商務(wù)英語專業(yè)設(shè)置論證報告及商務(wù)英語信函寫作中的語言特點及寫作技巧

英語專業(yè)設(shè)置論證報告中國經(jīng)濟發(fā)展速度加快，對外商務(wù)活動頻繁，對外貿(mào)易穩(wěn)步增長。英語作為最重要的語言交流工具，在對外貿(mào)易和商務(wù)活動中起著越來越重要的作用，然而經(jīng)貿(mào)英語人才的短缺在很大程度上影響著對外經(jīng)貿(mào)的充分開展。中國加入WTO后，對外經(jīng)貿(mào)英語人才的缺口情況更加明顯，培養(yǎng)一大批合格的經(jīng)貿(mào)英語人才成為當(dāng)務(wù)之急。通過對社會調(diào)查的仔細(xì)分析及各專家的討論，我系認(rèn)為，開設(shè)面向經(jīng)濟發(fā)展需求的商務(wù)英語專業(yè)，培養(yǎng)懂語言和貿(mào)易的復(fù)合型專業(yè)人才是可行的。一、專業(yè)設(shè)置的必要性隨著我國從事商務(wù)英語企業(yè)的數(shù)量大幅增加，大批中小企業(yè)、民營企業(yè)、制造業(yè)企業(yè)、國內(nèi)零售企業(yè)大規(guī)模入盟外貿(mào)行業(yè)，從而產(chǎn)生了更多的涉外就業(yè)崗位。眾多新獲得進出口經(jīng)營權(quán)的企業(yè)都希望在短時間內(nèi)將自身的業(yè)務(wù)擴大，職業(yè)化、技能化的商務(wù)英語專業(yè)人才已成為企業(yè)參與國際商務(wù)競爭必備的因素，涉外企業(yè)對專業(yè)人才需求規(guī)模驟升，對業(yè)務(wù)人員的專業(yè)化要求也更加豐富，據(jù)商務(wù)部統(tǒng)計，目前我國外經(jīng)貿(mào)企業(yè)各類高級管理人才缺口將近10萬人。各類外貿(mào)進出口企業(yè)大量需求從事實際業(yè)務(wù)操作的既擅長英語又精通商務(wù)英語的雙向型技能人才。面對人才市場存在的巨大需求，國內(nèi)本專業(yè)的人才供給卻十分有限，專家估計，未來五年全國外貿(mào)實用型人才缺口至少在100萬以上。商務(wù)英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)生具有較強的職業(yè)競爭性和發(fā)展性。另外，商務(wù)英語專業(yè)有利于擴大我系的專業(yè)設(shè)置口徑，有利于我系與市場和企業(yè)進一步接軌，有利于教育教學(xué)資源進一步挖掘和整合，因此，在新形勢下開設(shè)商務(wù)英語專業(yè)是外語系專業(yè)建設(shè)邁上新臺階跨出的實質(zhì)性的一步。二、專業(yè)設(shè)置的原則（一）、專業(yè)的設(shè)置、調(diào)整，原則上遵循教育部頒發(fā)的《中等職業(yè)學(xué)校專業(yè)目錄》和《關(guān)于中等職業(yè)學(xué)校專業(yè)設(shè)置管理的原則意見》，事實上依據(jù)我國社會發(fā)展?fàn)顩r，經(jīng)濟建設(shè)情況和本地經(jīng)濟發(fā)展的需要，人才需求的情況，積極穩(wěn)妥地設(shè)置、調(diào)整專業(yè)，以適應(yīng)行業(yè)、企業(yè)的人才需求，社會發(fā)展，學(xué)校前進。（二）、專業(yè)設(shè)置以學(xué)校發(fā)展、面向市場為主，突出對學(xué)生創(chuàng)新能力和實踐能力的培養(yǎng)，有利于樹立現(xiàn)代化教育教學(xué)觀念，優(yōu)化課程結(jié)構(gòu)，改進教學(xué)方法，促進學(xué)校內(nèi)部各項改革、各項資源的合理配置。（三）、專業(yè)設(shè)置的遵照教育部及有關(guān)行業(yè)制定的相關(guān)專業(yè)設(shè)置標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，業(yè)務(wù)范圍的基礎(chǔ)上，依據(jù)該專業(yè)在本校已經(jīng)具有的硬件條件，及完成該專業(yè)教學(xué)計劃所必須的理論和實踐，師資隊伍等主要條件。三、專業(yè)設(shè)置的可行性1.師資力量我系具有雄厚的師資力量，教師對工作精益求精，能勝任主干專業(yè)理論教學(xué)，掌握本職工作基礎(chǔ)理論，能運用理論指導(dǎo)實踐、解決問題，是一支具有較高理論水平、較強實踐能力、熱愛本專業(yè)教育工作、工作認(rèn)真細(xì)致、積極主動、有奉獻精神、熱心高等職業(yè)技術(shù)教育的師資隊伍。教師們積極投身教育教學(xué)研究和實踐，努力提高學(xué)術(shù)水平和綜合素質(zhì)，形成了一支由學(xué)科帶頭人、中青年骨干教師為中堅力量，熱愛教育事業(yè)、團結(jié)互助、愛崗敬業(yè)、知識結(jié)構(gòu)新、創(chuàng)新能力強、實踐能力過硬的“雙師型”專業(yè)教師隊伍。目前，專業(yè)共有校內(nèi)任課教師15人，其中副教授4人，講師6人；具有碩士學(xué)位3人，其中10名教師具有“雙師”素質(zhì)。40周歲以下青年教師8名，2名具有碩士學(xué)位，占60%。整個教師隊伍的年齡、職稱、學(xué)歷、能力等結(jié)構(gòu)合理，形成了有良好發(fā)展前景的學(xué)術(shù)梯隊。無論從職稱到年齡，專業(yè)教師結(jié)構(gòu)十分合理，符合高等職業(yè)學(xué)校專業(yè)設(shè)置標(biāo)準(zhǔn)規(guī)定的要求。2.實驗實訓(xùn)設(shè)施在實踐實訓(xùn)硬件保障方面，系部已有語音實驗室和聽力實驗室各一個，學(xué)院為商務(wù)英語專業(yè)另配備2個語言實驗室，基本能滿足本專業(yè)實踐、實訓(xùn)教學(xué)。另外，我們已經(jīng)聯(lián)系了商務(wù)英語專業(yè)校外實訓(xùn)基地，現(xiàn)預(yù)商確定了4個，地點在岳陽市的有2個，基本能滿足教學(xué)實驗實訓(xùn)需要。我們此前已經(jīng)與華能國際電力總公司岳陽分公司、云溪工業(yè)園、廣東東莞志強木藝制品有限公司、廣東建發(fā)植有限公司等建立了一定的業(yè)務(wù)關(guān)系，可與這些單位建立長期的實訓(xùn)、培訓(xùn)協(xié)作關(guān)系，加強校企之間的聯(lián)系；拓寬實訓(xùn)渠道，使這些單位成為商務(wù)英語專業(yè)長期性的專業(yè)實習(xí)基地，為學(xué)生提供實習(xí)機會，尋求就業(yè)前景。另外，還可積極采取多形式的實習(xí)方式，如頂崗實習(xí)，自擇自習(xí)，校內(nèi)模擬實習(xí)等，從而能夠有力地保障學(xué)生的實訓(xùn)質(zhì)量。四、專業(yè)建設(shè)與發(fā)展的主要思路商務(wù)英語專業(yè)建設(shè)和發(fā)展應(yīng)該堅持與時俱進，實事求是，立足市場和企業(yè)需求，堅持職業(yè)化和專業(yè)化緊密結(jié)合的指導(dǎo)思想，體現(xiàn)在以下幾個方面：1、以就業(yè)為導(dǎo)向，以崗位需求為目標(biāo)；2、立足培養(yǎng)具有滿足涉外商務(wù)工作需要的良好的職業(yè)道德、職業(yè)素質(zhì)和職業(yè)技能的應(yīng)用型、技能型人才；3、所有課程設(shè)置、教學(xué)內(nèi)容、教學(xué)過程、教學(xué)方法都緊密圍繞商務(wù)+英語的復(fù)合型人才崗位需要進行設(shè)置；4、加強產(chǎn)學(xué)研合作，爭取以多形式、多層次與相關(guān)企業(yè)建立長期穩(wěn)定的產(chǎn)學(xué)研合作關(guān)系。5．加強硬件設(shè)施的建設(shè)。首先是有目的地、重點地、分批地提高師資水平；其次是不斷地完善實驗實訓(xùn)設(shè)施，從而不斷地滿足教學(xué)發(fā)展的要求。6．不斷深化理論教學(xué)和實踐教學(xué)的改革。在理論教學(xué)方面，要花大力氣多調(diào)查研究，科學(xué)定位人才的培養(yǎng)目標(biāo)，合理設(shè)置專業(yè)課程，增加選修課，切實做到理論與實踐密切結(jié)合。在實踐教學(xué)方面，要堅持以培養(yǎng)商務(wù)英語職業(yè)技能為宗旨的實訓(xùn)方針，加強校企聯(lián)系，廣開實訓(xùn)渠道。五、專業(yè)培養(yǎng)目標(biāo)及要求（一）專業(yè)培養(yǎng)目標(biāo)和畢業(yè)生的業(yè)務(wù)規(guī)格1、培養(yǎng)目標(biāo)商務(wù)英語專業(yè)目標(biāo)旨在培養(yǎng)學(xué)生掌握綜合英語語言應(yīng)用技能、實用商務(wù)應(yīng)用技能、現(xiàn)代信息應(yīng)用技能、能適應(yīng)現(xiàn)代社會發(fā)展需要的復(fù)合型商務(wù)英語應(yīng)用人才。本專業(yè)培養(yǎng)目標(biāo)定位與社會需要及學(xué)生就業(yè)相結(jié)合，使學(xué)生掌握必需的服務(wù)外向型經(jīng)濟發(fā)展需要的知識與技能。2、基本規(guī)格商務(wù)英語專業(yè)學(xué)生需具備聽、說、讀、寫、譯的綜合英語語言知識、計算機基礎(chǔ)知識和現(xiàn)代辦公能力、商務(wù)基礎(chǔ)知識、政治理論知識、基礎(chǔ)二外知識、中文及社會禮儀知識、涉外貿(mào)易業(yè)務(wù)素質(zhì)、與時俱進的政治素質(zhì)、為社會貢獻的身體素質(zhì)、解決問題的心理素質(zhì)等。商務(wù)英語專業(yè)學(xué)生能適應(yīng)以下工作崗位：1．外貿(mào)業(yè)務(wù)員2.外貿(mào)跟單員3.國際商務(wù)單證員4.商務(wù)翻譯5.

商務(wù)助理6.

商務(wù)代表（二）能力分解1基本素質(zhì)要求思想道德素質(zhì)、身心健康素質(zhì)、心理素質(zhì)、樂觀的人生態(tài)度、謙遜禮貌和良好的文明言行、信息收集和處理的素質(zhì)、2職業(yè)能力要求（1）專業(yè)方面：掌握國際經(jīng)濟貿(mào)易的基本理論，基本知識與基本技能；了解當(dāng)代國際貿(mào)易發(fā)展的現(xiàn)狀；熟悉國際貿(mào)易、金融、投資的基本規(guī)則和慣例以及通行的國際經(jīng)濟規(guī)范，能熟練運用英語從事國際經(jīng)濟合作、國際貿(mào)易等項業(yè)務(wù)。具備英語的聽、說、讀、寫、譯的基本技能。（2）專門職業(yè)能力(1)運用英語處理商務(wù)英語業(yè)務(wù)的能力(2)在外事、商務(wù)等部門從事翻譯和管理等工作的能力(3)在教育部門從事英語教學(xué)的能力(4)運用英語進行商務(wù)交談和交際的能力(5)本專業(yè)應(yīng)有的基本素質(zhì)和基礎(chǔ)能力3．職業(yè)延展能力(1)一定的組織、管理、調(diào)研、策劃的能力(2)一定的公關(guān)、推銷能力(3)較強的社會適應(yīng)能力和社交能力(4)擇業(yè)、就業(yè)、轉(zhuǎn)崗和自主創(chuàng)業(yè)的能力(5)一定的審美能力1IntroductionBusinessEnglishcanberegardedasanapplicationofEnglishlanguageincommercialoccasions,aimingatenablingspeakerstocommunicateandinteracteffectivelyusingthemostcorrectandclearestbusinesslanguage.BusinessEnglishCorrespondenceisanimportantcarrierofinternationalcommercialactivitieswhichisusedtodelieverinformation,addresscommercialissuesandasawayofcommunication.Lexiconisanimportantfactorofapassage.InthewritingofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence,weshouldpayparticularattentiontotheselectionoflexicon.Differentwordsmaycarrydifferentmeaningandeventhemoodofthemcanbeverydistinct.Therefore,itisofgreatnecessitytodoresearchofthefeaturesoflexiconinthewritingofbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Thisthesisattemptstodosomeresearchesonthefollowingsubjects:TohaveagoodknowledgeofcharacteristicsoflexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.TomakesenseofthereasonwhythebusinessEnglishcorrespondencehavesuchrequirementsoflexicon.Toprovidesomesuggestionsthatlearnerscanimprovetheirwritingskills.2DescriptionofBusinessEnglishcorrespondence2.1DefinitionofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceNowadaysmoreandmorepeoplechoosetoworkincompaniesanddocommercialwork.AsChinajoinedtheWTO,enterprisesareallchoosingtoopentheirmarketsandexpandthemintotheinternationalworld,thusmakingEnglishinevitablybecomethemostusedlanguageintheworld.Andinthiswayanewsubjectappearedthatwecallit“businessEnglish”.IntermsofbusinessEnglish,werefertothelanguageusedinordertoadapttothejobmarketwhosecontentsincludealotofaspects(Kansi,1983;134).UnlikethegeneralEnglishlearners,peoplewholearnbusinessEnglisharemoretargetedandspecialized.Businesscorrespondencemeanstheactofcommunicatingbymeansofcorrespondencesorthecorrespondencesbetweencorrespondents(曹菱,2000;87).Itisthemainwayfortraderstodobusiness,exchangecommercialinformationandconsultandgiveanswerstocommercialquestionsininternationaltrade.Besides,itisareflectionofdifferentcultures,socialbackgroundsandrepresentativeofinterestsofbothpartiesofatradingactivity.BusinessEnglishcorrespondencesisdifferentfrompersonalcorrespondences,foritismoreformalandcanbealegaldocumentforbothenterprisestodobusinesstransactionanddealwithcommercialdisputes.ThisisaseriousproblemthatbusinessEnglishcorrespondencewritersshouldpayattentionto.Differentfromthestatecorrespondenceorpersonalcorrespondences,businessEnglishcorrespondenceshasitsowncharacteristicsbothinthearticlestyleandlanguage(Ober,1998;98).Inparticular,itishighdemandedofthecorrectnessandstandardsoflanguage.Thebusinesscorrespondenceshouldbeclear,concise,concrete,andofcourtesyinlanguage.2.2AssortmentofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceItcancategorizebusinesscorrespondencesintothreekinds.Theyareasfollows:Thefirstkindisinaccordancewiththeletters’content.Wehaveinvitationletters,sellingletters,employingletters,andetc.Intermsoftherolethebusinesslettersplaysincommercialactivitiesofenterprises,wehavenegotiatingletterswhichaimsataddressadispute,friendlyletterswhichisusedtokeepafriendlytouchwithanothercompany,andetc.Thelastisthecorrespondence,whichisusedtogivesomeinformation.Theinformationmaybegoodorbad.Inaword,wecanclassifythebusinesscorrespondencesfromdifferentperspectivesjustasthewaymentionedabove.Sometimes,eachkindisnotsoisolatedfromothers.Besideswehavementionedabove,therearealsomanykindsofbusinessEnglishcorrespondencessuchaslettersforsettingupbusinessrelationships,conclusionofbusiness,salescontractorconfirmation,salespromotion,orderandfulfillment,productsshipment,shippingadvice,insurance,claim,askingforanagent,processingtrade,compensationtrade,andetc.2.3FunctionofbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceTodayithascomeintoaninformationsocietywiththedevelopmentofinformationtechnologyandtheInternet.BusinessEnglishcorrespondencesplaysanimportantpartininternationaltradingactivitiesduetoitscourtesy,completeness,concisenessandothergoodfeaturesinordertoobtainanddeliverinformation,makeeffectivecommunication,addressrelatedissuesincommercialactivitiesandmaintaingoodandnormaloperatingrelations.Businesscorrespondencemeanstheactofcommunicatingbymeansoflettersortheletters,whichpassbetweencorrespondents(曹菱,2000;76).Itisthemainwayfortraderstodobusiness,exchangecommercialinformationandconsultandgiveanswerstocommercialquestionsininternationaltrade.Besides,itisareflectionofdifferentcultures,socialbackgroundsandrepresentativeofinterestsofbothpartiesofatradingactivity.BusinessEnglishlettersisdifferentfrompersonalletters,foritismoreformalandcanbealegaldocumentforbothenterprisestodobusinesstransactionanddealwithcommercialdisputes.Allinall,wesummarizeditsfunctionasfollows:First,itcanimprovetheworkingefficiencyofforeigntradeandreducethecost.Second,ithelpsenterprisestoseekmorenewclientsanddeepentheirrelationswiththecompanies.Third,thebusinessEnglishletterscanpromotetheforeigntradeeconomy.Andfinallyitisboundtoplayanimportantroleinfulfillingtheglobalizationoftrade.3Basicwritingprinciplesforbusinesscorrespondence3.1PolitenessBeingpoliteisanimportantprincipleinbusinesscircles.Apolitecorrespondencecanhelpyouwinothers’will.Therefore,itisappropriatetousemorefrequentlywordssuchas“please”,“Iwillbehighlyappreciatedthat...”,Itisourpleasureto…”andetc.Thereareinevitablyconflictsanddisputesinbusinesstransactions.Anditispolitenessthatcanfunctionasalubricanttobreakdeadlocks.Whendoingcompensation,makingcomplaints,andrefusingtoacceptsomerequests,businessEnglishcorrespondences’writersmustbemorepoliteandtrytousewordsnotsoimperative.Whenrespondingtoothers’correspondences,thewritersshallalsousepolitewordsnomatterhowbadtheattitudeoftheotherpartyis.First,thewritersshouldbegoodatusingpassivesentences,whichcanmakeyourwordsmoretemperate.Forexample,thesentence“Youmadeaverycarelessmistake”maybebetterifitischangedinto“Averycarelessmistakewasmade”.Second,thewritersshouldbegoodatusingquestionsentencestoshowpolitenessandeuphemismandconditionalsentencestomakeyourrecommendationssoundsmoretentativeandeuphemistic.3.2ConcisenessandCompletenessEmphaticanddescriptivewordsaregoodwaystomakebusinessEnglishcorrespondencemoreeffective.Writerscanchooseabbreviatedwordsinforeigntradefieldsthatarefamiliartopeople.Besides,thesentencestructureshouldbeconciseandsimple.Writersshouldusemorewordstoreplacecomplexsentencesandtrytomaintainthecompletenessandmakesentencesmoreconcise(Baugh,1986;39).Forinstance,“Aswhatyouhaverequested...”canbesimplifiedinto“Asrequested...”.Moreover,itisakeyfactortokeepthecompletenessofinformation.Somewordsusedinourdailylifesuchas“theabovementioned”,“theformer”,“respectively”shouldnotbeusedinbusinesscorrespondencesasmuchaspossible.Makesureprovidecompleteinformationtolettheotherpartybeclearatthefirstglance.3.3Clearness,ConcretenessandCorrectnessClearnessisthemostimportantprincipleinbusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Anunclearcorrespondencemaycausemisunderstandingandambiguousandeventradingloss.Therefore,writersshouldpayattentiontoselectcorrectwordsandmakeyoursentencesstructureisabsolutelyright.InbusinessEnglishcorrespondenceswriting,theinformationthatisdeliveredshouldbeconcreteandvividtoavoidtheriskofambiguity.Correctnessnotonlyrequiresthatgrammar,syntax,andmarksandspellingberight,butthecommercialtechnicaltermsshouldberepresentedappropriately.Thecommunicativeeffectswillbegreatlydamagedifmistakesaremadeinspelling,person,punctuationmarks,tense,andetc.Besides,writersshouldusemoreformalwords.Forexample,abbreviationsas“I’ll”,“we’re”shouldnotbeused.4Lexiconandwritingprinciplesofbusinesscorrespondence4.1TheDefinitionoflexicologyIntheOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary,thedefinitionoflexicologyisthestudyoftheform,meaningandbehaviorofwords.Technically,lexicologyisabranchoflinguisticsconcernedwiththestudyofthevocabularyofagivenlanguage.Itdealswithwords,theirorigin,development,history,structure,meaningandapplication.ThetermlexicologycontainstwoGreekmorphemes:lexikonandlogie.Theformermeans“word”,thelattermeans“l(fā)earning”or“thestudyof”(Nation,2001).4.2Reviewofstudiesonlexicalfeatures4.2.1ReviewofstudiesonlexicalfeaturesinEnglishforSpecificPurposesEnglishhasbeenmoreandmorefrequentlyusedinvariouscircles.WehavesummarizedthissituationasworkplaceEnglishincludingtourismEnglish,lawEnglish,medicalEnglishandetc.Andinthisthesis,wemainlyfocusedonitsuseinbusinessfieldthatis“businessEnglish”.Wearenowlivinginaglobalizedworld,andafterChinaenteringtheWTO,ourcountry’scommercialactivitiesareincreasingrapidly,whichmakesbusinessEnglishbecomeanindispensablelanguagetoolforcommunicationintheworld’seconomicalactivities.BusinessEnglishcorrespondenceisoneofthemosteffectivewaysininternationalcommunication.AgoodknowledgeofEnglishistheimportantfoundationforwriterstowriteagoodandeffectivebusinessEnglishcorrespondence.Inthemeanwhile,therearemanyotherfactorsshouldbepaidattentionto,suchasavoidingChinglish,havingknowledgeofthebackgroundknowledgeofwesternculture,keepingeyeonthetradingstyleoftheotherpartyandetc.Inoneword,withthecontinuouschangesoftheformsofcommercialactivities,thebusinessEnglishcorrespondencesmustchangeaccordingly.4.2.2FormerstudiesonlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceLexiconplaysanimportantpartinwriting.AndinbusinessEnglishwriting,thelexiconisofmoresignificance.ManyscholarshavemademanyresearchesofthelanguageandlexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesfromvariousperspectives.Theystudiedmanyaspectssuchasthelexiconmeaning,function,correctness,andetc.Therefore,itisofmuchresearchvaluetodoresearchinthisaspect.ThisthesistriedtoexploremoremeaningfulthingsexpectingtoprovidesomeusefulinformationtothereadersandbusinessEnglishlearners(何勇斌,2005;196).4.3TheLexicalFeaturesRepresentedinCourtesyandConsiderationIthasmentionedthatthereare7Csprinciplesinbusinesswriting,here,I’lldividetheminto3classificationstoillustratethelexicalfeaturesineachclassification.Thefirstclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedincourtesyincourtesyandconsideration.Inbusinesscorrespondences,weoftenusesomepolitewordstoexpressourkindnesstoother.Andweoftenusesomespecialwordstopresentconsiderationtotheotherparty.Sofromsomeaspectwecansaythattheconsiderationfortheotherpartyisalsoshowourcourtesy.Thesecondclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedinconcisenessandcompleteness.AsImentionedabove,businesscorrespondenceshouldbeconcise,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatthelessthebetter.Atthesametime,weshouldnoticethatwegivethecompleteinformationthatneeded.Thelastclassificationislexicalfeaturesrepresentedinclearness,concretenessandcorrectness.Thesethreeprincipleshaveonecommontargetthatistomakethebusinesscorrespondencebeaccurateandnottobemisunderstanding.4.3.1UsepolitewordsEnglishbusinesscorrespondencesisanimportantwayofcommercialcommunicationandplaymanyrolessuchasdeliveringinformation,buildingcooperativerelationship,promotingcompany’soperationsandstrengtheningcommunicationincommercialactivities(湯軍,1998;148).Toachievecommercialgoalssuccessfully,itisessentialtousepoliteandappropriatelanguage.AccordingtoLeech(Leech,1983;236),thereisasetofPolitenessPrinciple(PP)thatsociallygovernscommunicativebehavior.ThePolitenessPrinciple(PP)isformulatedasfollows:Minimize(otherthingsbeingequal)theexpressionofimpolitebelief,andmaximize(otherthingsbeingequal)theexpressionofpolitebeliefs.4.3.2UsepositivewordsThemeaningofwordiscombinedwithconceptualmeaningandassociativemeaning.Heformeroneisthecoreofawordandtheassociativemeaningisacombinationofaword’semotionalandstylisticmeaning.Wordsofpositiveemotionalmeaningwilldeliveranunhappyfeelingonreaders.InEnglishbusinesscorrespondences,wordsofpositivemeaningcansendpeopleanemotionofdelight,happinessandpositivenessandmakethemfeelrespected,thusmakingwordsmoreacceptable.Therefore,inEnglishbusinesscorrespondences,wordsthatcanexpressgratitudeandpraiseareoftenused.Forinstance,Wewouldbeverygratefulifyoucouldletustakedeliverybeforethesellingseason.Itgivesusmuchpleasuretoreceivethecatalogueandsamplesyousentus.Inaword,itismoreacceptabletochoosewordsofpositivemeaninginEnglishbusinesscorrespondences.4.3.3HedgesHedgewordsarethosehavecertaincoremeaninginlanguagewhilenotallthesenseofthemaredefinite（伍鐵平,1999;143）.Theyaredifferentfromsemanticambiguity.Theyhavetheiruniquecharacteristicsandrichpragmaticfunction.Usinghedgewordsappropriatelywillmakecorrespondencelanguagemorepoliteinsteadofaffectingitsprecisenessoflanguage.Hedgescanbedividedintotwokinds.Ononehand,wecanusesomewordsorexpressionsthatcanchangetheoriginalmeaningofdiscourse.Forexample,wecanuse“alittle,roughly,greatly,approximately“andetc.Ontheotherhand,weusewordsthatdonotchangethetrueconditionofdiscoursebutcansoftenthelanguagemood(陳楚君,2004;71).Incommercialactivities,therearesomeinevitablydisputesthatcannotbeavoidedinthecooperationofbothtradingpartiesbecauseofsomeinterestsconflictsandcontradictions.Inthosesituations,writerscouldusehedgestodelivertheirinformationmorequicklyinordertogivebothpartiesmorespacetosavetheirtradeandface,thuseasilychangingtheirwayoftrading.Forexample,thesentence“Wecannotagreewiththepriceyouoffer.”maybechangedinto“Iamafraidthatwecannotagreewiththepriceyouhaveset’.Andinthisway,yourwordscanbemoreacceptablebytheotherparty.4.3.4UsemoremodalverbsModalwordshavemodalmeaningandmodalmeaningisthecourageofaverbthatcanexpressthespeaker’sattitudetowardsandemotiontothesubjecthetalksabout.Whetherthelanguageispolitedependsonwhetherthemodalwordsarestrong.Modalwordslike“could,might,would,should”andetc.moreofnegotiablemoodthatcanmakelanguagemoodmoreeuphemisticandareoftenusedinEnglishbusinessletters.4.4Thelexicalfeaturesrepresentedinconcisenessandcompleteness4.4.1ChoiceofconcisewordingWritersofbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,whenwriteabusinessEnglishcorrespondence,redundancyofwordsshouldbeavoided.Trytomakethewordsandsentencesmoreclear.Toomanydetaildescriptionsshouldalsobeavoidedasmuchaspossible.Forexample,inthesentence“Wehavebeguntoexportourmachinetocountriesabroad”,theword“export”and“countriesabroad”areofthesamemeaning.Andinthiscase,wesuggestthat“countriesabroad”shouldbeomitted.EmphaticanddescriptivewordsareagoodwaytomakebusinessEnglishcorrespondencemoreeffective.Writerscanchooseabbreviatedwordsinforeigntradefieldsthatarefamiliartopeople.Besides,thesentencestructureshouldbeconciseandsimple.Writersshouldusemorewordstoreplacecomplexsentencesandtrytomaintainthecompletenessandmakesentencesmoreconcise(Baugh,1986;94).Forinstance,“Aswhatyouhaverequested...”canbesimplifiedinto“Asrequested...”.Moreover,itisakeyfactortokeepthecompletenessofinformation.Somewordsusedinourdailylifesuchas“theabovementioned”,“theformer”,“respectively”shouldnotbeusedinbusinesscorrespondencesasmuchaspossible.Makesureprovidecompleteinformationtolettheotherpartybeclearathefirstglance.4.4.2SynonymsinpairsSynonymisanotherimportantwordformusedinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Itreferstowordsofthesameoralmostthesamemeaningbuthavedifferentspellingformsorsounddifferent.ThesewordsareoftenusedinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Forinstance,”wehavesometermsandpactsneedingyoutocheckcarefully”.Itisverycommontouseagreatdealofsynonymsinbusinesscorrespondences.Ononehand,theuseofsynonymsreflectsthediversityandflexibilityoflanguageinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Ontheotherhand,thesesynonymshavealittledifferenceinthemeaningorusage,whichcanindirectlyreflecttheprecisenessofbusinessEnglish.Suchasgoods,commodity,merchandise,shipment,freight,cargoandconsignment.Thesewordsthatwelistedhereallcanrefertothingsincommercialtrading.Butifweusedifferentwords,werefertothesamething.However,thereshouldbenotedthatwecannotstillmixthemtogetherorjusttakethemasoneword.Becausetheyaredividedintoaccordancewithvariouslinkofinternationaltrade,theyrepresentdifferentlinks.Shipmentandcargoaregenerallyreferredtothingsintransportation,whilemerchandise,goods,commoditiesaremorelikelytorefertothingswhentheyaresoldorbought.Therefore,thisisaspecialfeatureoflexiconinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesthatdeservinglearnerstopaytheirattentionto.4.4.3UseAffixLanguageischangingwiththedevelopmentofoursocietyandbusinessEnglish,asanapplicationofgeneralEnglishincommercialactivitiesischangingaswell.Andthegreatwavedoftheeconomy’sglobalizationbringmoreopportunitiesforbusinessEnglish.InthelexiconofbusinessEnglish,themoststrikingfeatureisthattheusageofsomenewprefixandaffix,whichcontributedthebirthofsomenewwordsinbusinessarea.Forexample,theprefixe-,eco-,tel-,andsuffix-ism,andetc.Somenewwordsmadefromthemsuchase-commerce,tele-message,eco-friendly,endism,andetc.4.4.4UseabbreviationsAbbreviationsareanimportantpartofbusinessEnglishlexiconthatformedinthelong-termcommercialpractices.Theuseofabbreviationscanmakeyourexpressionmoreconciseandclearandtheyarefrequentlyusedincommercialactivities.Abbreviationsareoftenrepresentedbythecapitalizedcorrespondences,suchasL/C(correspondenceofcredit),B/L(billoflanding),EAT(estimatedarrivaltime),ASAP(assoonaspossible),andetc.4.5.TheLexicalfeaturesrepresentedinclearness,concretenessandcorrectness4.5.1ChoiceofprecisewordingInbusinesscorrespondences,therearesomespecialexpressionsandwordsthatrenotsofrequentlyusedinsituationsofdailylife.ThesewordsalmostdonotappearingeneralEnglish.Insomecases,theyareusedinordinaryEnglish,butwillhavedifferentmeaninginbusinessEnglish.ThisisalsoalexicalfeatureofbusinessEnglishcorrespondences.Forexample,inthephrase“onthetermsandconditions”,thewords“term”and“condition”arebothofthemeaning“insomesituationorwithsomerequirements”.Inourdailylife,thereisnoneedtousethetwowordsofthesamemeaningatthesametime,whileinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,theyaremustbeusedtogetherlikeabovetoguaranteethatthelettersarepreciseandrigorous.Inanotherexample,theword“advise”inthephrase“advisesbofsth”isusedasthemeaning“giveasuggestionorrecommend”indailyusage.ButinbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,itmeans“notice”.TherearealotofsuchwordsinbusinessEnglish.Forinstance,theword“offer”generallyrefersto“provideorsupplysth”,whileinbusinessEnglishcorrespondencesitcanusedasoftheameaningassociatedwiththestocks.Again,ininsuranceindustry,“theword“policy”means“thecredittoproveyoumakeaninsurance”ratherthantheordinarymeaning“principles”.Therefore,itisofgreatnecessityforwritersofbusinessEnglishwriterstopayattentiontothis.4.5.2PreferenceofconcretewordstoabstractwordsInbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,writersshouldmakesurethattheinformationthattheydeliverisspecific,correctandvividaspossibleastheycan.Trytocomparethefollowingsentences:“WehavesenttoyouasusualunderyourL/C”.“WehavesenttoyouoursightdraftNo.231oftheCentralBank.”Bycomparison,itisapparentforustoseethatinformationofthesecondsentenceismorespecific,whichmakereaderscanclearlymakesenseoftheinformationthewriterwanttodeliverattheirfirstglance.However,thefirstoneissogeneralthatreaderscanunderstandwhatdoesthesentencemeanaftercarefulthinking.4.5.3UsesimplewordstomakesureofclearnessInbusinessEnglishcorrespondences,theprincipleclearnessisofgreatsignificanceaswell.Itreferstodelivertheinformationthatwriterstrytopassonclearlyanddirectlywithoutcausinganymisunderstandingorbringinganytroubleforbothtradingparties.AclearexpressionhasbeenanimportantlinktomakesureofeffectivecommercialcommunicationallthetimeandthusbecometheobjectiveandstandardofbusinessEnglishwriting.IfthereceiversofthebusinessEnglishcorrespondencescannotmakesenseofwhatthewritersintentionis,thecorrespondencewillbeboundtoturnouttobemeaninglessnomatterhowfiguredandmagnificentthelanguageis.Andinsomecases,suchcorrespondencesthat