国际商务英语应用文写作的文体特征和语言风格

国际商务英语应用文写作的文体特征和语言风格 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Abstract With the change in trade environment China is faced with a more complex international environment after Chinas entry into the WTO The keen competition requests the staff to use English in more situations In international trade parties of a transaction besides discussions in front usually select correspondence as the major way of communication If they can reach an agreement finally then both of the two sides can make the conclusion and sign the contract by correspondence the most important thing is to establish the relations between the parties to the contracts According to the domestic and foreign current situations the author realizes that Business English is playing a more and more vital role Especially after Chinas entry into the WTO most of the businessmen make more and more frequent contact and cooperation with the foreign guests they make the Business English become even more widespread It serves to pass on information to express ideas to exchange feelings and to deal with social business And it has been percolated in our daily life and routine duties Precisely based on this kind of reason the author mainly analyzes the style and the features of business English writing in order to let the readers have a comprehensive understanding of it The business English writing is widely and frequently used in foreign trading and commercial activities As far as the style is concerned business English writing with unique language style customary forms and specialized vocabularies and terms is quite different from poems essays and literature in many ways And it has the unique features of the language we should pay attention to it and write flexibly In Chapter One the thesis analyzes the domestic and foreign situations and emphasizes the important meaning of the business English writing to the foreign trade The Second Chapter is a brief introduction to business English writing which enumerates the classification and the functions of it In the Third and Fourth Chapters the thesis analyzes the stylistic and linguistic features of the business English writing which is the main theme of the thesis This thesis analyzes the literary style and the features of the language of business I A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing English writing in order to achieve the aim of facilitating the readers who are interested in business English to better grasp the business English writing in the actual operation In addition it can promote the businessmen to cooperate with the foreign business people better Keywords business English writing the literary style the features of language II A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing 摘要 中国加入世贸组织之后贸易环境有所变化中国进入了一个更加复杂的国 际环境激烈的竞争要求公司职员在更多的场合使用英语在国际贸易中一笔交 易除当面洽谈外通常是采用信函等方式进行洽商最终达成签订以 确立合同当事人之间的关系根据国内外当前形势作者意识到商务英语发挥着 越来越重要的作用特别是在中国加入 WTO 之后越来越频繁的与外宾的接触与 合作使商务英语的应用变得更加的广泛它用以传递信息达思想交流感情 和处理社交事务可以说渗透于我们的日常生活和工作中 正是基于此种原因作者主要通过对商务英语应用文文体特征以及语言特征 的分析让读者对商务英语应用文有一个全面的了解商务英语应用文在外贸业务 和商务活动中使用广泛而频繁就其文体而言商务英语应用文不同于诗歌散文 等文学作品它具有特殊的语言风格惯用格式和专业的词汇与语句其语言特点 更是有自己的独特原则在写作中应灵活运用 在第一章中本文分析了国内外形势并强调了商务英语应用文对外贸英语的 重要意义第二章是商务英语写作的简要说明列举了商务英语应用文的分类以 及它的作用在第三和第四章重点分析了商务英语应用文的文体风格和语言 特点 在文章结尾再次重申了掌握商务英语应用文写作能力的重要性 本文通过对商务英语应用文的文体特征和语言特征的分析以方便那些 对商 务英语感兴趣的读者在实际操作中更好的掌握商务英语应用文写作能力并 且促 进他们更好的与外商之间进行交流与合作 关键词商务英语应用文文体特征语言特征 III A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Contents Chapter 1 Introduction ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 1 Chapter 2 A Brief Introduction to Business English Writing??????????????????????????????? ???? 2 21 Classification of business English writing ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????2 22 The functions of business English writing ?????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????2 com Stipulations of an agreement ????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????3 com Notification?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????3 com Evidence ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????3 Chapter 3 The Stylistic Features of Business English Writing ????????????????????????????????? 4 31 The parts of business English letters ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????4 com Letterhead ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????4 com Date line ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????4 com Inside address ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5 com Salutation????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????5 com Body ???????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????5 com Complementary close ??????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ??????5 com Signature ????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????5 32 Lexical features of business English letters ?????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????? 8 com Technical terms ??????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????8 com Abbreviations??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????9 com Neologism ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????9 com Polysemy ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????10 com Simple words ??????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????10 com Personal pronouns?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????10 33 Syntactic features of business English letters???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 10 com Sentence structures ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? 11 com Sentence types ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ??????????????? 11 com1 Declarative sentence ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????? 11 com2 Imperative sentence ?????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?12 IV A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing com3 Interrogative sentence ?????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????12 34 Grammatical features of business English letters?????????????????????????????????????????????????? 13 com Voice of sentence ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????13 com Mood of sentence???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ????????????13 com Conditional clause ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????14 Chapter 4 The Linguistic Features of Business English Writing ??????????????????????????? 15 41 Completeness??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????? 15 42 Concreteness ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 15 43 Clearness ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????? 16 44 Conciseness ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????? 16 45 Correctness ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????? 17 46 Courtesy ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ????????????? 17 47 Consideration??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ? 18 Chapter 5 Conclusion ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? 19 References?????????????????????????????????? ????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 20 Acknowledgements ???????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ???????????? 21 V A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Chapter 1 Introduction It is said that there are all together 16 billion people in the world who use English as their first language or second language and almost 90 of them use English in their business activities every day After Chinas entry into the WTO business English is getting more and more important and useful Mo 2005 18 The important role of business English is the outcome of both social development and English linguistic development itself In the age of knowledge economy of the 21st century as an important functional product of English business English shows its overwhelming strength Its application ability and spread is salient which is an undisputable fact and exciting phenomenon For Chinese businessmen whose native language is not English business English is an indispensable tool for them when they do business with their counterparts from most of the countries since English nowadays is an international language Not only many Chinese go abroad to do business but also many foreigners come to China for sightseeing or invest capital in some Chinese enterprises (Especially this year is the Year of Olympics there will be more chances of business in China and the market will be open to a lot of businessmen therefore more and more foreign companies will come to China That means we will meet the most chances and the most challenges Thus we are provided with more opportunities to make direct or indirect contact with foreigners And in the course of association with the foreigners business English writing is widely used in every field of our daily life in routine duties especially in the profession of pubic relations secretary international business and tourism It serves to pass on information to express ideasto exchange feelings and to deal with social business activities Therefore it is necessary for people who are engaged in foreign trade or foreign affairs to have a good command of the stylistic and linguistic features of business English writing 1 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Chapter 2 A Brief Introduction to Business English Writing 21 Classification of business English writing Generally speaking business English writing can be classified into eight kinds namely 1 Letters which are widely used on various occasions of social relations and business affairs including private letters and social letters Private letters are those written to relatives friends teachers and colleagues Social letters consist of invitation letters introduction letters confirmation letters letters of recommendation and so on 2 Commercial documents which are widely used in the fields of economy and trade It can be classified into general business letters including letters of establishing business relations 1etters of inquires and replies letters of acceptance and contract and so on and special commercial documents 3 Etiquette documents which can be divided into congratulatory documents and condolatory documents ( 4 Contract or deed 5 Informative and revelation documents such as notification announcement poster notice memos advertisement etc which are used to inform or to bring something into public notice 6 Expository writing is used to explain or illustrate a certain problem or matter This kind of documents includes trademark instructions of productscertificate of qualitycaption 7 Receipt and vouchers (This kind of business English writing can be classified into many kinds such as bills receipts policy order shipping documents certificate etc 8 Documents for meeting including those signed or issued before during or after the meeting The classification above is not strictly based on their academic function but based on their usage accordingly We may act according to the different demands and then choose different practical writing types Each kind of practical writing has the fixed writing form the literary style as well as the language characteristics The readers should pay attention to the different features 22 The functions of business English writing Since the implementation of the reform and opening-up policy China has developed foreign relations with different countries in many aspects such as politics 2 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing economy culture education and science and technology Business English writing is playing the influential role in international contact The leading role of business English is listed as follows com Stipulations of an agreement Some foreign documents such as the contract must stipulate an agreement It means that it has the restrain for both parties when they sign the contract If they disobey it they must take the political and economic responsibilities This is different from other literary styles Such as novels and prose which are literary works and whose functions are to please people and to explore their inner feelings People can learn a moved story or appreciate a daintiness passage from reading the novels or the prose There are not any responsibilities between the writers and the readers Therefore the stipulations of an agreement are the unique function of business English writing com Notification Generally speaking all kinds of business writing have to advise the other side of the relevant issues No matter what kind it is a letter a message a notification a poster a speech or a contract their first function is to inform or remind the counterpart or public of a certain thing or public affairs In addition the exposition has the function of explanation com Evidence All kinds of the business writing have the function of evidence especially the contracts agreements orders credits and so on 3 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Chapter 3 The Stylistic Features of Business English Writing Business English writing is a kind of official literary style it transmits the message and facilitates the transaction Therefore it has been different from other ordinary English writing It has formed its unique stylistic features in the glossary grammar and language As I mentioned above there are mainly eight kinds of business English writing In the following part I choose business letters as the representative to analyze the stylistic features of business English writing Because of the development of economic globalization international trade has progressed rapidly in the whole world Business letters an actively operative means of communication used in international trade greatly are acknowledged as a vital part of international business It plays an important role in international trade Therefore the writer takes the business letters as the typical form of business letter writing 31 The parts of business English letters Business English letters usually consists of 7 principal parts they are Letterhead Date Line Inside Address Salutation Body of the Letter Complementary close Signature and so on com Letterhead The letterhead is the first part of a business letter As in a friendly letter it should include three to five lines The letterhead is placed in the top right corner of the letter This part usually contains certain information about the company sending the letter Such information may include Trademarks andor the name of the company address telephone No Fax No E-mail address etc com Date line The date should always be typed in full and not abbreviated eg December for Dec And the -th -st -nd -rd that follow the day can be omitted eg May 5 for 5th st May June 1 for June 1 Dont write 05 instead of 2005 for the year The forms of dates are as follows 15 August 2006 August 15 2006 4 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing com Inside address The inside address is the second part of a business letter It usually includes the name of the person you are writing to his or her tile and department the name of the company and the mailing address The inside address is placed on the left side of the letter just above the salutation com Salutation Like in a personal letter the salutation immediately precedes the body of the letter There should be two to four spaces between the inside address and the salutation Usually but not always a colon follows the salutation In this part if you know the name of the recipient you may use herhis last name in the salutation If you dont exactly know the recipients name it is best to use one of the followings (Dear Sir (Dear Madam (Ladies and Gentlemen And if you know the receiver pretty well you may use the persons first name like (Dear Tom Dear Maggie com Body The body is the main part of a business letter It should be brief and contain an introduction a summary and a requested action The opening and closing sentences of a business letter are both important The opening sentence is the subject line if any indicating the reason or subject for the letter and should stimulate the readers interest and attention The closing sentence should leave the reader with a single clear-cut thought or idea and inspire whatever action or response which is desired com Complementary close Usually the following expressions are used Yours truly Very truly yours Yours faithfully in this part com Signature The signature is the last part of a business letter The writer writes his or her full name at the bottom of the letter For example 5 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing Yours sincerely Johnny Lee signature Johnny Lee Manager 6 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing The following letter is designed to illustrate the position of each part mentioned above ABC Export Ltd,, ,,,Letterhead Beijing China Tel 010 64532273 Fax 010 65223745 Date 5 May 2006 , ,,,,,,Date Messrs J Brown Co ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Inside Address 123 Eastcheap London E C 3 Dear Sirs ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Salutation We thank you for your letter of April 25 2006 ,,,, ,,,,Body In compliance with your request we are sending you herewith a copy of our latest price list for your reference All prices are understood to be CIF European Main Ports subject to our final confirmation Payment is to be made by irrevocable LC available by draft at sight As there is a heavy demand for the goods we would suggest that you advise us by e-mail in case of interest We are looking forward to your early reply Yours faithfully ,Complimentary close ABC Export Ltd Zhang wei , ,,,,,,,Signature Manager 7 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing 32 Lexical features of business English letters The basic material of writing is vocabulary Traditionally stylistic and literary critics have been interested in describing and evaluating vocabulary Tom Gibbons says One useful and important way of studying a particular passage of literature is to begin by examining its diction or the kinds of word of which it is made up The words which a writer uses are clearly the meanings by which he communicates his meaning to the reader The diction of the passage of literary writing then is one of the most important of the distinctive features which we ourselves need to be able to recognize and if necessary draw attention to and comment on Because of the importance of the vocabulary we should analyze the lexical style before dealing with a kind of composition The examination of lexical choice concerns the following aspects Are the words simple or complex Formal or informal General or specific How far does the writer exploit the associative meaning of words as against their conceptual meaning Does the text contain lexical items typical of a particular language variety com Technical terms Technical terms refer to the words used in specific situations or for specific usage They have obvious stylistic flavor And also they are international common oriented languages They are accurate single and without ambiguity and individual coloring In order to express every business sector and some related note correctly business style has got to use the clear and precise technical terms If you want to be a qualified letter writer your style of it should always be concise In other words if you can say something clearly enough in 20 words then say it in 20 words instead of 21 words Dont get the wrong impression that big words and long style will impress your readers The following examples are taken from two letters about business activities a The soybean product futures closed with big advances In this sentence future is the technical term b Liquidity management is a key element in the evaluation of capital adequacy Some of technical terms in business are coming from Latin language and French some are derived and composed from their roots and most technical terms have the same prefix and suffix now they have become the international commercialese By 8 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing use of them the expression can be more accurate because they have more stable meaning For example If the Force Majeure cause lasts over 60 days we have the right to cancel the contract or the undelivered part of the contract In this sentence Force Majeure is the technical term which means inevitable accident which cannot be prevented by human care skill or foresight but results from natural causes such as lightning and tempest floods and foundation com Abbreviations During the long period of using language and with the development of business activities and some new ideas of professional work some popular abbreviations have replaced many certain technical terms and have been accepted among business team The following examples are widely acknowledged in the business circle FOB free on board com free from particular average com with particular average com against all risks DA documents against acceptance DD demand draft AP Account Payable SD Sight Draft com Neologism Neologism means new-created words or expressions or words that have taken on new meanings With the rapid development of human natural science and social sciences new products new crafts and new ideas are constantly emerging The progress of science and developments of industries must reflect in the smallest basic language unit---lexicon at the same time new business terms are increasing accordingly We should keep the language lively and readable To be a good business letter writer we should adopt a natural style We should avoid using old-fashioned business terms which are no longer used in modern business letters It usually confuses the readers and sometimes gives completely wrong impression For example e-business value-added tax hi-teach industry 9 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing com Polysemy Polysemy is a common feature peculiar to all natural languages It refers to one word with different senses It is often used in business letters For examples the word premium means the price for buying the insurance in insurance and means increasing the price in finance com Simple words The quantitative analysis at the lexical level exhibits that business communication usually involves writing that is short and simple For most writings especially business letters writers would choose simple words to convey message For example Use the word now to replace the phrase at this time However the use of short simple words does not always guarantee clear communication The key to effective communication is to consider the reader and then determine the level of writing com Personal pronouns Use of personal pronouns is extremely common in business letters especially you and we They are used to make the language warmer and friendly in tone and shorten the distance between the writer and the potential customers who are more moved by the intimate atmosphere created by these personal pronouns Consider the above effects of the personal pronouns by reading the following examples th a Previously in our letter dated 5 we asked you for the delivery of these goods th not later than the 25 but they finally failed to reach us b We tender our sincere compliments and express our heartiest thanks and appreciation for the close cooperation and generous patronage you always render to our cooperation 33 Syntactic features of business English letters Structures on the syntactic level can be regarded as an important element of stylistic assessment The properness of syntax is very important to access the quality of language Using the right syntax pattern in the right situation is an essential way to form a good writing and there is no exception to business English letters A sentence 10 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing is a basic unit meaningful in linguistic When a writer composes a business letter the selection of words must be important however the selection of sentence should be as important as the former To achieve stylistic effects business letters exhibit peculiar characteristics on the syntactic level com Sentence structures A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought According to structure sentence can be classified into the four groups simple compound complex and compound-complex sentences A simple sentence must have at least two parts a subject and a verb The compound sentence is actually two simple sentences connected with a coordinating conjunction and a comma or a semicolon This type of sentence expresses two separate thoughts of equal rank The complex sentence contains at least two clauses---one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses An independent clause like a simple sentence must contain a subject and verb but cannot stand lonely it needs help from the independent clause to complete the thought A business letter seldom uses the forth type of sentence because it is more difficult for the readers to understand Linguistic investigations conducted show that effective business communication usually contains a mix of these four sentences types Variety could help keep readers interested Nevertheless variety like any writing tool should be used with purpose When a writer wishes to call attention to a specific idea he might choose to emphasize the point by using a sentence structure different from those around it com Sentence types Sentences also can be divided into four groups according to the function of it declarative sentence imperative sentence interrogative sentence and exclamatory sentence Because of their different functions the writers in business lay special emphasis on selection of them In general writers of business English often use declarative sentence in order to express the ideas or information clearly and orderly com1 Declarative sentence Declarative sentence is a sentence that states a fact or viewpoint Because business involves in the letters of firm offers count offers orders and some purchase contract which have the legal effect after signature so in business letters declarative 11 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing sentence is used widely Declarative sentence can be subdivided into affirmative sentence and negative sentence In business letters the writers prefer the former to the latter for example a Since your order covers so big a quantity we are unable to meet your requirements for the moment and we cannot deliver the foods to you until the next week b Since your order covers so big a quantity we are unable to meet your requirements for the moment but we will deliver the foods to you next week The objective information expressed in the above two sentences are identical but sentence a is a negative one it stresses what they cannot do sentence b is an affirmative one it pays more attention to what they can do Although the two pieces of information are same but sentence b is more active than a in attitude so it is helpful to the development of business transaction com2 Imperative sentence Imperative sentence is a sentence used for order advice and request In writing business letters there are many occasions for request It will be crude not smooth and even too direct if we use declarative sentences so we can use imperative sentences in this situation because it is more polite than declarative sentences It is noticeable that imperative sentences in business letters are always in the pattern of please Here are some examples a You wrote that our Order No C123 was almost ready for transport and that your advice would soon follow Nearly a month has passed since then yet we have heard nothing from you about the consignment Please look into this matter at once and let us have your definite reply by cable without any delay b At present we are interested in Printed Shirting and shall be pleased to receive from you by airmail catalogues samples and all necessary information regarding these goods so as to acquaint us with the quality and workmanship of your supplies Meanwhile please quote us your lowest price com Vancouver inclusive of our 5 commission stating the earliest date of shipment com3 Interrogative sentence When the writer wants to express his or her own idea or request to the reader beside using imperative sentences the writer can use interrogative sentences 12 A Study of the Style and Features of International Business English Writing furthermore as to the degree of politeness interrogative sentences are more polite than imperative sentences For instance We have already sold some of those machines to China and are now represented there by The ABC Export Ltd Beijing May we suggest that you contact the company directly We think the firm may supply you with more details of our machines 34 Grammatical features of business English letters com Voice of sentence In addition to sentence types the writers of business English letters have another choice to considerwhether to write in active or passive voice The active voice is the dominance in business letters When writers use the active voice messages are alive vivid personable and easier to follow Therefore most writers prefer the active form Because the passive voice should add the auxiliary verb be or the phrases by all of this makes the sentence burdensome and redundant And sometimes the omitting of the executer of acting results in the vagueness in meaning so the business writers often avoid using it However at times the passive voice is preferred This voice can soften the impact of negative news can help to ease the blame of refusing a request and in that case it is better to place an emphasis on action already taken Look at the following examples a You have made a careless mistake in the invoice b A mistake is found in the invoice a You did not enclose your catalogue and price list in your letter b The catalogue and price list were not enclosed in your letter It should also be noted that positive tone in business letters writing is preferred