浅谈商务英语函电在对外贸易中的作用英语论文.docx

浅谈商务英语函电在对外贸易中的作用英语论文.docx

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浅谈商务英语函电在对外贸易中的作用英语论文

浅谈商务英语函电在对外贸易中的作用

1Introduction

Theearlyyearsofournewcenturyhavebeenaperiodofunprecedentedtechnologicaladvancement.Fromcell-phonesto3Gonline,fromtestmassagingtoPCfaxing,ourcommunicationstoolsandtechniquesarebecomingevermoresophisticated.Todayweareabletoorganize,transmit,anduseinformationatspeedsunimaginableonlyafewyearsagoandweanticipatefuturedevelopmentsthatareequallyunimaginabletoday.Nevertheless,the“informationsuperhighway”notwithstanding,communicationstechnologyhasnotsupplantedcommunicationsknow-how.Westillrequireinformationandideastobeexpressedinclear,completely,andthepersonwhocancomposesuchinformationisapartofbusinessorganization.Therefore,businesscorrespondencelanguagestillcontinuestobeahighlymarketableskillintoday’sworkplace.

Fromtheperspectiveoflinguisticcarrier,businesscorrespondenceshouldbeusedinabusinessenvironment.ItbelongstoESP①（Englishforspecialpurposes,theEnglishneedbyaparticulargroupoflearnerscouldbeidentifiedbyanalyzingthelinguisticcharacteristicsoftheirspecialistofworkorstudy.）,andemphasizesthespecialcommunicationinthespecificcircumstances.ItisacomprehensivedisciplinewhichiscombinedwithEnglishwritingandforeigntradepracticewithcontent,difficultyandpracticabilityofnature.IthasaverydifferencefromthenatureofordinaryEnglishorotherspecializedEnglishincontentorformally.Itinvolvesforeigntradepracticeseachpart.Mainlyincludes:

Establishingbusinessrelations;EnquiriesandReplies;Quotations,SalesLetters,OffersandCounterOffers;Orders,Acceptances;SalesconfirmationandPurchasecontract;Payment;Packing;TransportandInsurance;Complaint,ClaimandSettlementetc.Thusitcanbeseenalthoughthebusinesscorrespondenceisnottheforeigntradepracticelesson,butinvolvestheoperationalmethodintheforeigntrade.Thispaperwillfromthelinguisticfeatures,thetextualstructure,andthelexisthreepartstoanalyzethecharacteristicsofbusinesscorrespondence.

2ThemeaningofBusinessEnglishCorrespondence

2.1ThemeaningofBusinessEnglishCorrespondence

BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisElectronicslettersthathelppeoplecommunicateinthefieldofforeigntradeworkinglanguageinwriting,Intheforeigntradeknowledgeasthebackground,Languageasacarrierofforeigntrade。

BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisoneofthemainwaysofforeignbusinesscommunication。

But,Intoday'shighlydevelopedinformationtechnology，Thelettersarenotlimitedtopaper,oritcanbeE-mail,faxorMSN。

Itisaletterissuedtoencodinganddecodingprocessofthereceiver。

Smoothencodinganddecodingprocessisusingthecorrespondencecommunicationprocess。

Themostcommonlyusedinclude：

Thepurposeofestablishingbusinessrelations、enquiries、Anoffer、reply、Thecontractofsale、Packing、insurance、compensation、arbitrationect.

2.2ThecharacteristicsofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence

BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisfrequentlyusedininternationalbusinesscontacts，Iscarryoutforeigntradebusinessandrelatedbusinessactivitiesofthefoundationandimportanttool。

Therefore,BefamiliarwiththeuseandCorrectunderstandingofthenewcharacteristicsofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence，Ispremiseandconditionofbusinessactivitiessmoothly.

2.2.1LinguisticfeaturesofBusinessCorrespondence

Languageisameansofcommunication.Thismayseemlikeafoolishlysimpleobservationtomake,butrememberthatforcommunicationtobecompletedsuccessfullyasendermustconveyhisorhermessagesothatthereceivernotonlyreceives,butalsounderstands,themessage.Iflanguageisnotusedclearlyandaccurately,thecommunicationprocesscannotbesuccessfullycompleted.

AsimpleruletorememberisthattheEnglishyouuseinyoureverydaybusinessshouldbethesamegoodEnglishusedbypeopleinallwalksoflife.Granted,theremaybetermsintrinsictoyourindustry,butthereisnotaspecialtypeof‘‘businessEnglish’’tobelearnedandusedwhenwritingbusinessletters.GoodEnglishisgoodEnglish.

Businesscorrespondenceisoneofthecommonstylesintheinternationalbusinessactivities.Becauseofitsproductionandserviceinvariouscommercialbusinessscopes,reflectingtheprofessionalandbusiness-relatedcontent.Therefore,thewording,syntax,expressionstyle,meaningandcontenthasthestyleofthebusiness.Cooperationandcompetition,rightsandobligations,faithandclaim,goodsdeliveryandpaymentwillalwaysbetopicsforthebusinesspeople.Eachexpressionshouldbetriedtobeconciseandaccurate,strongandmild,firmbutnottough,rigorousandwithoutlosinghumorous.Itisusuallytobeusedstrictly“7Cs②”principlesofwriting,thatisClear,Complete,Concise,Concrete,Constructive,ConversationalandCorrect.

●Clear

Thegoalofclarityisthatthereaderunderstandspreciselywhatyouaresaying.Thelanguageofyourcorrespondenceshouldbeadaptedtotherecipient.Thismeansthatyouwriteinamatter-of-fact,conversationaltone.Usespecificexamplesthereadercanrelateto.Don’tassumethatyourreaderunderstandsthejargonofyourtrade.Remember,mostletterswillbereadbypeopleotherthantherecipientoftheletter.Thesepeoplemaybeunfamiliarwiththetechnicallanguageorjargonyouuse.Clarityalsomeansorganizingyourcorrespondenceorlettersoeachparagraphdealswithonlyonemainideaandpresentingyourideasinalogicalorder.Yourlettershouldnotbeacollectionofrandomideas.Itshouldbesingle-mindedinitspurpose.

Thisisthecornerstoneofeffectivecommunicationandrequiresconsiderableeffortonthewriter’spart.Itincludeswritingtothereader’slevelofunderstanding,butnotdowntothereader.Itmeansusinglanguage,words,andphrasesthatreaderunderstands,whileavoidingalljargonandunfamiliarwordsandphrases.Itinvolvescoherentlyandlogicallyorderingthoughtsandideasstructuringparagraphssothateachideahasitsownplaceinthecorrespondence.Goodnarrativesaredesignedtomakethedesiredimpact.Remember,itiswriter’sobligationtoclearlycommunicatesothatthereadercanunderstand,nottheotherwayaround.

Beclearandstraightforwardincorrespondences.Writewhatyoumean.Don’twriteincircles,makingreaderguesswhatyoumean.Takethefollowingexampleofawriterwhowantstotellacustomeraboutanimportantorganization:

MycorrespondencewasinitiatedtoinformyouofthehighcaliberofprogramsandactivitiesofanorganizationinwhichIhaveenjoyedbeinginvolvedoverthepastfewyears.TheCountyBusinessAssociationhasservedtokeepmeinformedof,andactivelyinvolvedin,thecurrentpoliticalandeconomicissuesaffectingsmallbusinessesthroughitsmonthlybreakfastmeetingswithinterestingandimpressivespeakers,itsnewsletteronlegislativeactivitiesinWashington,andseveralotherprogramsoutlinedintheattachedletter.

Therearemanyproblemswiththisexample.Let’sstartbyexaminingtheclarityanddirectnessofthestatement.Sincethewriteroftheletterwantstoinformthereaderaboutanimportantorganization,whydidn’tthewritercomerightoutanddosobywriting:

Iamwritingtoyouaboutthehigh-caliberprogramsandactivitiesofferedbytheCountyBusinessAssociation,anorganizationinwhichIhavebeeninvolvedforthepastfewyears.

Inthewriter’sversionoftheletter,itisnotuntilthesecondsentenceoftheparagraphthatweevenlearnthenameoftheimportantorganization.Ifyouarewritingaboutaparticularsubject,andthatsubjecthappenstobeanorganization,whynotgetitsnamerightupfrontsothereadermightenjoylearningaboutitthroughouttherestoftheletterinsteadofbeingleftinsuspense?

Insteadofusingmanywords（‘‘mycorrespondencewasinitiatedtoinformyouof...’’）,whynotsaysimply,‘‘Iamwritingtoyouabout...’’?

Ifyoucomerightoutandsaywhatyoumeaninsteadofbeatingaroundthebush,notonlyareyougoingtograbyourreader’sattentionrightaway,butyoualsostandastrongerchanceofconvincingyourreaderthatheorsheshouldgoonreadingandfindoutmoreaboutwhatyouhavetosay.

●Complete

Goodwritingincludesalltheinformationnecessarytomakethepointandpromotewhateverthecorrespondencerequests.Thedatamustbedesignedwithapurposeinmind.Randomdetailsandthoughtshowevercolorfulandinteresting,onlyconfuseandthereaderiftheyarenotrelevanttotheissuesbeingraised.Stayontrackandmakesureyouhaveprovidedthereaderwithenoughinformationtoencouragetheactionyouseek.

Makesurealltheinformationwhatthereaderneedstoknow.（Donotincludedetailsthatareinterestingbutnotrelevant.）Thebiggestproblemwithleavingoutinformationisthatthereaderhastomakeassumptions.Forexample,donotsay,“Whenwelastspokeaboutthesituation,”whenyoucansay,“WhenwespokeonJune8abouthiringanewadministrativeassistant.”

Rememberthatthereadercannotreadthewriter’smind.Thereadercanonlyguessatwhatthewriterleftout.

Towritebusinesscorrespondenceshouldpayattentiontotheinformationoftheotherpartyneeded,andwhetheryouhavecompletelyansweredthequestion.Ifthebuyeracceptstheoffer,thesellershouldbequotedintherelevantcontentbybuyertowritethecorrespondenceofacceptingtheoffer

Generallyspeaking,use5Ws（who,what,when,where,why）and“1h”（how）tocheckwhatyouwrotelettersiscomplete,whoorders,andwhattheorderedgoods,whentheshipmentshouldbeeffected,andgoodsbeshippedtowhere,whattermsofpayment,ify