79黄珊商务拒绝函中模糊语的语用分析 .docx

精品名师归纳总结毕业设计 <论文）Title: Pragmatic Analysis of Fuzzy Language in BusinessRefusal Letters题目：商务拒绝函中模糊语的语用分析同学姓名：黄珊专业：英语学号： 07091205指导老师：陈娟二零一一年六月可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结AbstractPragmatic vagueness,as a basic characteristic of language, has attracted more and more attention. The study scope covers from literature, translation to business. Fuzzy language refers to the vagueness of expressions, including the uncertainty, lack of clarity and concreteness. The vagueness of language manifests itself in several aspects: 1> uncertainty, namely language expresses several probable meanings, whichmakes it difficult to ascertain the idea. 2> unclarity, namely the scope of referred meaning is not specific, withthe fuzzy extention. 3>ambiguity, it means a sentence is not uttered completely and thoroughly. 4> lack of concreteness, using the general words to express the concrete meaning.This paper studies the employment of fuzzy language in business refusal letters. Firstly,it makes a brief conclusion of previous study of fuzzylanguage. Secondly, by analyzing the vaguenessof language in selected business refusal letters, it probes the pragmatic characteristics and functions of fuzzy language, and how to achieve a good communication between the two parts. It can be concluded ,on the basis of analysis, that fuzzy language does play an important role in delivering the negative information, and it helps save the customer fasce. The pragmatic functions include increasing the appropriateness oflanguage, enhancing the flexibility and the crisis-avoidance. It is of great significance forour future study and in future business writing.Key words：Fuzzy language。 Business refusal letters。 Pragmatic functions可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结摘 要语用模糊作为语言的基本特点之一，在语言学讨论中日益受到关注，讨论范畴涉及的领域也愈来愈广，从文学，翻译到商务等多个领域。模糊语主要指模糊的表达,即语言的所指或表述不确定、不明晰、不详细,读者难以精确的、清晰的把握住语言的内容。语言的模糊性主要表现为：<1）不确定 ,即语言同时表达几个可能的意义 ,读者难以确定它表达的到底是哪个意义。<2）不明晰 ,即语言所表示的意义范畴不明确 ,概念外延模糊。 <3）不明确 ,即一句话不说完 ,不说全 ,不说明 , 不说透。 <4）不详细 ,即用较为笼统的语言形式表达较为详细的语言意义。本文讨论模糊语在商务拒绝函中的使用, 第一对前人对模糊语的讨论进行概括，其次对选取的商务拒绝函中的模糊语进行分析，探究模糊语的使用特点及其语用功能，如何实现双方更好的沟通与沟通。通过分析得出的结论为模糊语的使用在商务拒绝信函中起着特别重要的作用，它有助于更好的传达否定信息同时又储存顾客的“面子”。其语用功能为提高语言得体性、增强语言使用的敏捷性、规避风险等 等。这对我们日后学习模糊语的使用，对商务信函的写作等有特别重要的意义。 关键词： 模糊语。商务拒绝函。语用功能可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结CONTENTSChapter 1 Introduction1 Chapter2 Literature Review22.1 Theoretical Background2 2.1.1The Origin of Euphemism 22.1.2 The Definition of Euphemism32.1.3 The Classification of Euphemism42.1.4 Pragmatic Functions of Euphemism62.2 Business English Correspondence72.2.1 The Definition of Business English Correspondence82.2.2 The Classification of Business Refusal Letters9Chapter3 Analysis of Fuzzy Language in Business Refusal Letters103.1 The Characteristic of Fuzzy Language in Business Refusal Letters10 3.1.1Euphemism and Politeness103.1.2 Implication and Flexibility103.2 EmploymentofFuzzyLanguagetoEnhancetheFlexibilityand Appropriateness of Language113.2.1 Refusal Letters of Business Invitation12 3.2.2Refual Letters of Customer s Request123.2.3 Analysis of Refusal Letters of Adjustment13 3.3Employment of Fuzzy Language to Avoid Crisis143.3.1 Analysis of Refusal Letters of Business Invitation143.3.2 Analysis of Refusal Letters of Customer s Request153.3.3 Analysis of Refusal Letters of Adjustment16Chapter 4 The Practical Effects of Fuzzy Language in Business Refusal Letters174.1 The Practical Effects of Fuzzy Language in Business Refusal Letters19 4.1.1To be Courtesy and to Ease the Embarrassment194.1.2To Enhance the FlexibilityofLanguage and Appropriateness of Language194.2 General Strategies for Business Refusal Letters19 Chapter 5 Conclusion22Acknowledgements24可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结Pragmatic Analysis of Fuzzy Language in Business Refusal LettersChapter 1 IntroductionPragmatic vagueness,as a basic characteristic of language, has attracted more and more attention. The study scope covers from literature, translation to business. Fuzzy language refers to the vagueness of expressions, including the uncertainty, lack of clarity, concreteness and so on.This paper is intended to analyze fuzzy language in business refusal letters. Fuzzy language has aroused great interest of scholars from home and abroad. Fuzzy language emerged in 60s and 70s as an increasingly important discipline. Analyzing fuzzy language in business refusal letters willbe of great significance.It explores how fuzzy language achieves thegoalofdeliveringthenegative information,withoutcausing some unnecessary troubles or crises. Many scholars and researchers have made a large number of investigations in this field, which is the foundation of my study. This paper mainly classifies business refusal letters into three types, according to the investigation, namely, refusal letters of business invitation,customers request and adjustment. It may helpEnglish learners and businessmen in improving their writing skills for business refusalletters. The employment of fuzzy language in business refusal letters not only achieves the purpose of delivering negative messagebut also avoids making the bad impression on clients. We are often told to express our ideas accurately and precisely, while sometimes it is not the case. Consequently, fuzzy language plays an important role in expressing negative information, for it enhances the appropriatenessand flexibilityof language and avoids potential risks.可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结Chapter2 Literature Review2.1 Theoretical BackgroundTraditionally, it is advocated that expressions should be made as accurate as possible.Due to the ambiguity of boundary of substantial body or lacking of an all-sided acquaintance,which result in the inconsistency of language using, so the form of fuzzy language has become inevitable.Fuzzy language didn at ttract people esyeball since American scientist L.Zadehintroduced the concept of Membership Function in his paper-fuzzy set Zadeh, 1965:43>, which has been used to describe differential mesosphere.This concept has been used in math methods to describe fuzzy words, a symbol of the birth of fuzzy theory. After that, linguists and philosopher linguists used this theory to do research on the language fuzziness from the aspect of semantic, cognition and pragmatic. During the process of getting those substantial results, the fuzzy language came into being as an emerging subject.It seemslike that they make things as specious and dubious rhyme and bring the readers and listeners a sense of dynamic beauty of language. Cognitive psychology supposes that human consciousness is referring to the different perception and emotional response in various degrees, which includes and not yet forms its fuzzy feeling from the low-level to the high-level clear and rational fuzzy language that is being used in the some certain kind ofsituation and context withunique effects . The essence ofsurface expression is relatively accurate to express the motivation, complex feeling and latent consciousnessof people. It is relatively and scrupulously voice some observation and opinion or predication and theory so as to ambiguously express the real thoughts of inner world or providing reasonable logic and reliable message. Actually, the language fuzzinesswon t get in the way of communication, on the opposi。te the existence of great number offuzzy language is quite needed in the language and information communication.2.1.1 The Origin of Fuzzy LanguageThere are stillmany different opinions and views towards the reason why fuzzy language came into being. Until recently, there are three universally views, the first one, the vagueness of language symbol meaning originates fromagtuheenvess of things. The可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结second one, the vagueness of language comes from the limitation of knowledge. The third one, vagueness is the feature of language symbols. Every coin has two sides. Those views have their own unique perspective. This paper holds that several factors should be taken into consideration Firstly, the factor from the language internal symbols. Firstly, language, as a vehicle of human communication, is made up of a series of arbitrary symbols. Namely, the referred meaning is arbitrary, which leads to vagueness. Secondly, the discreteness oflinguistic symbols, which produces the vagueness of words boundary. The second factor is the people s subject knowing. All the things in the world are complex and on the move. Although human beings have deepenedtheir ability to understand the world, due to the limitation of human being, we have not reached a completely clear extent .For example, inFrench“ potato ” is“ pomme de terre”, the literal meaning is the apple grown in the land, bu French compare potato as apple The third factor, vagueness rises from human beings mindand communicative factors.2.1.2 The Definition of Fuzzy LanguageFuzzy language has been widely studied by a large number of scholars. It is their contributions and devotions that lead to a deeper understanding of fuzzy language. Here, many scholars will be cited:Peirce, the founder of semantics, is often considered as the originator of theory of vagueness in language. At the beginning of last century, Peirce 1902> tries to formulate vagueness in a rigorous way as follows:A proposition is vague when there are possible states of things concerning which it isintrinsically uncertain whether, had they been contemplated by the speaker, he would have regarded them as excluded or allowed by the proposition. By intrinsically uncertain we mean not uncertain in consequenceof any ignorance of the interpreter, but because the speaker's habits of language were indeterminate.The definition given by Peirce is itself rather general and vague and it is more like a description of vague language rather than a definition.Alston 1964> gave the definition of vague in the book The philosophy of language. In Alston's opinion, the principle to see a vague term is that there are many referential vagueness cases and similar meaning to apply the term and the uncertainty of the meaning makes it vague. Alston's definitionhas been considered as one of the most original understandings of vagueness,in which the pragmatic functions as to how the vague language is applied in use are seldom addressed.可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结Kempson 1977> divided vagueness into four types. The first type is called referential vagueness, where the meaning of a lexical item is in principle clear enough, but it may behard to decide whether or not the item can be applied to certain objec。ts the second one iscalledindeterminacyofmeaning, wherethemeaningofanitemitselfseems indeterminate。 another one is named as lack of specification in the meaning of an item's meaning, where the meaning is clear but is only generally specified。 the last type is disjunction in the specification of an item's meaning, where the meaning discovers that the term is itself rather vague and ambiguous: the condition it refers to is not a uniform feature but has many aspects and may result from a variety of causes. Some of these are inherent inthe verynature oflanguage, whereas others come ontoplayonlyinspecial circumstances." His statement indicates that the vaguenessof language could be either rooted as the nature of language or functioned in some special circumstances or contexts.Ullmann 1962> attributes vaguenessto four factors: generic character of words。context-bound meaning。 lack of clear-cut boundaries in the non-linguistic world and lack of familiarity with what the words stand for.Channel 1994> put forward a definition, who gives it a more-pragmatic-oriented definition of vague language. She argues that vague language firstly has an uncertain referential boundary which cannot be made certain even by context situational or linguistic> 。 and then it is intentionally vague to be used to achieve certain communicative intention.Channel argues that when discussing about the vagueness in language, it is not a matter of good or bad, but it is a matter of whether it is used appropriately. If it is properly used in business correspondence,the vaguenesswillpromote the business communication and help to fulfill the communicative purposes. Given that, the definition delivered by Channelis more practical and pragmatic in actual application.2.1.3 The Classification of Fuzzy LanguageThere are a good variety of explanations on the classifications of fuzzy language, and the major ones which are universally adopted are as follows: firstly Zadeh 1972:167> madehis four classifications from the perspective of grammar, that is firstly vague addictives or vague adverbs such as maybe often usually always, quite very almost, some ,somewhere, recently. For example, "Recently, he has seldom sleep in class." Or "She looks somewhatshocked." The second classification is suffixes like"- ish ”， "- likely，”。 -ly ”， for可编辑资料 - - - 欢迎下载精品名师归纳总结instance, reddish, greenish, sweetish, manly, childlike, childish, friendly etc. The examples are "Tomhas reddish hair","Theyplayed the game ina childlikeway."Inthe classification mentioned above, Kempson gives vagueness a comprehensive and universal definition, which has explained some confusing terms about vagueness and also includes almost all the other scholar views and opinions.Ullmann 1962:107> notes that: "If one looks more closely at this vagueness, one soon discovers that the term is itself rather vague and ambiguous: the condition it refers to is not a uniform feature but has many aspects and may result from a variety of causes Some of these are inherent in the very nature of language, whereas others come onto play only in special circumstances." His statement indicates that the vaguenessof language could be either rooted as the nature of language or functioned in some special circumstances or contexts. Ullmann 1962:107> attributes vaguenessto four factors: generic character of words。 context-bound meaning。 lack of clear-cut boundaries in the non-linguistic world and lack of familiarity with what the words stand for.The present research is based on the definition by Channel 1994:45> who gives it amore-pragmatic-oriented definition of vague language. She argues that vague language firstly has an uncertain referential boundary which cannot be made certain even by context situational or linguistic> 。 and then it is intentionally and unabashedly vague to be used to achieve certain communicative intention.Channel argues that when discussing about the vagueness in language,