商务信函分析模糊语的应用

IVSection2LiteratureReview“Asakindofwrittendiscourse,businessletterisaformofwrittenverbalcommunicationbetweenthewriterandthereceiver.Itisacommonstyleininternationalbusinessactivities”(Liu,2012).ChenLintangpointedoutthat“politenessisoneoftheweaponsinbusiness.Towritealetterwithoutpayingattentiontopolitenessislikeawarwithoutbullets”(Chen,1996).Propervaguenesscanmakebusinesslettersmorepolite,soitisimportantforcompanytousevaguenessinbusinessletters.2.1StudiesonBusinessCorrespondenceTheclassificationofbusinesscorrespondenceisdiverse,differentscholarscarryoutdifferenttypesofclassification.Accordingtothecontent,businessletterscanbedividedintorequestletter,replyletterandcollectionletter(Stewart,1984).Accordingtothenatureoftheinformationprovided,businessletterscanbeclassifiedintogoodnewsletters,badnewsletters,neutrallettersandpersuasiveletters(Stewart,1984).WhatthispaperadoptsisStewart'sclassificationaccordingtothenatureoftheinformationprovided,itisimportanttodealwiththeinformationproperlyunderPolitenessPrinciple.Asnamesuggests,goodnewslettersarelettersthatreceiversarewillingtoreceive,suchasthank-youlettersandorderletters.Onthecontrary,badnewslettersalwaysconveyinformationthatreceiversarenotwillingtoreceive,suchasrejectionofapplicationandcancellationoforders.Andcompanieswritepersuasiveletterusingstatementtopersuadethereceiverstosetupbusinesscontact,suchassellingletters.Neutrallettersdealwiththeday-to-daybusinessofacompany(Stewart,1984).Thewriterbelievesthatalthoughthemessageconveyedbythegoodnewsletterisacceptabletothereceivers,improperwordsandsentencepatternswillmakethegoodnewsbusinessletterwhichrepresentspolitenessappearlesspolite,evenselfdefeating.Badnewsletteritselfistodelivernewsthatreceiversarenotwillingtoreceive,whichcontainsanimpolitemessage.Therefore,inbadnewsletters,companiesmustbecarefulaboutthechoiceofwordsandsentencesofbadnews.Iftheyarenotcareful,theywillmakeanaggressivemistake.Asforpersuasiveletters,persuasivelettersarewrittenbecausetheletterwriterwantsthereceivertodosomething,soitrequireshighlevelofpoliteness.Therefore,nomatteritisgoodnewsletters,badnewslettersorpersuasiveletters,thecompanyneedtopursuetheintegrityandaccuracy,aswellasthepolitenessandconsiderationoftheinformationconveyedbythemainletters.2.2StudiesonVaguenessVaguenessisanewlinguistic.Sincevaguenesshadbeendescribedas“tothefactthetransitionfromthemembershipofafuzzysettothenon-membershipofitisnotabruptbutgradual”withmathematicsmethodsinthepaperFuzzySets(Zadeh,1965),linguistsbegantostudy“vaguelanguage”whichcausedextensiveattentioninacademia.Vaguenesshasbeendevelopingfornearly50years,manyscholarsdevelopdifferentdefinitionsandclassificationsofvagueness.2.2.1DefinitionofVaguenessVaguenessiswidelyusedinbothspokenandwrittenlanguages.Differentscholarshavedifferentdefinitionsofvagueness.Lakoff,R.interpretsthevaguenessasanimportantpartoflanguageas"wordsthatmakethingsvague"(Lakoff,1973).Andthereisanotherdefinitionthat"Vaguenessisthegeneraltermofuncertainfeaturesoflanguage.Pragmaticvaguenessreferstothevaguenessfromtheperspectiveoflanguageuseandunderstanding.Itcanbeusedintentionallyorgeneratedunintentionally"(He,1990).Amongmanydefinitions,thedefinitionofvaguenessbyChanellJoannaisgenerallyaccepted.Fromtheperspectiveofpragmatics,vaguenessis"acertainlanguageexpressionisfuzzy:thelanguageexpressionisincontrastwithanotherlanguageexpressionthatcanexpressthesamemeaning,thelanguageexpressionispurposefulorthemeaningofthelanguageexpressioncomesfromitsinherentuncertainty."(Chanell,2000)2.2.2ClassificationofVaguenessThispaperusestheclassificationofvaguenessbyProfessorJiYinping.Vaguenessisdividedintothreeparts(Ji,2018).Thefirstis“theadjectivethatcanexpresssubjectivefeelingswhichshowsdifferentlevelsanddegrees”(Ji,2018).Thesecondisthenounexpressingdifferentdegrees.Usuallyitisuncountablenoun,suchashumanright,freedom,democracyandsoon.Thespeakerwillhavedifferentunderstandingoftheseconceptsbecauseofhisownviewsanddifferentunderstandingandjudgmentoftheevents(Ji,2018).Thelastisthehedge.Hedgescanbedividedintotwotypesfromthepragmaticperspective:approximatorsandshields.Approximatorscanchangethewillingnessofthediscoursebychangingtheunderstandingofthetopicaccordingtotheactualsituation,theycanchangethetruthconditionofthediscourse,ortheycanmodifytheoriginaldiscoursetosomeextentaccordingtotheknownsituation.Theapproximatorscanbefurtherdividedintotwocategories:oneisthewordthatmodifytheoriginalmeaningtosomeextentaccordingtotheactualsituation,named"adapters";theotheristhewordthatdefinearangeofchangesfortheoriginallanguage,named"rounders".Theshieldsdonotchangethecontentandthetruthofthetopic,butonlyconveytheattitudeofthespeaker,sothatthespeaker'stonetendstomoderate(Bosk,Frade&Prince,1982).Section3TheoreticalFrameworkPolitenessisimportantinbothconversationandletters.Manypolitenessprinciplesareputforwardtomakeconversationsandlettersappearmorepolite.Amongthesepolitenessprinciples,CooperativePrinciples,PolitenessPrincipleandFaceTheoryarethemostaccepted(Grice,1957;Leech,1983;Brown&Levinson,1987).Theyareusedintoday’sbusinessletterstohelpcompaniesestablishapoliteimageandlong-termcooperativerelationshipwithothercompanies.3.1AnOverviewLeech'sPolitenessPrincipleAmongthewidelyusedPolitenessPrinciple,themostfamousisLeech'sPolitenessPrincipleandLevinson'sfacetheory.Indailycommunication,inordertoensurethesmoothprogressoftheconversation,boththespeakerandthereceiverneedtoabidebytheprincipleofcooperation.HerbertPaulGricemadeasummaryfromthefouraspectsofquantity,quality,relationshipandmanner,whichmeansthewordsjustmeetthecurrentconversationneedsofinformation,notmorethantherequiredinformation,soastomakethewordsastrueaspossible.Andtheinformationshouldberelevant,clear,conciseandorderly(Grice,1957).ThenPolitenessPrinciplewasputforwardonthebasisofimprovingtheGrice’scooperationprinciplethatinlanguagecommunication,speakersshouldpayattentiontothepolitenessoflanguage,andbothsidesshouldexpresspolitenessasmuchaspossibleandavoidtheexpressionofimpoliteness(Leech,1983).LeechGeoffreydividedthePolitenessPrincipleintosixmaxims,whichisTactMaxim,GenerosityMaxim,ApprobationMaxim,ModestyMaxim,AgreementMaximandSympathyMaxim(Leech,1983).AfterPolitenessPrinciple,BrownandLevinson(1987)putforwardfacetheory.Facetheoryholdsthat“politenessisakindofrationalbehavioradoptedbymodelpersontomeettheneedsofface”.Theyalsodividefacetheoryintopositivefaceandnegativeface.Thepositivereferstoamodelpersontryingtobelikedandappreciatedbyothers,whilethenegativereferstoamodelpersonwhodoesnotwantotherstointerfereandhindertheirrationalbehavior.Somelanguageswillmakemodelpersonlosethesetwofaces,andthetypicalpersonwilltakesomemeasurestoavoidbeingthreatened.ThispapermainlyadoptsLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple.Leechbelievesthatinalllanguagecommunication,bothsidesshouldshowpolitenessasmuchaspossibleandreducetheexpressionofimpolitenessasmuchaspossible.LeachembodiedthePolitenessPrincipleintosixprinciples:TactMaxim(Minimizecosttoother,Maximizebenefittoother),GenerosityMaxim(Minimizebenefittoself,Maximizecosttoself),ApprobationMaxim(Minimizedispraiseofother,Maximizepraiseofother),ModestyMaxim(Minimizepraiseofself, Maximizedispraiseofself),AgreementMaxim(Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandothers,Maximizeagreementbetweenselfand)andSympathyMaxim(Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother,Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother.)(Leech,1983).3.2TheApplicationofLeech’sPolitePrinciplesThemostwidelyusedTactMaximisintendedtominimizethelossofthereceivertomakethereceiversatisfied(Leech,1983).RespectisthefoundationofabusinessletterEach.Respectingeachparty’swishesandinterestscanbethebestwaytorespondtoeachothers’needseffectively.TactMaximisapplicabletohandlebusinessbetweentwocompanies,andincreasingtheinterestsofthereceiverisaneffectivewaytoachievecooperation.GenerosityMaximmeansthattheletterwritercouldlimithisprofitsandaddhislosseswhilewritingbusinessletters(Leech,1983).Ifwriter’smistakecausesdamagetothereader,thewritershouldtakeresponsibilityinapositiveandhonestmannerwhenhandlingthecase.Thewritercanadoptpositivewordsbychoosingamildtoneofetiquetteandasincereapologychoice:whenthewriterchoosethistone,hemustuseadisclosedvoice.Themorethewriteradmitmistakes,themoresincerelyhelooks,thoughhedamagehisface,thereceiverwouldthinkthatheissincerely,honest,polite,positiveandresponsible,itismorepossibleforhimtocorrectthemistakeandfixtherelationshipwithhispartnercompany.ApprobationMaximmeansreducingtheopprobriumtotheothersideandpraisetheadvantagesoftheotherside(Leech,1983).Foreachbusinessletter,sincerepraisegivesapartneragoodfeeling.Inthegeneralrelationspartnership,iftheprincipleoftheagreementiscorrectlyoperatedwithpositivewords,andoptimistictone,theresultistwicetheresultwithhalftheeffort.ModestyMaximmeansnarrowingdowntheletterwriter’spraiseandexpandhisdenigration(Leech,1983).Inmostcultures,modestyisavirtue.Beingmodestwillmakeothersfeelrespected.Evenifthetwocompaniesarestrongandweak,humilitycanmakethetwosidesofthetransactionshowequalityinstatus.Regardlessofthesizeofthecompany,theyshouldshowhumilityandrespectthetradingpartners.Inbusinesscorrespondence,wecanusesubjunctivemoodandpasttenseofmodalverbstoreflecttheprincipleofmodesty,moderationandfriendliness.It'seasierfortheothersidetoaccepttodealwithaffairswithhumility.AgreementMaximmeansthattheletterwritercanminimizedisagreementbetweenselfandothers,maximizeagreementbetweenselfandothers.Itisnecessaryforcompaniestoexpresstheintentiontonarrowthedifferencesbetweenoneselfandothers,andtrytoexaggeratetheagreementwiththeother.Inordertoachievethisgoal,bothsidescommunicatewitheachotherbyAgreementMaxim(Leech,1983).Nomatterbusinesscorrespondenceconveygoodorbadnews,thefundamentalpurposeofbusinesscorrespondenceistoestablishgoodrelations,achievemutuallybeneficialandwin-wincooperation,resolvethedifferencesbetweenthetwosides,andrealizethecommoninterests.Itisimportanttousemorepositivetone,positivevocabulary,avoidtoughwords,andusemoreindirectandeuphemisticexpressions.SympathyMaximmeansthattheletterwritercanminimizeantipathybetweenselfandother,Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother(Leech,1983).Thecompanycouldreducehisdislikeofothersandtrytoexaggeratehissympathyforothers.TheSympathyMaximismostsuitableforlettersofcomplaints,claims,etc.Evenifthereceiverdoesmakemistakes,thewritershouldnotbefullofresentmentinbusinesscorrespondencebecauseofthelosseshehasreceived,norshouldheshowsympathybecauseofhisdisgustinattitude,andalsoregretthereceiver’slossesanddifficulties.Compassioncanmakethereceiverunderstandwriter’shumanandpoliteside,andmakethereceiverbearthemistakesandlosseswithoutmakingabadimpressiononus.Theprincipleofsympathy,whichisembodiedintheuseofvaguelanguage,modalverbs,subjunctivemoodisworthwhileforcompaniestorememberwhendealingwithlosses.Fromtheaboveanalysis,reasonableandeffectiveuseofthesesixmaximswillmakeEnglishbusinesscorrespondencemorepoliteandappropriate.Section4TheApplicationofVaguenessinBusinessLettersunderPolitenessPrincipleWiththerapidinternationaldevelopment,theroleofbusinesslettersisbecomingmoreandmoreimportant.Apolitebusinesslettercanmakethereceivermorewillingtocooperate.Whetheritisgoodnewsletters,badnewslettersorpersuasiveletters,undertheguidanceofpolitenessprinciple,companiescanmakebusinesslettersmorepolitethroughvagueness.4.1TheApplicationofVaguenessinGoodNewsLettersunderPolitenessPrincipleGoodnewslettersconveyinformationthatreceiversarewillingtoaccept,sogoodnewslettersareusuallyconsideredpolite.However,improperwordswillmakethegoodnewsletterwhichrepresentspolitenessappearimpoliteorevendisrespectful.Evenifcooperationisachieved,itwillleaveanimpoliteimpressiontothereader,whichisnotconducivetolong-termcooperation.Thewaythatcompaniesusevaguelanguagereasonablytoachievethegoalofbeingmorepolitebecomesimportant.Thefollowinggoodnewsletterisfrompage209ofthebookAPracticalHandbookofBusinessCorrespondencewrittenbyZhugeLin(Zhuge,1998).Gentlemen:WethankyouforyourquotationofAugust15togetherwithpattersofPrintedShirting.Wefindbothqualityandpricessatisfactoryandarepleasedtogiveyouanorderforthefollowingitemsontheunderstandingthattheywillbesuppliedfromstockatthepricesnamed:QuantityPatternNo.Prices40000yards191HK$14peryd30000yards155HK$18peryd40000yards984HK$19peryd(AllthepricesareFOBHongKong)Weexpecttofindagoodmarketfortheaboveandhopetoplacefurtherandlargeorderswithyouinthenearfuture.OurusualtermsofpaymentsarebyD/P60daysandwehopetheywillbesatisfactorytoyou.Meanwhile,shouldyouwishtomakeenquireconcerningourfinancialstanding,youmayrefertothefollowingbankYourstruly,Thisisatypicalgoodnewsletter.Themessage(purchaseofthecompany'sproducts)conveyedinthisletterisacceptabletothepersonreceivingthisletter.Ingeneral,goodnewslettersonlyneedtopayattentiontothesincerityofwords,whichwillnotmakepeoplefeelthattheletterwriter'scompanyissuperior.Iftheletterwritersaysdirectlythat"wewillbuyyourprintedshirtsandorderthefollowingpriceandquantity",itwillseeminhuman,asiftheletterwriter'scompanybelievesthatithasthehigherpositioninthiscooperation.Subjectiveadjectiveslike"good"and"big"expresstheletterwriter’sconfidenceandappreciationoftheproduct.Thesubjectivejudgmentoftheothercompanywillthinkthatthesatisfactiondegreeofthewriterishigherthantherealsatisfactiondegreeoftheletterwriter,indicatingthedesiretocontinuecooperation."Wehope"isjusttheexpectationofthewriter'scompany,sothatthewriterwillnotembarrasstheothercompany,andevenifthereceiverrefuse,thewriterwillnotfeelembarrassed.Tosomeextent,thehedgesmakethetonemoreeuphemisticandthethingsmoreflexible.Thereceiverwillfeelthatthewriterisalsothinkingabouthimandcreatingagoodatmosphereofcooperation.TactMaxim,GenerosityMaxim,ApprobationMaximandModestyMaximofLeech’sPolitenessPrincipleareallapplicabletogoodnewsletters.Accordingtothesemaxims,theproperuseofvaguelanguagecanleavethereceiveramorepoliteimpression.TactMaximandGenerosityMaximbothemphasizetoincreasetheinterestsoftheotherparty.Subjectiveadjectivescanbeusedtodescribetheinterestsofthereceiverinthiscooperationtoblurthescopeoftheirownbenefitsandhighlightthescopeoftheinterestsofthereceiver,tomaketheotherpartymorehappywhenacceptingthiscooperation,andtolayagoodfoundationforlong-termcooperation.Wordslike“much”,“huge”,“good”,“big”,etc.canbeusedingoodnewsletterstoshowthereceiver’sinterest.ApprobationMaximandModestyMaximrequirecompaniestoshowmoresincerepraiseofeachother.Thereasonwhythecompaniesofbothsidescanreachcooperationisthattheirproductscansatisfyeachother.Theletterwritercanusesubjectiveandhedgestoachievethesetwomaxims.Andintheuseofhedges,theadaptersofhedgesarethemostcommoningoodnewsletterstoincreasethepraiseandinterestsofthereceiver,thewritercanusewordslikemuch,some,most,only,many,etc.Thesincerepraiseandmutualbenefittothereceiverwillmakethereceiverfeelthesincerityandattitudeofthewriterandhaveapoliteimpressiononthewriter.4.2TheApplicationofVaguenessinBadNewsLettersunderPolitenessPrincipleItishardtowriteabadnewslettertosatisfybothparties.Alittlecarelessnesswillmakeitappearthatthewriterisveryimpoliteandthereceiverlosesface,resultinginthebreakdownoftherelationshipbetweenthetwosides.So,itisimportanttowritebadnewslettersbyusingvaguelanguagereasonablyaccordingtopolitenessprinciple.Thefollowingbadnewsletterisfrompage125ofthebookCommercialCorrespondencewrittenbyCharlesandJoseph(Charles&Joseph,1998).DearMr.Brown,IamwritingwithreferencetoOrderNo.AS671,whichwereceivedlastweek.Whenwecheckedthemachinewenoticedsomedamagetothecaseandwhenweturneditonitdidnotwork.Itseemedthatthemachinewasnotpackedproperlyortestedbeforedispatch.Pleaseletusknowthatwhatyouintendtodointhismatter.Ilookforwardtohearingfromyousoon.Yourssincerely,Thisbusinessletteristoinformthereceiverthatthereissomethingwrongwiththemachine.Ifthetoneistough,forexample,"yourcompany'smachinequalityispoor,andnowitdoesn'twork,pleasegiveusasolution",itwillappearthattheletterwriter'scompany'sattitudeistough,aggressive,easytocountthefaceofthereceiver'scompany,resultinginthebreakdownofthecooperationrelationship,andalsointheindustry.There'sabadimagethat'snothuman.Inthisway,withoutdamagingthefaceoftheothercompany,itbecomesanimportantissuetogentlyandtactfullyremindtheothercompanythatthereisaproblemwiththequalityofthemachineandsuggestthatthecompanyproposessolutions.Subjectiveadjectivesandhedgesareused,whichmakesthisbusinessletternotfullofharshtone,butappearspolite."Wenoticedthatsome"and“itseems"aretypicalindirectshields.Thismethodobscurestheproblemlevelofthemachine.Thisnotonlyshowsthatthereceiver'smachinehasproblemsandneedstoberepaired,butalsosavesthereceiver'sfaceandshowsitsrationality.Atthesametime,thesubjectiveadjective"appropriate"isusedtodescribethedamagedegreeofgoodsingeneral,ratherthanthespecificlocationandlossdegreeofthemachine.Sothetonebecomeseuphemism,savingfaceforeachother.TheSympathyMaximofLeech’sPolitenessPrinciplecanbeusedinwherethereceivermakesamistake,theletterwritercanusevaguenesstoreducetheblameonthereceiver,increasethepraiseofthereceiver,reducetheboredomofthereceiver,andexpandthesympathyandfavorofthereceiver.Thelettercan'tshowthetoneofextremecondemnationbecauseofthereceiver'smistakeswhenseekingforthesolution,leavingenoughfaceforthereceiverwithvaguewords,otherwiseitwilldamagethegoodrelationshipbetweenthetwocompanies,andwillleaveabadimageofnomercyintheindustry.Thefollowingbadnewsletterisfrompage96ofthebookAPracticalHandbookofBusinessCorrespondencewrittenbyZhugeLin(Zhuge,1998).DearSirs,YourletterofAugust17hasourattention.Weregretverymuchofthedelay,whichwasduetocircumstancesbeyondourcontrol,andwecanonlyaskyoutoacceptourapologiesfortheinconvenienceyouhavebeencaused.Nowimprovementhasbeenmade.Theshippingcompaniesherearequitecooperative.Theyhavepromisedtogiveuspriorityintheirarrangementofshippingspace.Itisbelievedthatfromnowonshipmentwillbeeffectedinthenormalway.YourorderofJune2wasshippedonAugust10,andthedocumentsweredulyhandedtothebankonthesameday.WewroteyoualetteronAugust13advisingyouoftheshipment,whichmusthavecrossedyoursofAugust17.Webelievethegoodswillarriveinsuitabletimeandbefoundtoyoursatisfaction.Yourssincerely,Thelettercontainsinformationthatreceiverisnotwillingtoaccept.Unlikethepreviousbusinessletter,thefaultpartyofthisbusinessletteristhepersonwhowrotethebusinessletter.Thisisaletterofapologyforthedelay.Asapartytothefault,theletterwritersincerelyadmitthemistake,butnotadmittheirownmistaketoomuch,soasnottogivepeopletheimpressionoftheircompany'slackofbusinessability,andputforwardremedialmeasures.Iftheydirectlysay"I'msorryforthedelayofgoodsduetoourmistake,butweareactivelyremedyingit,contacttheshippingcompanyfordiscussion,sothatthegoodscanbedeliveredassoonaspossible"inthisway,itwillmakethereceiverfeelthatthebusinesscapacityoftheircompanyisinsufficientiftheydirectlyadmitthemistake.onlysayingthattheyhadcontactedtheshippingcompanyfordiscussionwithoutanyfollow-upcanmakethereceiverfeelthatthisremedialmeasureisextremelyperfunctoryandthisapologyfloatingonthesurface,notsincereandnotconvincing.Thewriterusehedges"very"emphasizinghisapology,increaseshisslander,makesthereceiverfeelthatthesellershowsthemostsincereapology,hopingtobeforgiven."Quitecooperation"iseasyforthereceivertosubjectivelybelieveintheshippingcompany'scooperationattitude.Moreover,directshields"webelieve"reflectsthewriter'sconfidenceofdeliveringgoodstimelyandsafely,andgivereceiversconfidence.Itcannotonlymakereceiversfeelthesincerityofapology,butalsorestorereceivers'confidenceandgivereceiversapolite,sincereandresponsibleimpression.Thisisabusinessletterwithonearrowandthreecarvings.TheTactMaximofLeech’sPolitenessPrinciplecanbeusedinbadnewsletterstoapologizeforthemistaketheletterwritermade.Forlettersseekingforgivenessfortheletterwriter'smistakes,thewritercanusevaguelanguagetoincreasehisslander.Ifthecompanycan'tmeettherequirementsoftheorder,itneedtoloweritsattitudeandsincerelyexplainwhyitcan'tmeettherequirementsandsincerelyproposeremedialmeasures.Fromthesetwobadnewslettersindifferentsituations,itisknownthatinthebadnewsletters,theletterwritercanuseTactMaximandSympathyMaximofPolitenessPrinciple.Generallyspeaking,thebadnewsletterisaclaimletteroranapologyletter(refusingthereceiver'scooperationrequest,failingtomeettheorderrequirements,etc.).Thiskindofletterisoftenveryeasytomakethereceiverloseface,resultinginthebreakdownoftherelationship.Whenthecompanywritesabadnewslettertorejectthereceiver’srequirement,itcanwritetheletterundertheguidanceofSympathyMaxim.Thismaximrequirestheletterwritertoexpandhissympathyforthereceiver,reducetheguiltoftheotherparty'smistakes,andavoiddamagingthereceiver'sfaceasmuchaspossible.Thiscanbeachievedbyusingsubjectiveandhedgesappropriatelyinbusinessletters.Usingsubjectiveadjectivesandhedgesinmanyplacescanlessenthenegativeeffectsofsuchbadnews.Evenifitisrefusedbecauseofthereceiver'sshortcomings,therejectioncannotbeexplainedindetail,norcanitshowextremecondemnationinordertosaveeachparty'sface,otherwiseitwilldamagethegoodrelationshipbetweenthetwocompanies.Thecompanycanuseadaptersofapproximators(much,most,etc.)toshowourappreciateofthewriter’sworkandaffirmtheirefforts,andadaptersofapproximators(only,some,sortof),roundersofapproximators(lessthan,approximately,etc.)toreducethereceiver’sfault,indirectshields(itsees,webelieve,etc.)toshowhisconfidencethatthereceivercouldhandletheproblemsoon.Whenthecompanywritesabadnewslettertoapologizeforthemistakesthecompanyhasmadeorrefusingtherequirementofthereceiver,thecompanycanusevaguenessundertheguidanceofTactMaximofLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple.Thismaximrequirestheletterwritertoadmitthemistakessincerelyandexpandthereceiver’sinterestastheremedialmeasures.Usingsubjectiveadjectives,subjectivenounsandhedgescanachievethisgoal.Usingsubjectivenounscanmakethetonesofter,forexample,thewritercansay“Becauseourindustryrequiresconfidentialityofdata,wearesorrythatweareunabletoprovideyouwithdata”insteadof“ourcompanycannotgivethedatatoyou”.Thecompanycanalsouseroundersofapproximators(nearly,approximately,essentially,etc.),directshields(would,may,etc.)andindirectshields((itseems,presumably,etc.)toreducethemistakesofbothsides,leavingbothsidesfaceandconfidencetosolvetheproblem.4.3TheApplicationofVaguenessinPersuasiveLettersunderPolitenessPrinciplePersuasivelettersrequirehighpoliteness.Politebutnothumblebusinessletterscanbeaplusintherecipient'smind.Sohowtousevaguelanguagetomakebusinesslettersmoreefficientaccordingtopolitenessprinciple?thewriteranalyzethefollowingtwopersuasivebusinessletters,soastogettheapplicationskillsofvaguelanguageinbusinesslettersunderthepolitenessprincipleThefollowinggoodnewsletterisfrompage39ofthebookInternationalBusinessCorrespondencewrittenbyMaHailong(Ma,1996).Gentlemen:WehaveheardfromChinaCouncilforthePromotionofInternationalTradethatyouareinthemarketforsilkgarments.Asweareoneoftheleadingexport