礼貌原则下商务英语函电中修辞的运用.docx

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1、郑州成功财经学院本科毕业论文（设计）学号2015248134郑州成功财经学院毕业论文The Use of Rhetoric in Business English Correspondence Under the Politeness Principle礼貌原则下商务英语函电中修辞的运用院 部 名 称：外国语学院专 业 名 称：商务英语学 生 姓 名：郭春雨指 导 教 师：孙文统 讲师2019年5月10日The Use of Rhetoric in Business English Correspondence Under the Politeness PrincipleA thesis su

2、bmitted toZhengzhou Chenggong University of Finance and Economicsin partial fulfillment of the requirementsforthe Degree of Bachelor of ArtsByGuo ChunyuSupervisor: Sun wentongMay 10th, 2019AbstractBusiness English correspondence is an important tool in foreign trade communication. An excellent busin

3、ess English correspondence has a significant effect on enhancing communication between the two side. The politeness principle is a necessary factor for writing an excellent correspondence. So, there have been many studies on the politeness principle by experts over the years, but there are not many

4、studies from the perspective of rhetoric, so this paper will study the politeness principle form the aspect of rhetoric try to find more ways to promote exchanges between international traders and provide more choices for practitioners.The author will rely on her own foreign trade internship experie

5、nce to explain how to use rhetoric to achieve politeness in business English correspondence. Document analysis and sampling analysis will be used in this paper. The author will collect 30 correspondences and analyze whether 14 of them are in line with the politeness principle. Then the parts that do

6、 not conform to the politeness principle will be modified by rhetoric in section four.In the course of the research, the author found that the politeness principle is widely used in correspondence, but rhetoric is rarely applied to actual correspondence. And the most important of the few rhetorical

7、techniques is euphemism, because euphemism has the widest scope of application. Besides, letters using rhetoric are indeed better than the unused one in terms of expression effect and the degree of courtesy, but the author also found that rhetoric cannot be applied to all communication scenarios whi

8、ch is also the limitation of the using rhetoric to reflect the politeness principle.Key Words: Business letter; Principle of Politeness; RhetoricI摘 要商务英语函电是外贸交流中重要的工具，一封优秀的商务英语函电对提升双方的交流有显著的作用。礼貌原则是写好一封优秀的商务函电的必备因素。所以这些年来专家们对于礼貌原则的研究有很多，但是从修辞手法方面研究却并不常见，所以本文将从修辞出发，希望能发觉更多的可以促进国际贸易双方交流的方法，为从业者提供更多的选择

9、。作者将以自身的外贸实习经验为依托，就如何运用修辞在商务英语函电中达到礼貌的目的进行说明。本文将会用到文献分析法和抽样分析法这两种方法。研究文献深入了解相关领域的研究成果；收集30篇函电，并分析其中的14篇是否符合礼貌原则，在第四部分中不符合礼貌原则的地方将会被用修辞手法来改写。 在研究过程中笔者发现，礼貌原则在商务英语函电中的应用范围很广，意义重大，但是修辞在实际的商务英语函电中却很少出现。在为数不多的修辞手法中最主要的就是委婉语，因为委婉语适用的范围最广。而且使用了修辞的商务函电在表达效果和礼貌程度上确实比没有使用的要好一些，但笔者也发现修辞并不能适用于所有的交流情景,这也是用修辞来体现礼

10、貌原则的局限所在。关键词：商务英语函电；礼貌原则；修辞IVAcknowledgmentsFirst of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Lecturer Sun Wentong, and all the teachers who have helped me through the writing of this paper. My supervisor shows me a direction when I dont know how to write this paper. Whene

11、ver I have doubts, he will spend much of his precious time in answering my doubts. There is no doubt that without his support, the completion of this paper would have been impossible.Secondly, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to other teachers who have provided me with valuable advice

12、though the writing of this paper.Finally, I am very grateful to my roommates for their selfless sharing and supporting. And I also want to say thanks to my family members for their love and understanding.ContentsIntroduction11 Literature Review22 The Politeness Principle and English Business Letter2

13、2.1 The Politeness Principle32.2 Business English Correspondence32.2.1 Stylistic Features of Business English Correspondence32.2.2 Common Rhetorical Techniques43 The Analysis of Actual Business Letter from Six Maxims73.1 The Significance of Six Maxims73.2 The Analysis of Actual Business English Corr

14、espondences84 The Use of Rhetoric in Business English Correspondence Under the Guidance of Politeness Principle164.1 The Use of Maxims Under the Guidance of Politeness Principle164.2 Some Suggestions for The Application of Rhetoric20Conclusion23Bibliography25Appendix 1 English Business Correspondenc

15、e27Appendix 2 The Questionnaire37郑州成功财经学院本科毕业论文（设计）IntroductionDue to the integration of the global economy, the links between countries are getting closer and closer, and communication is becoming easier and easier. As the most widely used language, English occupies a position that cannot be ignore

16、d in the exchanges between countries. Therefore, the status of business English correspondence is also increasing.In order to help foreign trade practitioners, improve the writing level of business English correspondence, there are many experts and scholars began to study business English correspond

17、ence. Through research literature the author finds that the politeness principle is a topic that mentioned in many articles. This article is based on the principle of politeness and uses rhetoric to achieve the purpose of making the correspondence politer than it used to be.The first section is lite

18、rature review, the author will make a brief introduction of politeness principle and the common rhetoric techniques. The author will introduce the importance of the six maxims of the politeness principle in section three, and then collect 30 business English correspondence and sample 14 of all 30 bu

19、siness English correspondence for analysis to see if there is any part of those 14 correspondences that do not conform to the politeness and rewrite those part in the chapter four. Some suggestions for the application of rhetoric will also be given in section four.Through all the studying and resear

20、ch, we can find that although many people do not use rhetoric in the writing process of business English letters, but this does not mean that rhetoric has no effect on writing a polite letter. For example, euphemism is the most commonly used rhetoric in the business correspondence because of its wid

21、e application range and simple usage. In letters of kind such as bargaining, refusal and claims, letters that use euphemism are indeed politer than letters that do not use euphemism rhetoric. But rhetoric cannot be used casually. For example, appropriate use of hyperbole can express our attitude and

22、 sincerity, but excessive use of hyperbole will also lead to the opposite effect. All in all, if you want to use rhetoric to achieve politeness, you cannot ignore the communication situation.381 Literature ReviewBusiness letter is a kind of letter with persuasiveness. Our development letter is for c

23、ustomers to accept our products or services; our inquiry is for the purpose of convincing customers to accept the price we give. Proper rhetoric helps to improve the persuasiveness of the letter and improve the authors expression, as well as business letters. Contemporary business English letter rhe

24、toric should also keep pace with the times, use more natural rhetoric, and abandon those hard-to-understand stereotypes.“In the past, people had a misunderstanding that literature-independent literature did not have rhetorical aesthetics. However, linguistics expert Liu Miqing (2003: 21) pointed out

25、 that language expression is always accompanied by this aesthetic. Even if it is to write or translate an announcement, the notice requires the author to drive a master concise expression” (Shang, 2017: 14) appropriated use of rhetorical techniques in business English letter can leave a deep impress

26、ion, increase persuasiveness, and make business communication effective.A polite letter and a decent expression can directly affect the establishment of trade relations between the two sides of the trade, can help companies establish a professional ethics image. The rhetoric in business letters shou

27、ld also reflect the politeness principle, but there is not much research on this aspect. Therefore, this paper combines the politeness principles with the rhetoric of business correspondence, and concentrates on the application of business English correspondence rhetoric under the guidance of polite

28、ness principle.2 The Politeness Principle and English Business LetterIn this part, the author makes a brief introduction of principle of politeness and business English correspondence.2.1 The Politeness Principle In the 1980s, on the basics of the principle of cooperation, “Leech proposed the polite

29、ness principle from the perspective of rhetoric and stylistics” (Chen, 2014: 237) which can be further divided into the following several maxims.Tact maxim: minimize cost to other, maximize benefit to other.Generosity maxim: minimize benefit to self, maximize cost to self.Approbation maxim: minimize

30、 dispraise to other, maximize praise to other.Modesty maxim: minimize praise to self, maximize dispraise to self.Agreement maxim: minimize disagreement between self and other, maximize agreement between self and other.Sympathy maxim: minimize antipathy between self and other, maximize antipathy betw

31、een self and other. (Geoffrey Leech, 1983)The politeness principle has a universal and guiding significance for daily communication. At the same time, courtesy is considered to be a sign of the progress of human civilization and an important criterion for measuring social activities. To write a succ

32、essful business letter, in addition to a solid foundation in English, how to use the politeness principle is also very important. In order to further understand the guiding significance of the politeness principle to the rhetoric in business correspondence people can combine the characteristics of f

33、oreign trade correspondence writing in the form of language to analyze.2.2 Business English CorrespondenceIn this part, the author makes a brief introduction of the stylistic features and common rhetoric techniques of business English Correspondence.2.2.1 Stylistic Features of Business English Corre

34、spondenceBusiness correspondence is produced and served in a variety of business areas, reflecting professional content related to business, so its wording, syntax, expression, style, meaning and connotation have a commercial charm. Cooperation and competition rights and obligations, trustworthiness

35、 and breach of contract, goods and money are the subjects that business people should always be involved in, and each expression should strive to be concise and accurate, expressive and gentle, resolute but not peremptory, rigorous but funny. Courtesy is an important feature of business English corr

36、espondence. The use of polite language not only establish a good atmosphere for cooperation between the both sides of the transaction. Customers can feel the sincerity and respect of the speaker and improve the chances of successful cooperation.2.2.2 Common Rhetorical TechniquesRhetoric techniques a

37、re often seen in literary works, but they are rarely seen in business correspondence, which is relatively functional and relatively simple. Although it is rare, it does not mean that there are no rhetorical techniques that can used in business correspondence. According to the results of questionnair

38、e, here are some rhetorical techniques that are often used in business correspondence (see Figure 1). Figure 1 The Proportion of The Use of Various Rhetoric TechniquesThe results of the questionnaire show that euphemism occupy an absolute advantage in the proportion of rhetoric in business correspon

39、dence and the second and third place are hyperbole and metonymy.EuphemismThe use of euphemism is very important in business letter. Try to use euphemism in the correspondence, avoid using the tone of the order, so as to retain customers and expand business relationships. Business correspondence shou

40、ld be decent, so as not to hurt others, and respect each others opinions. When we want to expresses a rebuttal or disagreement with the other party, people should use euphemistic words, try not to depreciated others but try to praise others, try not flaunt ourselves but try to find consistency with

41、others. Ex. 2-1a: I cant accept the price you give.b: Your price is a bit difficult for me to accept.Business letter always involve prices, and it is a common occurrence that people cant accept the price given by the other party. It will be tough if people use sentence a to reply to the other party,

42、 and the other party will feel psychologically uncomfortable. Therefore, it is difficult for the both parties to have follow-up cooperation. After comparing these two sentences, it is obv that b is much euphemistic than a, and also leaves more negotiation space for both parties. Ex. 2-2a: Cheap and

43、good. (Shang, 2007: 14)b: Economical and good. (Shang, 2007: 14)The word “cheap” will makes people feel that the quality of your products is not good, so that the clients will not have a good impression of your products. Therefore, people can change the word “cheap” into “economical”, which means th

44、e price of the product is not expensive but the quality is good.MetonymyDue to the nature of business correspondence, it is inevitable to use some very professional and serious words in business correspondence, which will make business correspondence leave a dull impression. If you can increase the

45、interest of business letters without losing your professionalism, then the other party will have a very deep impression on you, which will greatly help your further cooperation. Metonymy can make the letter more vivid while ensuring the professionalism of business letter. Meanwhile metonymy can impr

46、ove the emotional connotation of business letter. Try to compare the following sentence:Ex. 2-3a: We can make different goods to meet all the requires from different clients.b: We can be Gap company to meet needs of diversity. (Bai, 2017: 41)Gap is one of the largest apparel companies in the USA. It

47、 has five brands to meet the all the needs of different consumption level. The expression of the sentence b is more attractive to people in Europe and the United States, especially those who with a professional business background. Although those two sentences express the same meaning.HyperboleThere

48、 are some experts believe that hyperbole does not conform to the requirements of business English correspondence because of the special contents and background of business letter. And in order to leave a professional and calm impression to other sides, people must try to use the statement instead of too exaggerated emotional statements through business letter process.But the famous rhetoric Wang Dechun (2001: 34) pointed that “the formation of the various ways and means of language expression depend on the language environment.” Sometimes speckers need to strengthen the emotional co