsotheresearchbackgroundofbusinesseconomics.Thus,mostoftheearliestnegotiationresearchersstudynegotiationfromthetheoreticalframeworkofeconomics.Therefore,therewaslittleresearchonthelanguageuseofbusinessnegotiation.Until1986,LampipublishedThelanguageofBusinessMeetings,speedingupthepaceofstudyingbusinessnegotiationfromtheperspectiveoflinguistic.Lampi(1986)isapioneerinthestudyofbusinessnegotiationdiscourse.Heconductedamulti-levelmicrodiscourseanalysisofBritishbusinessnegotiationandconstructedalanguage-centeredstudyofbusinessandinternationalrelations.Hefocusedonthediscoursecharacteristicsofrealizationstrategies,thebehaviors,steps,correspondencesandstagesinnegotiation.HisresearchanalyzedthediscourseinEnglishbusinessnegotiationfromdifferentaspects,andstudiedbusinessandinternationalrelationshipcenteredonlanguage.Basedonpreviousstudies,severalresearchesbasedonlanguagearepublishedinthe1990s(Ehlich,Wagner1995;Firth1995).Amongthem,themostrepresentativescholarswasFirth(1995).Thepublicationofthebookmarksthegrowinginfluenceofdiscourseanalysisandpragmaticsinworkplacediscourseresearch.Unlikepreviousstudiesonbusinessnegotiationdiscourse,Firth(1995)wascomposedof14paperswhichregardedbusinessnegotiationasdiscourse.Itmainlyappliedtheresearchmethodtothestudyofnegotiationdiscourse.Lampi(1990)studiedtheimpactofthecompany'splanonnegotiationanddialogue.Itsystematicallyanalyzedthecontextualelementsofresearchinteractioninbusinesssituationsandcompensatedforthelackofintegrationofcontextualbusinessresearchwithlinguistictextresearch(Charles,1996).Onthisbasis,Charles(1996)appliedthemethodofdiscourseanalysistothestudyofbusinessnegotiation,whichshowedthatthelanguagechoiceinnegotiationcontextwasdirectlyandcloselyrelatedtothebusinessrelationshipbetweenthenegotiatingparties.Hecombineddiscourseanalysiswithbusinessnegotiation,contextwasdirectlyandcloselyrelatedtothebusinessrelationshipbetweenthenegotiatingparties.Hecombineddiscourseanalysiswithbusinessnegotiation,examinedthedifferencesinthechoiceanduseofnegotiationstrategiesbetweennativeEnglishspeakersandnon-nativeEnglishspeakers,anddemonstratedthatthechoiceanduseofnegotiationlanguagecoulddirectlyreflecttherelationshipbetweentheparticipants.Afterwehaveabasicunderstandingofnedevelopmentofbusinessnegotiationabroad,thedevelopmentofbusinessnegotiationathomewillbeinvestigatedaswell.2.2PreviousStudiesonBusinessNegotiationatHomeInChina,thestudyofbusinessnegotiationhasalsoattractedincreasingattentioninrecentyears.Domesticscholarshaveconductedextensiveresearchonthetopic,drawinginsightsfrombothdomesticandinternationalpractices.Basedonpreviousresearch,numerousscholarshavedoneseveralresearchesonbusinessnegotiationfromdifferentaspectsduringthe21thcentury.Consequently,studiesonbusinessnegotiationarediscussedfromdifferentperspectivesinthisstudy.Firstly,researchesonbusinessnegotiationareconductedfromtheperspectiveofinstitutionalconversationanalysis.Businessnegotiationcanberegardedasinstitutionaldiscourse.Institutionalconversationanalysismainlyfocusedonconversationstructureandcharacteristics,topicorganization,turnstructure,adjacentpairstructure,speakerselection,prioritystructure,pre-series,conversationcorrection,topicopeningandclosing,personalinstructions,puns,humor,lies,narration,etc.(Wang,2014).Next,studiesonbusinessnegotiationfromtheperspectiveofinteractivepragmaticsneedtobereviewed.WangandZhang(2015)putforwardthatinteractivepragmaticstheorycouldbeusedtoanalyzebusinessnegotiation.Interactivepragmaticsstudiedtheinteractivepragmaticbehaviorofbusinessnegotiationfromtheaspectsofpolitenessandface,cooperationprinciple,speechactandconversationalimplicature,includingcommunicationstyle,conversationaltype,politenessprinciple,listener'sresponse,etc.In2012,Xietookthediscoursemarkersinbusinessnegotiationasanexample,analyzedtheinterpersonal-pragmaticfunctionsofnegotiationdiscourseininteraction,andrevealedtheconstructionmannerofharmoniouscontext(Xie,2012).Undoubtedly,cross-culturalbusinessnegotiationhasalwaysbeenapopularresearchtopicinthisfield.Interculturalbusinesscommunicationstudiestheinterculturalinteractioncompetenceofbusinessnegotiation,involvingrace/ethnicidentity,cross-culturalconflictmanagement,culturalidentityandcross-cultural"faceview"inbusinessnegotiation(Zhu,2011).DingXiaoyang(2009)explainedtheinevitabilityofdifferencesfromtheperspectiveofculturaldifferences,includingeconomicdifferences,regionaldifferences,ethnicdifferencesandreligiousdifferences,andproposedcorrespondingstrategiestoovercomethesedifferences.MaoQiangandXiaoZiyin(2009)alsostudiedtheculturaldifferencesinbusinessnegotiationfromtheperspectiveofculturalroots.Afterwards,otherscholarshavedoneagreatnumberofresearchesontheimpactofculturaldifferencesonbusinessnegotiation,includingMaslow'sdemandtheory(Shen,2018),theimpactofhighandlowcontextculturalperspectivesonNegotiation.(Hu,2018)Aimingtosolvetheseproblemscausedbyculturaldifferences,agreatmanyofpragmaticstrategieshavebeenraised.Fromtheperspectivesofpurposeprinciple,cooperativeprinciple,relevancetheory,conversationalimplicatureandadaptationtheory,politenessprincipleandviolationofcooperativeprinciple,scholarsanalyzedtheuseofpragmaticstrategiesinbusinessnegotiation,andexplainedsomeactualuseofdiscourse.ItwasworthmentioningthatChen(2011)andotherscholarsusedthepurposeprincipleasthetheoreticalframework,havingmadeabriefanalysisofthebusinessnegotiationlanguage.Thiswasthefirstresearchresultthatusedthepurposeprincipletoanalyzebusinessnegotiationdiscourse.3.TheoreticalFramework:Systemic-functional-GrammarInthischapter,thetheoreticalframeworkofthisstudywillbeintroducedwhichincludesdefinitionandclassificationofSystematic-Function-Grammar(SFG).SincethisthesisisbasedonHalliday'stheoryofinterpersonalmeta-function,thetheoreticalframeworkpartintroducesmoodsystem,modalitysystemandpersonsysteminadditiontoabriefintroductiontoSFG.3.1Halliday’sStudyonInterpersonalMetaf-unctionTheSystemic-FunctionalGrammar,constructedbyHalliday,consistsofthreesub-functions:ideationalfunction,interpersonalfunctionandtextualfunction.Ideationalfunctionreferstopeople'sabilitytoconceptualizeinternalandexternalexperiencesintolinguisticexpressionsusinglanguage.Ideationalfunctionmainlyanalyzeshowpeopleconceptualizetheworldfromthetransitivityofverbs.Interpersonalfunctionreferstopeople'sabilitytoexpresstheirpositionsandopinionsthroughlanguage,thusbuildingandmaintaininginterpersonalrelationships.Interpersonalfunctionmainlyanalyzeshowpeopleexpresstheirviewsthroughlanguageandestablishanddevelopinterpersonalrelationshipsfromtheperspectiveofmodality.Textualfunctionmainlyreferstotheabilityoflanguagetoestablishacertainrelationshipwithitselfandtoestablishacertainrelationshipwiththeexternalenvironmentinwhichitisused.Textualfunctionmainlyanalyzeshowpeoplelinklinguisticcontextandsituationalcontextthroughlanguagethroughthematicandrhemecuts,soastoconstructacompletediscourse.Duringbusinessnegotiation,friendlyrelationsbetweenthetwosidesarethebasisforcooperation.Theinterpersonalfunctionindicatesthatinadditiontoexpressingthespeaker’spersonalexperienceandinneractivities,italsohasthefunctionsofexpressingthespeaker’sidentity,status,attitude,motivationandhisinference,judgmentandevaluationofthings.Therefore,myfocusistoanalyzethemeanstorealizeinterpersonalfunctioninbusinessEnglishnegotiation:moodsystem,modalitysystemandpersonsystem.Interpersonalfunctionwillbeintroducedindetail.Allthreemeta-functionsincludeseveralsubsystems,andfinallyappearintheformoffunctionalcharacteristics.Forexample,theinterpersonalmeta-functioncanbeillustratedasasystemnetworkintheFigure:Interpersonalfunctionisdefinedas"thespeakerusesspecificlanguagestructuresasthemeansofsocialcommunicationtoinvolvethespeechevent:theexpressionsofhiscomments,hisattitudes,hisevaluations,andalsotherelationshiphesetsupbetweenhimselfandthelistener,whichisdecidedbydifferentcommunicationrolesheadopts,likeinforming,questioning,persuading"(Halliday,2000p.69).Languageisusedforcommunication,andlanguageisfunctional,sofunctionalissuesareanimportantissueinlanguageresearch(Gregory,1987p.95).Duetotherealityoflanguageconstruction,functionalgrammarmustbebuiltonthelanguageofeverydayforms,whichisanempiricaltheory.Halliday(1994)believesthatsystemicfunctionallinguisticstheorycanunderstandthenatureoftext"value",aswellasconceptssuchasrapart,rhetoric,andstyle,andunderstandliteraryandnon-literaryworksbystudyingvarioustexts.Asoneofthethreemeta-functions,theinterpersonalmeta-functionindicatesthatinadditiontoexpressingthespeaker'spersonalexperienceandinneractivities,italsohasthefunctionsofexpressingthespeaker'sidentity,status,attitude,motivationandhisinference,judgmentandevaluationofthings.Thisfunctionnotonlyallowsspeakerstoexpresstheirownjudgments,butalsoallowsthemtotrytoinfluencetheattitudesandbehaviorsofothers.Intheclassicsystemicfunctionallinguisticstheory,moodandmodalityaretwoimportantsystemsthatrealizetheinterpersonalfunctionofspeech.3.2Matin’sStudyonInterpersonalMeta-functionAppraisalSystemsisanimportantresearchcategoryinSystemicFunctionalGrammar.ItsconceptwasfirstproposedbyDr.Martin,afamouslinguistfromtheUniversityofSydney.AppraisalSystemsoriginatedfromHalliday'ssystemic-functionalgrammaranalysis.Martinandotherresearcherscarriedoutmoresystematicresearchonthebasisofgrammaticalanalysis,fromthesimplegrammarleveltothediscourselevel,andformedacompletetheoreticalsystemoflanguageevaluation.Dr.Martin'sthesisBeyondExchange:AppraisalSystemsinEnglishelaboratesonthebasicideasofappraisaltheory.Withlexicalgrammarastheframework,appraisaltheorymakessystemicfunctionallinguisticsstartfrominterpersonalmeaningandhaveadeepertheoreticalsignificancestudyofinterpersonalfunction.Fromtheperspectiveofdiscourse,evaluationtheoryexploreshowspeakersorwritersexpressthemeaningofcertainwordsinspecificcontexts,howtoevaluateandnegotiate,andwhatlinguisticmethodsareusedtoexpresssuchmeanings.Therefore,inthisevaluationprocess,itwillinvolvewhetherideologyhasanyinfluenceontheevaluation,andwhetheritwillcausethespeakerortheauthortochangetheirattitude.Martinonceproposedthatevaluationtheoryreferstothevariousattitudesexpressedintheprocessofdiscoursenegotiation,theemotionalintensityinvolved,andthevariouswaystoindicatethevalueofthespeakerorauthorortorelatetothereader.Itisconcernedwiththevariousattitudesandemotionalintensitiesrevealedbythetextandthemeanstodeterminethesourcesofvariousvalues.Appraisaltheory,therefore,studieshowaspeakerorwritercanmakesemanticchangesafterhisorheremotionsareinvolvedinatext,soastoreflecthisorherattitudeorposition.4．AnAnalysisofInterpersonalFunctioninEnglishBusinessNegotiationInChapterFour,thedataanalyzedinthisresearcharefromthreebookswhichareaboutEnglishbusinessnegotiation:BusinessNegotiationbyMaShaoming,BusinessnegotiationEnglishbyZhuWenzhongandBusinessNegotiationbyGuoXiujun.Thosethreebooksarechosentobestudiedfortheirauthority,formalityandrepresentativeness.Thesebusinessnegotiationdiscoursesareeitheridentifiedbuthosebusinessnegotiationexpertsorprovedbytherealbusinessnegotiationtobehelpfulandusefultoestablishtraderelationshipbetweencompanies.Therefore,boththereliabilityandthevalidityofthedataareguaranteed.Next,severaltypicalexampleswillbeanalyzed:4.1TheUseofMoodSysteminBusinessNegotiationAsoneofmajormeanstorealizeinterpersonalfunction,moodconsistsoftwopartsinEnglish,theSubjectandtheFinite.Amongthem,thesubjectisgenerallyusedasanominalphrase,andthefiniteisthefirstfunctionalelementoftheverbalgroup,referringtotenses(is,has)andmodality(can,must).CertainEnglishfiniteelementsareusuallycombinedwithlexicalverbs.Thisphenomenonappearsinthepresenttense,thepasttense,theactivevoice,affirmativesentencesandnon-emphasizedsentences."ThegeneralprincipleoftheexpressionofmoodinEnglishclausesis:theindicativemoodisusuallyusedtocommunicateinformation,inwhichthedeclarativeisoftenusedtoexpressthestatement.Itis'subject+finite'thatcanreflectthecharacteristicsofindicativemood,andtheorderofthetwoisdecisive.Thesentenceformofthedeclarativemoodisthesubjectfirstandthefinitebehind,andthesentenceformoftheYes/Nointerrogativemoodisthefinitefirstandthesubjectbehind.Whenexpressingspecialinterrogativesentences,therearetwosituations:onemeansthatwhenthespecificcomponentisusedasthesubject,thesubjectislocatedbeforethefinitecomponent;theotheristhatwhenothercomponentsareusedasthesubject,thesubjectislocatedafterfinitecomponent.Ingeneral,therearethreemaintypesofsentencesinthemoodsystem:declarativesentences,interrogativesentencesandimperativesentences.Amongthem,interrogativesentencesincludeYes/NointerrogativesentencesandWH-interrogativesentences.4.1.1DeclarativeMoodThedeclarativemoodisthemostfrequentmoodstructurethatservesthepurposeofprovidinginformation.Inaddition,whetherthespeakerismainlyofferinginformationorcommunicatingwiththelistenercanbedemonstratedbythecontentinbusinessnegotiationdiscourse.Example1:A:WhatImeanisyourpriceishigherthanthatofthesamequality.It’llleaveusalotofdifficultiestomakeanysales.You’llhavetobringyourpriceinlinewiththeworldmarket.B:Well,whatareyoulookingforthen?A:I’mafraidyou’llhavetomakeareductionof5%.Inthisconversation,therearetwosentencesinwhichdeclarativemoodisused.Thefunctionofthetwosentences,hereisnotrequestingbutadvising.Thebuyerisexpressingdissatisfactionwiththepriceofaproduct,insteadofusingadirectandconfrontationalinterrogativemoodlike"Whyisthepricehigherthanthatofthesamequality?",thebuyermaychoosetouseadeclarativemoodwithmodalverbstoconveythesamemessageinasoftertone,suchas"Youhadbetterbringyourpriceinlinewiththeworldmarketinwhichproductscanbesoldeasierandmakingareductionof5%isreasonable."Thisdeclarativemoodnotonlymakessuggestioninafriendlyandmoreacceptablewaybutalsomaintainsarespectfulandcooperativetone,promotingbettercommunicationandnegotiationoutcomes.4.1.2InterrogativeMoodYes/nointerrogativesandwh-interrogatives,whicharebothessentialtocarryingoutavarietyofinterpersonalfunctionsinsocialcontexts,arethetwocategoriesintowhichfunctionalgrammardividestheinterrogativemood.ItisclearfromHalliday’sSFGthatrequestsforinformationorgoodsandservicestypicallyusetheinterrogativemood.Ingeneral,the“wh”componentdenotesthemissinginformationsegment.Theformerprimarilyprovokespolarresponsesfromlisteners,whilethelatterismoreresponsibleforextractingcomplementinginformation(Thompson,2000).Yet,itcanalsobeutilizedasacommand,aplea,asuggestion,aninvitation,andapersuasion(Quirk,1972).Inthepartthatfollows,thispaperwillfocusonthevariousinterpersonalfunctionsthatinterrogativescanfulfill.Example2:A:Whatdoyouhaveinmind?B:Couldyouconsiderreducingyourpriceto3%?A:Youareaskingtoomuch.Itwillleaveusnothing.Ourmaximumisonly1%.Wecan’tgoanyfurther,I’mafraid.Inthisdialogue,thespeakerBusesaninterrogativetoexpressarequest.Theinterrogativesentence“Couldyouconsiderreducingyourpriceto3%?”isametaphoricalwaytoexpresshisidea,andthecongruentwayofitshouldbe“Pleaseconsiderreducingyourpriceto3%”or“Reduceyourpriceto3%”.Theliteralmeaningofhissentenceisnothisrealmeaning.Ifhespeakssodirectlyg,hemayfailinthenegotiation,sohechoosesthisindirectway,whichcanhelphimexpressmoreintendedeffects.Andduringtheprocessofthisresearch,ithasbeenfoundthatthereisplentyofemploymentofinterrogativesentencestoexpressrequestorcommandinthebusinessnegotiationdiscourses,whichindicatesthatduringtheprocessofbusinessnegotiation,peoplewanttomakeaharmoniousandpeacefulatmospheresothattheycangetsuccessfinally.4.2TheUseofModalitySysteminBusinessNegotiationModalityisviewedasyetanotherpracticaltoolforachievinginterpersonalfunction.Modality,accordingtoHalliday(1985),isthesemanticspacebetweenyesandno,themiddlegroundbetweenpositiveandnegativepolarity.Modalityisarepresentationofthespeaker'sstandpoint,anditmightrevealthespeaker'sattituderegardingthepropositionsorproposalsmadebyotherindividuals.Themanifestationofmodalityincludesmodalizationandmodulation.Modalizationisusedtoexpressthepossibilityinaproposition,referringtothefrequencyandprobabilitybetweendifferentvalues.Modalizationinvolvestheexpressionoftwokindsofmeaning:probability(possibly,probably,certainly),wherethespeakerexpressesjudgmentsastothelikelihoodorprobabilityofsomethinghappeningorbeing,andfrequency(sometimes,usually,always),wherethespeakerexpressesjudgmentsastothefrequencywithwhichsomethinghappens.Modulationisusedtoexpressthepossibilityintheproposal,referringtotheobligationandwillingnessbetweendifferentvalues(Halliday,1994).Modulationalsoinvolvestheexpressionoftwokindsofmeaning:obligation(allowedto,supposedto,requiredto),whichconcernsthedegreeofobligationontheotherpersontocarryoutthecommandincommands,andinclination(willingto,anxiousto,determinedto),concerningthedegreeofwillingness