禮貌原則在英語商務信函中的運用【開題報告+文獻綜述+畢業(yè)論文】

1、<p><b>　　畢業(yè)論文開題報告</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　禮貌原則在商務信函中的運用</p><p>　　一、選題的背景、意義（所選課題的歷史背景、國內外研究現(xiàn)狀和發(fā)展趨勢）</p><p>　?。ㄒ唬┱n題的歷史背景</p>

2、<p>　　在世界各國的經濟貿易合作日益頻繁的大背景之下，在現(xiàn)代國際貿易交易過程中，對外貿易的各個環(huán)節(jié)大多仍通過函電方式進行。從建立業(yè)務關系到達成交易、履行合同以及解決合同過程中產生的糾紛等，都離不開商業(yè)信函的書寫。它在商務活動中起著增進了解、傳遞信息、聯(lián)系業(yè)務、處理問題等作用。一封表達得體、彬彬有禮的信函會尊重對方的觀點、權利、愿望和需要，迎合對方的心理，創(chuàng)造一種熱情．尊重，有良好職業(yè)道德修養(yǎng)的形象，從而帶來無限商機，促成、

3、擴大商務活動的開展。因此，在外貿業(yè)務中能否運用禮貌得體的語言清晰表達出自己的意向，是商務活動能否成功的主要因素。</p><p>　　為使商務人士在交往中得以更好運用好禮貌這一技巧促進貿易往來，這就需對Leech提出的禮貌原則中的六個準則在商務信函中如何應用進行分析，領會它的作用。</p><p>　?。ǘ﹪鴥韧庋芯楷F(xiàn)狀和發(fā)展趨勢</p><p>　　禮貌的概念源

4、于美國社會學家Erving Goffman關于“面子”的著作《禮儀的相互作用：面對面的行為論集》。Goffman對面子的研究激起了禮貌原則的研究浪潮。    其后頗有影響力的是Geoffrey Leech的禮貌原則。近期禮貌原則的研究學者試圖從更多的視角，如文化、語言形式、具體言語行為、語境，權勢等探索更具有實用性，普遍性的禮貌原則。 1992年，徐盛恒提出了新的禮貌原則，即關注自我，尊重對方、考慮第三方。&#

5、160;1993年，束定芳和王虹提出了贊揚或貶低理論。1994年，Ron Scollon和Suzanne W．Sco1lon在Brown＆Levinson的面子保全論基礎上提出了自己的禮貌理論。上述學者結合更多的視角對禮貌原則進行了新的拓展。但他們的研究成果很大程度上是對早期禮貌原則的修補。同早期的學者一樣，他們認為禮貌是以意圖或規(guī)則為基礎的，可被預先規(guī)定的。    王建華（2001）對早期的禮貌理論，主要是L

6、eech的“禮貌原則”以及Brown＆Levinson的“面子保全論”也有不同看法。他提出了“語用距離原則”，認為話語是否禮貌取決于交際雙方所知覺與推定的彼此</p><p>　　禮貌原則研究的學者歷經三十多年的探索可謂碩果累累。而隨著全球化的加速，更多的研究者加入到了禮貌原則研究的行列，希望能夠找到跨越文化障礙，放之四海而皆準的禮貌交際的金鑰匙。</p><p>　　二、相關研究的最新成

7、果及動態(tài) </p><p>　　近期的禮貌原則研究學者從更多的角度探索禮貌原則，渴望突破前人的理論研究模式和局限，尋求更具普遍性的禮貌原則近期研究學者的嘗試使禮貌原則的研究有了更為動態(tài)和實用的走向。但是這些新的原則仍然遭遇了如下幾方面的質疑：首先，如早期禮貌原則的研究學者一樣，近期的學者在進行禮貌原則的預設時忽略了交際者是理性與非理性的辯證統(tǒng)一體，而理想化地預設交際者是理性的，一切言語行為都是理性的。這種理想化的

8、預設影響到之后研究過程及其成果的信度和效度，自然也擺脫不了“理想化”的質疑聲。其次，許多禮貌研究學者在驗證禮貌預設時使用的語料是非真實的，人為控制的痕跡也影響了研究成果的可靠性。其三，許多研究者是在自身所處的或者自己所熟悉的文化下預設禮貌原則，并搜集語料。地域文化的限制無法使他們提出的禮貌原則真正沖破文化的界限，具有普遍的適用性。其四，目前國內外大多數(shù)的禮貌研究似乎都過于理想化，許多研究者為了滿足自己論證觀點的需要，在研究步驟、方法、內

9、容等方面均實施了布控，對現(xiàn)實生活中的具體復雜情況卻很少給予考慮。其五，假如眾多學者提出的禮貌原則都無法沖破文化的界限，那么禮貌是否存在真正意義上的普遍性，或者文化無障礙性? 或</p><p>　　三、課題的研究內容及擬采取的研究方法、技術路線及研究難點，預期達到的目標</p><p><b>　　1．研究方法和路線</b></p><p>　

10、　通過到圖書館查找資料，以及利用多媒體網絡瀏覽相關的文章，并與指導老師探討論文的條理、難點，加深了我對本論題的進一步的認識，理清了研究思路。在資料的收集過程中，經常閱讀一些雜志、報紙和期刊，充分利用圖書館和互聯(lián)網的資源，搜集大量商務信函實例，以Leech提出的禮貌原則中具體的六條原則為基準，采用例證分析法和比較對照法對資料進行分類、綜合和篩選，做好筆記和相關記錄，整理出對完成論文具有價值的信息和要點。</p><p&

11、gt;<b>　　2．研究難點</b></p><p>　　收集到的資料過于繁多雜亂，每一份材料體現(xiàn)一個核心觀點和支撐該觀點的許多論點，綜合這些材料以后容易出現(xiàn)論點重合和沖突，之中的取舍問題就極其影響到最后支持我論文的論點取向。也由于禮貌原則這一理論的廣泛認可性，在得出方法和原則的時候沒有太大發(fā)揮空間，局限于對前人的借鑒和總結。</p><p><b>　　

12、3．預期達到的目標</b></p><p>　　通過對Leech提出的禮貌原則中的六個準則進行闡述，結合商務信函中的寫作實例進行分析，從而總結出禮貌原則是如何在商務信函中運用的以及它的作用，給商務人士在交往中得以更好運用好這一技巧,促進貿易往來。</p><p>　　四、論文詳細工作進度和安排</p><p>　　1. Introduction &

13、lt;/p><p>　　1.1 Background information</p><p>　　1.2 Literature review </p><p>　　1.3 Purpose of the writing </p><p>　　2. Business Letter </p><p&

14、gt;　　2.1 Definition of business letter </p><p>　　2.2 Characteristics and linguistic traits of business letter </p><p>　　3. Politeness Principles and the Functioning in English Business Lette

15、rs</p><p>　　3.1 The Tact Maxim </p><p>　　3.2 The Generosity Maxim </p><p>　　3.3 The Approbation Maxim </p><p>　　3.4 The Modesty Maxim</p><p>　　3.5 Th

16、e Agreement Maxim </p><p>　　3.6 The Sympathy Maxim </p><p>　　4. Conclusion </p><p>　　The courtesy plays an important role in international business. It helps build a favorable

17、company's image with integrity, enthusiasm, good professional ethics, so that partners are willing to cooperate with us, bring numerous opportunities of business.</p><p>　　2010年10月10日－11月15日 確定論

18、文題目</p><p>　　2010年11月16日－2010年11月底 指導老師下達任務書，學生提交開題報告，文獻綜述</p><p>　　2010年1月底前 提交論文初稿</p><p>　　2010年3月底前 初稿、二稿的修改</p><p>

19、　　2010年4月底前 三稿、四稿的修改</p><p>　　2010年5月10日前 定稿，提交按要求裝訂的論文終稿一式四份</p><p><b>　　五、主要參考文獻</b></p><p>　　[1]Jacob L. Mey. Pragmatics：An I

20、ntroduction[M],Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2001</p><p>　　[2] Leech G．Principles of pragmatics[M]．Longman Group Limited，</p><p><b>　　1983．</b></p><

21、p>　　[3]Bobbye D．S．Business Communication Fundamentals[M]．Ohio：Charles E．Merrill Publishing Company，1984．</p><p>　　[4]Stallard J．Smith E．&Price S．Business Communication：A</p><p>　　strategi

22、c approach[M]．IRWIN：Illinois Homewood，1989．</p><p>　　[5]劉潤清. 關于Leech的“禮貌原則，《外語教學與研究》，1987(2)</p><p>　　[6] 梅桂能. 當代外貿信函英語的禮貌原則. 中國科技翻譯，2004，</p><p><b>　　29-31</b></p>

23、;<p>　　[7] 司福成. 論英文商務信函中的禮貌原則. 華僑大學學報（哲學社</p><p>　　會科學版），2003，103-106</p><p>　　[8]羨錫彪．商務英語寫作[M]．北京:高等教育教育出版社，2002</p><p>　　[9]徐小貞．商務英語寫作[M]．北京:外語教學與研究出版社，2007</p><

24、p>　　[10]諸葛霖.商務英語寫作[M].北京:中國對外經濟出版社， 2002</p><p><b>　　畢業(yè)論文文獻綜述</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　禮貌原則在商務信函中的運用</p><p>　　一、前言部分（說明寫作的目的，介紹有關概念，扼要

25、說明有關主題爭論焦點）</p><p>　　作為語言交際的重要現(xiàn)象之一，禮貌現(xiàn)象引起了眾多語言學家的關注。從語用角度進行的語言交際中禮貌現(xiàn)象的研究中．當以英國語言學家利奇(G．N．Leech)提出的禮貌原則(Politeness Principles)最有影響力。它不僅適用于口頭語言交際，對書面文本的語言應用也有著重要的指導意義。商務英語信函作為一種具有特定語境的書面語言形式，不同于普通信函的特點。它關系到跨國商

26、務活動中各方的經濟利益，因此力求準確傳達事實。此外，建立互相尊重的良好關系，保持順暢溝通就必須注重禮貌。</p><p>　　禮貌(politeness)是語用學研究的重要對象。漢語中“禮貌”簡言之指的是言語動作謙恭的表現(xiàn)。英語中politeness一詞的解釋是良好舉止、樂于服務．體諒他人。英國語言學家G．N．Leech系統(tǒng)地對語言交際中的禮貌現(xiàn)象進行研究，于1983年提出“照顧對方面子的原則”。Leech（19

27、83)認為構成禮貌的重要因素是命題的行動內容給交際雙方帶來的利益損益和話語提供給受話人的自主選擇程度。</p><p>　　近期禮貌原則的研究學者試圖從更多的視角，如文化、語言形式、具體言語行為、語境，權勢等探索更具有實用性，普遍性的禮貌原則。學者結合更多的視角對禮貌原則進行了新的拓展。但他們的研究成果很大程度上是對早期禮貌原則的修補。目前國內外大多數(shù)的禮貌研究似乎都過于理想化，許多研究者為了滿足自己論證觀點的需

28、要，在研究步驟、方法、內容等方面均實施了布控，對現(xiàn)實生活中的具體復雜情況卻很少給予考慮。</p><p>　　禮貌原則研究的學者歷經三十多年的探索可謂碩果累累。而隨著全球化的加速，更多的研究者加入到了禮貌原則研究的行列，希望能夠找到跨越文化障礙，放之四海而皆準的禮貌交際原則。</p><p>　　二、主題部分（闡明有關主題的歷史背景、現(xiàn)狀和發(fā)展方向，以及對這些問題的評述）</p>

29、;<p>　　禮貌的概念源于美國社會學家Erving Goffman關于“面子”的著作《禮儀的相互作用：面對面的行為論集》。Goffman對面子的研究激起了禮貌原則的研究浪潮。    其后頗有影響力的是Geoffrey Leech的禮貌原則。Leech的禮貌原則分為六個準則：一、策略(得體)準則(Tact Maxim)：盡量少讓別人吃虧，盡量多使別人受益；二、慷慨準則(Generosity Max

30、im)：盡量少讓自己受益，盡量多使自己吃虧；三．贊譽準則：盡量少貶低別人，盡量多贊譽別人；四、謙遜準則 (Approbation Maxim)： (Modesty Maxim)：盡量少贊譽自己，盡量多貶低自己；五、一致準則{Agreement Maxim) 盡量減少雙方的分歧，盡量增加雙方的一致；六、同情準則(Sympathy Maxim) 盡量減少雙方的反感。近期禮貌原則的研究學者試圖從更多的視角，如文化、語言形式、具體言語行為、語境

31、，權勢等探索更具有實用性，普遍性的禮貌原則。 1992年，徐盛恒提出了新的禮貌原則，即關注自我，尊重對方、考慮第三方。 1993年，束定芳和王虹提出了贊揚或貶低理論。1</p><p>　　三、總結部分（將全文主題進行扼要總結，提出自己的見解并對進一步的發(fā)展方向做出預測）</p><p>　　商務英語信函在商務活動中的重要地位決定了其具有完全不同于普通信函的特點。它關系到跨國商務

32、活動中各方的經濟利益，因此力求準確傳達事實。此外，要建立互相尊重的良好合作關系，避免引起雙方的誤會，禮貌文雅的語氣就顯得尤為重要。因此，商務英語信函的另一個特點就是用語正式且彬彬有禮。在商務英語信函的寫作中合理地運用禮貌原則，做到尊重對方的意愿，給對方留有余地，迎合對方的心理需求，就可以給對方帶來一種積極愉悅的感覺，從而使雙方能更為有效地開展進一步的業(yè)務。</p><p>　　本論文預從Leech的禮貌原則的六個

33、準則出發(fā)，分析其在商務信函中的應用實例及其作用。</p><p>　　禮貌原則在商務信函中的應用已經屢見不鮮，但是今后的商務信函仍將以禮貌原則為中心，尊重對方的意愿，迎合對方的心理需求為實踐方法應用到商務貿易中去。</p><p>　　四、參考文獻（根據文中參閱和引用的先后次序按序編排）</p><p>　　[1]Jacob L. Mey. Pragmatics：A

34、n Introduction[M],Beijing：Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press，2001</p><p>　　[2] Leech G．Principles of pragmatics[M]．Longman Group Limited，</p><p><b>　　1983．</b></p>&

35、lt;p>　　[3]Bobbye D．S．Business Communication Fundamentals[M]．Ohio：Charles E．Merrill Publishing Company，1984．</p><p>　　[4]Stallard J．Smith E．&Price S．Business Communication：A</p><p>　　strat

36、egic approach[M]．IRWIN：Illinois Homewood，1989．</p><p>　　[5]劉潤清. 關于Leech的“禮貌原則，《外語教學與研究》,1987(2)</p><p>　　[6] 梅桂能. 當代外貿信函英語的禮貌原則. 中國科技翻譯，2004，</p><p><b>　　29-31</b></p

37、><p>　　[7] 司福成. 論英文商務信函中的禮貌原則. 華僑大學學報（哲學社</p><p>　　會科學版），2003，103-106</p><p>　　[8]羨錫彪．商務英語寫作[M]．北京:高等教育教育出版社，2002</p><p>　　[9]徐小貞．商務英語寫作[M]．北京:外語教學與研究出版社，2007</p>&

38、lt;p>　　[10]諸葛霖.商務英語寫作[M].北京:中國對外經濟出版社， 2002</p><p><b>　?。?0_ _屆）</b></p><p><b>　　本科畢業(yè)設計</b></p><p><b>　　英語</b></p><p>　　禮貌原則在英語商務

39、信函中的運用</p><p>　　Politeness Principles Functioning in English </p><p>　　Business Letters</p><p><b>　　內容摘要</b></p><p>　　隨著世界經濟合作與交流的不斷增多,英語商務信函成了一種便宜而有效的溝通媒介。

40、人們不可能跟自己的貿易伙伴一一親自會面協(xié)商，同時又需要將貿易伙伴做出的各種承諾變成有據可查的文字記錄。我們給貿易伙伴的每一封信都代表著自己所在公司的形象，顯示著公司的水平和實力。一封禮貌有加、措辭得體的商務信函可以幫助一個公司建構起良好的商業(yè)形象，進而做成一筆筆好生意；反之,一封禮貌欠佳、用語不當?shù)男藕瘎t會給一個公司帶來負面的評價，使之弄砸了生意不說，還有可能毀了公司苦心經營的形象。可見，禮貌在商務信函中的作用不容忽視。本文通過大量實例

41、的比較分析，論述英語商務信函中禮貌原則的具體功能及運用，以及堅持在英語商務信函中運用禮貌原則的必要性。</p><p>　　關鍵詞：英語商務信函；禮貌；禮貌原則</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　English business letters have become one of the cheap a

42、nd effective media of communications with the increasing worldwide economic cooperation and exchanges. It is impossible that people meet all their trading partners face-to-face, and we often need to make all kinds of tra

43、de partners’ commitments into written records which can be checked. Each letter that we write to our trading partners represents a company’s image and shows its strength. A courtesy and descent business letter can help t

44、o bui</p><p>　　Key words: English business letters; principles; politeness</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstract……………………………………………………………………………..Ⅱ</p><p>

45、;　　1 Introduction……………………………………………………………..…..............1</p><p>　　2 Business letter………………..…………………………….………………….…...2</p><p>　　2.1 Definition and function of business letter………………………………........

46、..2</p><p>　　2.2 Characteristics of business letter………………………………………….…...3</p><p>　　3 Politeness principles and its application in English letters…………….….......4</p><p>　　3.1 A brie

47、f introduction to Politeness Principle……………………………........4</p><p>　　3.2 How politeness principle functions in English business letters………..……...5</p><p>　　3.2.1 The tact maxim………….…………………………………

48、……….........5</p><p>　　3.2.2 The generosity maxim………………………………………………...…6</p><p>　　3.2.3 The approbation maxim………………………………………………….6</p><p>　　3.2.4 The modesty maxim………………………………………………

49、..........7</p><p>　　3.2.5 The agreement maxim…………………………………………………...7</p><p>　　3.2.6 The sympathy maxim……………………………………………………..…8</p><p>　　3.3 Skills of applying politeness principles

50、 in business letters…………………....9</p><p>　　3.3.1 Tactful tone rather than forced one……………………..………..……....9</p><p>　　3.3.2 Proper use of passive tense……………………….……..…………….....9</p><p>

51、　　3.3.3 Proper use of questions………………….…………..…………………..10</p><p>　　3.3.4 Conversion from negative to positive tone………………………….......10</p><p>　　3.3.5 Use of neuter phrase and avoiding sex discrimi

52、nation vocabulary……...11</p><p>　　4 Conclusion……………...………………………………………………...…....….12</p><p>　　Bibliography………………………………………...………………...………............13</p><p>　　Acknowledgements…………

53、…………………………………………….…….……..14</p><p>　　1 Introduction</p><p>　　English business letter is one of the main tools for us to exchange information during the business affairs. We have depended on word

54、s to communicate since they had been created, for their special characteristics of passing on information across time and space. The daily letter we use is the words systematically organized to express our ideas and thou

55、ghts. Since English is an international language of global village, how to write English business letters with adequate politeness principles is an</p><p>　　This study focus of this paper is to make an empir

56、ical study of politeness principle used in the written business communication. Here we choose English business letter as the language carrier because of its indispensable position in international business affairs and it

57、s basic requirement of using politeness principle should also be the reason. Politeness principle, as a key factor of executing communication purposes, belongs to one study field of pragmatics. It has a complete set of p

58、oliteness </p><p>　　Politeness theory has enjoyed a privileged position on the forefront of pragmatic attention in the past decade and although scrutinized and criticized from many quarters, it remains very

59、much alive as witnessed among others by a recent bibliography by DuFon (1994). Politeness theory and related areas, such as discourse and conversation analysis and studies of interethnic communication, have primarily dra

60、wn on observations from empirical studies of spoken language and have mostly focused on face-</p><p>　　Through systematic analysis and comparison of English business correspondences, this dissertation tries

61、to search how politeness principle has been widely used in English business letters and that the principles of politeness in English business letters should be insisted. It also presents several aspects of politeness in

62、English business letters. </p><p>　　2 Business letter</p><p>　　English business letters are chosen to be the language carrier of this empirical study. The author summarily introduces the definit

63、ion, function and characteristics of business letter. Therefore, one can have a clear study of politeness principle on such bases.</p><p>　　2.1Definition and function of business letter</p><p>

64、　　English business correspondence is one of the most common business contact media. It depends on computers or typewriters to complete the interpersonal interaction. In fact, the business letter is a kind of “selling” le

65、tter. The writer is always pushing sales, of which may be a product, some service, a patent, an idea, or even oneself or the company’s image and so on.</p><p>　　Every business letter communicates in two dist

66、inct ways. The reader gets meaning out of what is said and how it is said in a letter. This kind of communication is not at all peculiar only to business letters. In any face-to-face conversation, for example, a person’s

67、 manner of speaking, the smile or frown on his face, the tone of the voice and etc., all tell something beyond what the words say. This “implied” message could either reinforce or contradict the words. It is the same cas

68、e with busines</p><p>　　Broadly speaking, the functions of a business letter can be summarized as “(1) to ask for or to convey information; (2) to make or to accept an offer; (3) to deal with matters concern

69、ing negotiation of business. In addition, there are letters with no other purpose than to remind the recipient of the sender’s existence” . (Gan, 2003: 1). Qin (2001) concluded the functions of business letter as (1) to

70、set up business relationship; (2) to offer or accept a service; (3) business negotiation; (4) to </p><p>　　2.2 Characteristics of business letter</p><p>　　Letter writing does not differ from any

71、 other form of creative writings. Good command of English is one of the important bases of good business letters. What you write should be free from grammatical blemishes, and also free from the slightest possibilities o

72、f being misunderstood. Gan (2003) summed up certain essential qualities of business letter. They are clearness, conciseness and courtesy. Yan (1998) also summarized the characteristics of successful business letters as c

73、ompleteness, concisen</p><p>　　3 Politeness principles and the functioning in English business letters </p><p>　　3.1 A brief introduction to politeness principles </p><p>　　One has

74、to know what being “polite” means. One of the dictionary definitions of “polite” is “having or showing good manners, sensitivity to other people’s feelings, and/or correct social behavior” . According to Leech (1983), po

75、liteness is an abstract quality, residing in individual expressions, lexical items or morphemes, without regard for the particular circumstances that govern their use. Politeness is a kind of rational behaviors that a Mo

76、dal Person assumes so as to satisfy</p><p>　　his face needs (quoted from Brown & Levinson, 1978). </p><p>　　In everyday situations we have to communicate with other people to get information

77、, to gain knowledge about a topic or to reach a variety of goals. To be successful, one has to follow some important strategies. Beside the rule of the language philosopher H.P. Grice, which is called the Cooperative Pri

78、nciple, there exists another concept that served when people are talking. It is called the Politeness Principle，which has above all been developed by Leech. In the center of this concept does not st</p><p>　

79、　A very general formulation of Leech's politeness principle and its maxims is as follows: Minimize (other things being equal) the expression of impolite beliefs. Maximize (other things being equal) the expression of

80、polite beliefs. Note that politeness is essentially asymmetrical: what is polite with respect to others will be impolite with respect to ourselves, and vice versa. Note also that speakers may adhere to more than one maxi

81、m of politeness at the same time. Often one maxim is on the foref</p><p>　　3.2 How politeness principle functions in English business letters</p><p>　　Politeness principle can save us a lot of t

82、roubles. In order to be polite in our communication and make what we express acceptable without hurting other’s feelings, we should abide by the maxims of the politeness principles with systematic strategies as follows.&

83、lt;/p><p>　　Tact Maxim is the other centered maxim by which we minimize cost to others and maximize benefit to others. While Generosity Maxim is self-centered rule by which we minimize benefit to ourselves and

84、maximize cost to ourselves. We can apply Approbation Maxim to minimize dispraise to others and maximize praise to others. Modesty Maxim shows how self-dispraises are viewed as quite benign. Agreement Maxim is the maxim u

85、sed in assertive that we minimize disagreement between self and others, maximize a</p><p>　　3.2.1 The tact maxim </p><p>　　Tact Maxim is the other centered maxim by which we minimize cost to oth

86、ers and maximize benefit to others. In English business letters, it’s used in command and promise, in order to leave the biggest benefit to the others, to provide more choices for them, and to a large extent, to reduce t

87、he others’ burden. For example,</p><p>　　a. You should make necessary amendment to the relative L／C as soon as possible．</p><p>　　b. Pease make necessary amendment to the relative L／C as soon as

88、 possible．</p><p>　　c. Would it be possible for you to make necessary amendment to the relative L／C as soon as possible?</p><p>　　It is easy to see that the three sentences above are gradually p

89、olite in turn. Sentence “a” requests others at a tone of command, not giving others any leeway. Although sentence “b” uses “please” to show politeness, it still belongs to an imperative sentence, not getting rid of the t

90、one of command. Sentence “c” adopts interrogative sentence, indirectly expressing own opinion, which minimizes cost to others and maximizes benefit to others. Therefore, it’s much more polite to achieve own purpose w<

91、/p><p>　　3.2.2 The generosity maxim</p><p>　　Generosity Maxim is self-centered rule by which we minimize benefit to ourselves and maximize cost to ourselves. In English business letters, it’s used

92、in command and promise, in order to leave the biggest loss on oneself. The Generosity Maxim is mostly used in promise that sellers make to customers for the best service or quality. For example,</p><p>　　a．W

93、e regret that you misunderstood our order．</p><p>　　b．We regret that we didn’t make it clear in our order．</p><p>　　These two sentences clearly express the same meaning. In sentence “a”, the spe

94、aker directly blames the other one, which makes people hardly to accept undertaking the total responsibility resulted from error. While in sentence “b”, it changes the role of the second speaker into the first speaker, a

95、ctively undertaking responsibilities, which shows the sincerity and politeness. People feel easy and more comfortable to accept by doing that.</p><p>　　3.2.3 The approbation maxim</p><p>　　We ca

96、n apply Approbation Maxim to minimize dispraise to others and maximize praise to others (other-perspective). In English business letters, it’s used in expressions and statements, in order to make great compliments of the

97、 others. For example, a bank requires an agency company to do an extra show, then the agency company writes begin with what as follows:</p><p>　　Thank you for your effort in submitting a proposal for our ima

98、ge-building promotional campaign. Your proposal certainly is one of the best that we received.</p><p>　　At the beginning, the bank praises its agency company’s business proposal and extends its sincere thank

99、s to their hard work, making them not feel disappointed even if they are not selected out. Therefore, it’s beneficial for both on long-term cooperation in the future by leaving a good impression on the business partner.

100、In the sentence “Your proposal certainly is one of the best that we received.”, “certainly” emphasizes the praise, “best” highlights the proposal’s quality, and “one of” gives o</p><p>　　3.2.4 The modesty ma

101、xim</p><p>　　Modesty Maxim shows how self-dispraises are viewed as quite benign. In other words, it means to minimize praise of self and maximize dispraise of self (self-perspective). In English business let

102、ters, it’s used in expressions and statements, in order to reduce own compliments and to speak highly of others as possible. For example, businessmen once apologize to customers as follows:</p><p>　　On July

103、14, we retuned two of the toothpaste without your authorization. We unintentionally neglected that step despite having previous experience with returning product to you.</p><p>　　We sincerely apologize for t

104、his error and appreciate your willingness to end the rules for us. Since August 1，we have instituted a pre-printed checklist for our warehouse clerks to use when returning merchandise. On your form the words “Call for Au