Application of

In the process of international trade development, various means of business communication have been adopted to ensure the smooth cooperation between different stakeholders. The business Letter has always been the most important medium for enterprises to exchange important messages. While with the development of human wisdom, many effective tools or devices have been created to help communication become real-time and instant, such as online interaction, face-to-face communication and telephone calls, but the business letter is still the most common method. In order to better realize a company’s intention and establish a brand image, written materials, especially business letters, must be carefully organized to show respect for the other companies. As a worldwide language, English is widely used as a communication medium in the international business circle. Therefore, this thesis focuses on business English letters.

People tend to think that business letters should be accurate and precise in conveying the intention or requirements of a party. However, we can also find that some vague language has been implemented and utilized to present or explain some key information intentionally. Through reviewing previous researches, the author finds that many scholars pay more attention to the significance of the “Seven Cs” principles: consideration, clarity, courtesy, concreteness, correctness, conciseness, and completeness (Lu, 2001). All of these principles are very valuable and practical for guiding business letter writing; however, vague language can better achieve the needs of stakeholders.

The study of vague language has a long history. Lotfi Aliasker Zadeh (1965) firstly presented and constructed the basic concept of “fuzziness” that the degree of hedge is limited by expressions and words. And then, most scholars made their efforts in studying vagueness from the perspective of natural science, abstract philosophy, linguistics, and so forth, but few researchers focus on business letters. Some experts began to study this particular category in the 1960s. In contrast, the research in this field is not enough in China, where most researchers tend to apply some semantic theory in their work. Domestic researchers have made more efforts to study by using some authoritative research papers and academic writings, and only a few people tend to analyze business English letters. Therefore, this thesis will take business English letters as the research object and explore it further.

Jef Verschueren, in the book Understanding Pragmatics, proposed the Adaptation Theory in 1999, which is mainly about the use of language in the process of choosing language forms and strategies. In this thesis, vague language that applied in business English letters based on Verschueren’s Adaptation Theory will be analyzed. In previous studies, most scholars choose Politeness Principle, Cooperation Principle, Relevance Theory and Face Theory to analyze the application of vague language in business English letters. Adaptation Theory is a new theoretical principle in linguistics, which provides a new angle to research vague language when it is applied in business English letters. Therefore, this thesis will combine vague language with business English letters, and take a perspective of Adaptation Theory to make a deeper exploration. The purpose of this thesis is to let people know how to use vague language correctly in business English letters based on Adaptation Theory, and make the expression more appropriate, so as to promote the smooth progress of the transaction and better meet the requirements of both parties.

B、Outline of writing

Abstract

Introduction

Chapter1  Introduction to Vague Language

1.1 Definition of Vague Language

1.2 Classification of Vague Language

Chapter2  Functions of Vague Language in Business English Letters Based

2.1 Making Expression More Accurate and Objective

2.2 Making Expression More Flexible and Vivid

2.3 Making Expression More Euphemistic and Implicit

Chapter3  Disadvantages of Missing of Vague Language in Business English Letters

3.1 Lack of Persuasiveness

3.2 Lack of Flexibility

3.3 Lack of Politeness

Chapter4  Application Strategies of fuzzy language in Business English correspondence

4.1  Vagueness as Adaptation to Addressor’s Emotion

4.2 Vagueness as Adaptation to Cultural Conventions

4.3 Vagueness as Adaptation to Temporal Reference

Conclusion

References

Convey thanks

C、References

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