商務(wù)信函的詞匯特征

中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/LexicalFeatureofEnglishBusinessLettersAbstract：Englishbusinessletterplaysanimportantroleinforeigntrade.InEnglishbusinessletters,thelexiconisakeyaspectwhichcaninfluencetheeffectofcommunication:ThisthesisisastudyonlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinessletters.ThepurposesofthisstudyaretofindoutthespecificlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinesslettersexchangedinforeigntrade,whichisdifferentfrombothface-to-faceinteractionsandeverydaylettersandgiveimplicationsfortheBusinessEnglishlearnersandthebusinesspractitionerstoenhancetheirmasteryofappropriateuseoflexiconinEnglishbusinessletters.ThediscussionsofthisstudyareexpectedtoshedsomelightontheteachingandstudyofEnglishbusinesslettersandthepracticalbusinessletterswritingbytheprofessionalsinthefieldofforeigntrade.KeyWords:Englishbusinessletters;lexicalfeature;suggestions商務(wù)英語的用詞技巧摘要：商務(wù)英語信函在對外貿(mào)易中起著很重要的作用。而在商務(wù)信函中，詞匯又是影響交際效果的一個主要方面。本文是對商務(wù)英語信函的詞匯特點展開的研究。本研究的目的是:找出對外貿(mào)易交際中所使用的、與面對面交際及日常信件不同的商務(wù)信函的詞匯特征;進一步提出一些能夠加強商務(wù)英語學(xué)習(xí)者與商務(wù)活動從業(yè)者對商務(wù)英語信函詞匯正確應(yīng)用能力的意見.希望本文的研究能夠有助于商務(wù)英語信函的教學(xué)及對外貿(mào)易從業(yè)者的商務(wù)信函寫作。關(guān)鍵詞：英語商務(wù)信函；詞匯特征；建議/r//r//r//r/CONTENTSTOC\o"1-5"\h\zIntroduction11.BriefIntroductionofEnglishBusinessLetters2TheAnalysisofLexicalFeatureinEnglishBusinessLettersandSuggestiononWriting3LexicalFeatureofEnglishBusinessLetters3HeavyUseofSpecialTerms3TheUseofFamiliarWords4TheUseofSpecificandExactWordsandExpressions6FeaturesoftheUseofModifyingWordsinEnglishbusinessletters8Suggestion9ChoiceofPreciseWording10AvoidanceofAmbiguity10AvoidanceofCliche12ChoiceofConciseWording12AvoidanceofLongandUnusualWords14AvoidanceofWordiness15AvoidanceofRedundancies17TheUseofSimpleorCommonwords18AvoidanceofOfficialese19AvoidanceofCommercialese19AvoidanceofNeedlessJargonsandSlang20LimitationandSuggestion21Conclusion22Bibliography24IntroductionInmodernbusinessoperations,businessletteristhemostfrequentinstrumentsemployedbycompaniesindailybusinesscommunications.Businesslettersreferredinthisstudyaremostfrequentlyusedlettersininternationaltrades,includingestablishingbusinessrelations,inquiriesandreplies,offersandcounter-offers,ordersandacknowledgements,packingaswellasshipment.SpecificlinguisticandstylisticfeaturesofbusinesslettersmakethemtotallydifferentfromthegeneralEnglishwriting.Amongvariouskindsofbusinesscommunications,Englishbusinesslettersplayanimportantroleandremainthemostessentialininternationaltrade.WithChina'saccessiontotheWTO,weareconfrontedwithmorechallengesaswellasbusinessopportunities.Itisthereforeverysignificantforustohaveagoodcommandofsomeimportantlexiconmostcommonlyusedintheinternationaltrade.Itcanbesaidthatwithoutbusinessletters,allinternationaltradeandbusinesswillfallapart.WritingEnglishbusinesslettersisamustininternationalbusinesssettings,formessagesthroughtelephoneconversationshavetobeconfirmedinwriting.Therefore,Englishbusinesslettersaregreatlyneededinforeigntradeaffairs.Englishbusinesslettersarethemostimportantwaybetweenthebusinessmenonbothsidesinforeigntrade.Englishbusinessletterwritingisofgreatimportancetoforeigntrade.Itservestopassoninformation,toexpressideas,toexchangefeelingsandtodealwithsocialbusinessandhelpstomakeandmaintainagoodrelationshipwithcustomersaslongaspossible.Inthisprocess,aneffectiveandefficientletterisanessentialweaponperhapsthemostversatileweaponatourdisposal.Therefore,itisnecessaryforpeopleengagedinforeigntradeaffairstohaveagoodcommandofthelanguagefeaturesandwritingtechniquesaboutpracticalEnglishwriting,especiallyEnglishbusinessletters.Inthepresentpaper,theauthorattemptstoinvestigatethelexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinessletter,toanalyzetheselexicalfeaturesandproposesomeimplicationsofthem.BriefIntroductionofEnglishBusinessLettersEnglishbusinessletterisakindofletterbetweenimportersandexportersintheprocessofinternationaltradewiththepurposeofconcludingandimplementingabusinesstransaction.Englishbusinessletterplaysaveryimportantroleininternationaltrade.First,itisthemostcommonlyusedcommunicatingmethodbetweenimportersandexporters.Usually,therearedifferentmethodsofcommunicationforimportersandexporters,suchassendingvisitinggroupstoeachother,contactingintradefairs,havingaspecialfacetofacttalk,etc.Amongallthesemethods,Englishbusinessletteristhemostcommonlyusedone,andeventheonlywayofcommunicationavailableinmanycases.Secondly,thelettersbetweenimportersandexportersarethebasisofasalescontract.Inthepracticeofinternationaltrade,theprocessofconcludingacontractislikethis:first,thereshouldbenegotiationbetweenthetwopartiesinvolved.Afterallthetradetermsanddetailsaresettled,therewouldbethecontract.Intheprocessconcludingacontract,themainformofnegotiationisbyletters.Allthetradetermsanddetailsareputforward,discussed,offered,counter-offeredthroughthelettersbetweenthetwoparties.■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/r//r//r/TheAnalysisofLexicalFeatureinEnglishBusinessLettersandSuggestiononWritingUsuallyapieceofEnglishbusinessletterisquiteshort,eachofwhichusuallycontainslessthanI50words.Withinthese150words,Englishbusinesslettersmanifestnumerous,distinctiveanduniquefeatures.Inthischapter,asystematicstudyofthelexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinessletterswillbeconducted,orputtingitinanotherway,thefollowingtwoquestionswillbeaddressed:WhatarethelexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinessletters?Howtoimproveyourskillsofwritingabusinessletterfromlexicalview?LexicalFeatureofEnglishBusinessLettersHeavyUseofSpecialTermsAsweknow,Englishbusinesslettersrefertothelettersbetweenexportersandimportersintheprocessofinternationaltrade,anditscontentsalwaysdealwithoneorsomeaspectsofforeigntrade.SoEnglishbusinesslettersisthewritingbelongingtothecategoryoffairespecialty.Asaresult,oneofthemostdistinctfeaturesistheuseoftechnicalterms.Inotherwords,somewordsarefrequentlyusedinEnglishbusinessletters,buttheyseldomappearinwritingsofothertypes.Inordertoillustratethispoint,lookatthepieceofEnglishbusinesslettersbelow:E.g.2.1DearSirs:Thankyouforyouroffer.Wenowconfirmourpurchaseofthefollowinggoods:Description:A-IgradecannedbeefSpecification:250GMconditionedweightInsurance:againstwithparticularaveragePayment:byirrevocableL/Catsighwithoutrecourse.Shipmentmarks:oneachandeverycase,thenameoftheconsigneeshouldbestenciled.WeexpecttofindgoodmarketfortheaboveYourssincerelyThereare66wordsinthisletter,andamongthesewords,atleast7words(orphrases)arespecialtermsofinternationaltrade,theyare:"recourse","consignee","particularaverage","shipmentmarks","irrevocableL/C","atsight"and"conditionedweight".Besidesthesespecialterms,someotherwordssuchas:"insurance","payment""specification","description"whicharetosomedegreespecial.TheuseofspecialtermsinEnglishbusinesslettershasanotherform:forsomewords,thoughtheyappearinwritingsofothertypesaswell,theirmeaningisquitedifferentandspecialwhenusedinEnglishbusinessletters.Considerthefollowingexample:E.g.2.2DearMadam:Wehavereceivedyouroffer,nowwebook300sets,wehopethepaymenttobemadebynegotiatingL/Cinsteadofbycollection.Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.YourssincerelyInthisletter,wordslike"offer","book","negotiation","collection"areallfamiliarwords,buttheirmeaningsinthisletterarequitespecialanddifferentfromtheircommonmeanings.Theuseofthesespecialterms,ononehand,makesthewritingscientific,preciseandconcise;ontheotherhand,fromtheviewpointoflanguage,thesespecialwordshelptorendertheEnglishbusinesslettersmorespecial,functional,impersonalandbusinesslikeinstyle.TheUseofFamiliarWordsInthepast,people'sunderstandingofEnglishbusinessletterswasthatitwasanimpersonal,company-to-companywriting,andessentiallyakindofhalf-officialdocument.WhentheywroteEnglishbusinessletters,theypreferredtouseformalwordsorevenuncommonwordstoshowitsformalityandimpersonality.ThefollowingexamplecanshowthisfeatureofEnglishbusinesslettersofthepast.E.g.2.3DearSirorMadam:Yoursofthe12threceivedinstant,andinreplybegtostatethatherewithisforwardedthereportunderconsideration.Pleasebeadvisedofgeneralconcurrenceindesiretoexpeditematters...YourstrulyInthisletter,severaluncommonwordswereused,suchas"herewith""consideration","concurrence"and"expedite".WhenthesebigwordsmadethispieceofEnglishbusinesslettersseemsoformalandsoimpersonal,theyalsomadeitquiteinflexible,rigidandhardtounderstand.Thesedays,withthedevelopmentofsocietyinwhichpeoplearepayingmoreandmorecareandrespecttohumanbeing,thestyleofEnglishbusinesslettershasalsochangedalot.Asfarastheaspectoflexiconisconcerned,thechangeisthatpeopleareincreasinglyusingfamiliarwordsintheirEnglishbusinessletterswriting.Thefollowingaretwocolumnsofsynonyms.TheleftcolumnrepresentsthewordsthathavebeenoncecommonlyusedintheEnglishbusinessletterswritinginthepast,whiletherightcolumnrepresentsthewordsthatarebeingfrequentlyusedtoday.ColumnIColumnIIRenderGiveEndeavorTryRequireAskTerminateEndPriortoBeforeTousefamiliarwordsmeanstouseeverydaywordsinsteadofacademicwords,tousesimpleandshortwordsinsteadofcomplicatedwordsandbigwords,andtousewordsinsteadofphrases.Inordertomakethispointclearerletuscomparethefollowingtwosentences:E.g.2.4Thecontractenclosedherewithrequiresyoursignaturebeforeitcanbeexecutedandshouldbedirectedtotheundersigned./r//r/E.g.2.5Pleasesignthecontractenclosedandreturnittoourcompany.Thesetwosentencesexpressthesamemeaning,buttheirstylesarequitedifferent.Obviouslythefirstsentenceisverystereotypedandboringbecauseoftheuseofsomebigwordssuchas"herewith","executed","direct"and"undersigned";whilethesecondsentenceleavestheimpressionofbeingnatural,andeasytounderstand,foritusesfamiliarwordstoreplacetheuncommonwords.Theuseoffamiliarwordsnotonlymakesthewritingeasiertounderstand,butalsomakesthewritingmorenatural,cordialandacceptable.TheUseofSpecificandExactWordsandExpressionsJustlikecommonletters,oneofEnglishbusinesslettersmajorfunctionsistoconveyinformation,onebigdifferencebeingthatEnglishbusinesslettersdemandamuchhigherdegreeofprecisionofexpression.Beforeacontractisconcluded,everydetailandtradetermsshouldbemadeclearanddefinitethroughEnglishbusinessletters.Anyexpressionwhichisvagueorambiguousortoobroadorlessspecificwillincurfurtheraskingandclarification,anditislikelytocauseseriousconsequences.SobeingpreciseandexactinlanguageconstitutesanotherimportantfeatureofEnglishbusinessletters.Tobemorespecific,thefollowingcharacteristicsarequiteobvious.FiguresareuseddeliberatelyandabundantlyinEnglishbusinessletters.Tousefiguresisthemostpreciseandexactwayofexpression.InEnglishbusinessletters,figuresarefrequentlyusedespeciallywhendealingwiththeprice,quantity,timeetc.Letuslookatthefollowingexample:E.g.2.6DearSirorMadam:YourfaxofFebruary10askingtoofferyouthearticleno.306hasreceivedourimmediateattention.Wearepleasedtoknowthatyouareinterestedinourproducts.Inreplytoyourinquiry,wetakepleasureinmakingyouanofferasfollows,providedyourreplyreachesuswithin6daysfromtoday■■■■■■■■■■■/r/specificationquantity(set)price($)BYD2121000410.00BYD1751000380.00BYD218500395.00ThepriceisonthebasisofCIFAlexandria.Packing:atthebuyer'soption.Shipment:totalquantitytobedeliveredby3equalmonthlyshipments,MarchthroughMay1999.Payment:100%byirrevocablerevolvingletterofcredit.Inviewofthefactthatoutstockinhandhasbeenquitelowowingtoheavycommitment,yourearlyorderisessential.YoursfaithfullyInthisletter,thereareasmanyas15figures.Thesefiguresnotonlyhelptomaketheexpressionsquitespecific,butalsomakethewritinghaveapractical,impersonalandbusinesslikestyle,distinguishingitfromothertypesofwriting.Useadjectiveswithdefinitemeaningstohelpgaintheprecisionofexpression.Inordertoillustratethispoint,firstletusconsiderthefollowingtwoletters.E.g.2.7DearSirorMadam:Wehavereceivedyourletter,nowwearemakingouroffer,subjecttoyourreplysoon.Quantity:200tonsPacking:inbagsShipment:intwolotsduringJuneandJulyof2004Welookforwardtoyourreply.YourssincerelyDearSirorMadam:YourletterofMay1hasbeenreceived,nowwearemakingouroffer,subjecttoyourreplyherebeforeoronMay10.Quantity:200metrictonsPacking:innewseaworthyjutebagsfor50kgseachShipment:intwoequalmonthlylotsduringJuneandJulyof2004.Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.YourssincerelyAfterreadingthefirstletter,wefeelthattherearesomanydetailsthatwearenotclearabout,anditdoesnotpossessthequalityofbeingspecificandexactthatanEnglishbusinesscorrespondenceshouldhave.SowecansaythatessentiallyitismorelikeacommonletterthanapieceofEnglishbusinesscorrespondence,althoughitscontentisaboutforeigntrade.Thesecondletterisquitedifferent.Inthisletter,anumberofmodifierssuchas"metric","equal","monthly""seaworthy""new","jute"areused,andtheword"soon"inthefirstparagraphofthefirstletterisreplacedby"beforeandonMay10".Withthemodificationoftheseadjectives,theletterismadequitespecificanddefinite.Wordswithinexactmeaningsareseldomused.Forsomewordswhosemeaningisnotsoexactsuchas"several","afew","alotof”,"about","maybe","around",theyareseldomusedinEnglishbusinessletters.Sincethesewordsdonotcarryexactandspecificinformation,theyarehardlypartofEnglishbusinessletters’language.FeaturesoftheUseofModifyingWordsinEnglishBusinessLettersGenerallyspeaking,Englishbusinessletterisakindofwritingthatusescomparativelylessmodifyingwords.Thisisdeterminedbyitsfunction.Inmostcases,Englishbusinesslettersareaskingforinformation,offeringtradeterms,givingdetails,tellinganarrangementorideaorexpressingasituation.InEnglishbusinessletters,thereisnogreatmassofemotionalexpressionorlargeblockofvividdescriptionas■■■■■■■■■■■/r/thereisinsomeliteraryworks.Consequently,notmanymodifyingwordsareneededinEnglishbusinessletters.Tobemorespecific,thefollowingconclusionscanbedrawn:(1)Concerningtheclassificationofadjectives,mostadjectivesusedinEnglishbusinesslettersarequantitativeandclassifyingones.LookatthefollowingsentencestakenfromsomepiecesofEnglishbusinessletters.E.g.2.9PaymentshouldbemadebyirrevocabletransferableandconfirmedL/C.E.g.2.10Shipmentshouldbemadeintwoequalmonthlylots.Inthesetwosentences,noneoftheadjectivesareusedforliterarydescription,andtheirfunctionissimplytomakesomedetailsspecificandexact.Modifyingwordswithstrongemotionalcoloringareseldomused.Inmostcases,adjectivesandadverbsusedinEnglishbusinesslettersareneutral,withoutemotionalcoloring.Insomecertaincircumstances,adjectivesoradverbswithemotionalcoloringarealsolikelytobeused,buttheemotionalcoloringisusuallymoderate,mildandpositive.Thefollowingexamplescanillustratethispoint.E.g.2.11Youwillfindourpriceisreasonable.E.g.2.12Wehopetofindgoodmarketforyourproducts.Somewordssuchas"extremely","absolute","deeply","profound""sad","delightful"andsoonarenotlikelytoappearinapieceofEnglishbusinessletters,becausetheycanaddanemotional,personalandsubjectivestyletothewriting,whichdoesnotcomplywiththeessentialstyleofEnglishbusinessletters.2.2SuggestionThepresentstudyonlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinesslettersaimstoanalyzetherealizationofcommunicativepurpose(participantrelationshipsandroles,etc.)inEnglishbusinesslettersatlexicallevel.Thestudyofvocabularyofthe中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/r/collecteddatahelpsusunderstandhowpeopleexpressmeaningswiththespecificlexicon.Inthisresearch,themainlexicalfeaturesofEnglishbusinessletterswillbediscussedmainlyfromtheperspectivesofboththewritingprinciples(i.e.principlesofpracticalbusinesswriting)andpragmatictheories(i.e.Grice'sCooperativePrinciple,Leech'sPolitenessPrincipleandZipsEconomyPrinciple).Herearesomesuggestionsofwritingbasedonthoseprinciples.ChoiceofPreciseWordingAccordingtotheprincipleof7Cs,businesslettersshouldbeprecise,bothincontentandinlexicalchoosing.Sometimes,whenwereadsomesentences,wedonotknowtheexactmeaningofthem.Wehavetoreadthemformanytimesandtakethecontextintoconsideration.Soitisawasteoftimeandenergy,oritisnoteconomical.PrecisewordingisusuallyadoptedinEnglishbusinessletterwriting.Thetendencyofusingprecisewordingreflectstheeconomyoflanguage.Sinceweadapttheprincipleofdiminishingmarginalutilityofspeechtoanalyzesuchaphenomenon,itwillbesmoothlyunderstood[1].Theprincipletellsthattheinputoflanguagemaybeequalwiththeutilityofitsoutput,butthatdoesnotmeanthemoreyouuselanguage,thebettertheoutputwillbe.Astheincreaseofsatisfactionofthereader,themarginalutilitycomestozero;ittellsthelanguageinputarrivesatequilibriumwiththepsychologicaldemandsforlanguage.Herethetotalutilityoftheinputlanguagereachesthemaximization.Ifwecontinuetoaddinput,thesatisfactionandenjoymentofthereadernotonlydecrease,butalsoarousedislikessoastosetoffthetotalutility.Therearesomemeanstoabidebytheprecisewordingruleasfollows.AvoidanceofAmbiguityInanEnglishsentencethepronounortherelativereferstothenounwhichisthenearesttothem.Sometimestheambiguitywillarisebecauseoftheimproperpositionofthepronoun,therelativeortheantecedent.Let'stakepronounsforexample:whomandwhatthepronounreferstoandwhattherelationbetweentherelativepronounandtheantecedentis.E.g.2.13TheyinformedMessrs.Smith&Brownthattheywouldreceiveareplyinafewdays.Inthissentence,whatdoesthesecond"they"refer,thesubject"They"ofthemainclauseor"Messrs.Smith&Brown"?Thiscannotbeexplainedclearly.Itwillbeclearerwhenthesentenceischangedinto"TheyinformedMessrs.Smith&Brownthatthelatterwouldreceiveareplyinafewdays",wherethe"latter"clearlyrefersthe"Messrs.Smith&Brown",sonomisunderstandingwouldappear.Moreexampleswillbefollowed:E.g.2.14Chinese:詳細情形我方不清楚，故本案擬委托該公司Ambiguous:Wearewillingtoleavethismattertothecompanythedetailsofwhichareunknowntous.Precise:Wearewillingtoleavethecompanythismatterthedetailsofwhichareunknowntous.Therefore,we'dbetteravoidambiguitywhilewritingbusinessletters.Anambiguouswordisonethathasmorethanonemeaninginthesamecontext.Connectingwordsareespeciallypronetoambiguity."Sinceweincreasedourpricessaleshavefallensharply"meanseither"becauseweincreaseourprices,saleshavefallensharply."or"fromthetimethatweincreaseourprices,saleshavefallensharply."Thedifferencecanbeimportant.Considerthefollowingexamples:E.g.2.15Chinese:此種紙包裝貨物縱然在裝寄時外表完好，因運送中種種處理方法導(dǎo)致生此類損傷也是不可避免之事。Ambiguous:Thedamagetopaperpackagesofthisnatureisunavoidableduetovariouswaysofhandlingduringtransitdespitetheyareapparentlysufficientattimeofloading.(accordingtoappearancesorclearly?)Precise:Thedamagetopaperpackageofthisnatureisunavoidableduetovariouswaysofhandlingduringtransitdespitetheyappeartobeinsufficientgoodconditionattimeofloading.Whilewritingabusinessletter,thecontentshouldbeclearsoastoavoidmisunderstanding.Therefore,thewritershouldpaymuchattentiontothepreciseandaccessibleexpressions.Theuseofprecisewordsisanimportantfeatureofclearness.Accordingtotheprincipleofcommonpresupposition,thewriterthoughtthereaderwouldalsoknowtherecipientofthereply,actually,itisnotsurethatthereaderknowsornot.Inviewoftheneweconomyprinciple,thecontentshouldbeaccordantwiththerealityandthefact.Bepreciseistobeexactthesamewiththepractice.AvoidanceofClicheInaddition,clichesareenemiesoftheprecisewords.ClicheisaFrenchwordusedinEnglishtodenoteaphrasethathasbecomestereotypedandhackneyed.Itindicatespovertyoflanguageandunwillingnesstothinkforoneself.Herearesomeclichescommonlyused:Atyour(earliest)convenienceBeinreceiptofBethatasitmayBoundtoadmitByandlargeItisnotwrongtouseaclicheinbusinessletterwriting.Ifthephraseisusedproperly,therecanbenoobjectiontoit.Justthinkitoverbeforeusingacliche.Ifthewritercanuseprecisewordsinsteadofcliche,itmustbemoreeconomical.However,therealargenumberofpeoplestilluseclicheinbusinessletterwriting,yetitisnothingwrongtodoso.ItwillbegraduallyabandonedwiththedevelopmentofEnglishbusinesslettersbecauseoftheimmanentreason—economyoflanguage,andpeoplealwaysarewillingtodothingswithleastefforts.ChoiceofConciseWordingItisaprevailingtendencythatbusiness-letter-writersuseconcisewordstoreplacesomeunnecessarywording.Tousemorewordsthanarenecessarywillcauseexpressionsmostofwhicharemerelypadding.Unnecessarywordswastetime,add/r//r//r//r/nothingtomeaningandcontributenothingtothereader'sperceptionofwhatiswritten.Choiceofconcisewordsmainlyembodiesoneoftheprinciplesofpracticalbusinesswritingconciseness,whichisconsideredoneoftheessentialfeaturesofbusinessletters.Byconcisenesswemeanthatweshouldtrytoexpressclearlyourmeaninginasfewwordsaspossible,butwithoutdamagingcompletionandcourtesyofletters.AccordingtoGrice'sCooperativePrincipethewritershouldfollow"MaximofManner:beperspicuous"(Levinson,1983)[1,5].Themessageweexpressshouldbeconciseto"avoidobscurityofexpression"and"bebrief(avoidunnecessaryprolixity)".Whenthesamemeaningcanbeexpressedwithconcisewordsinsteadofclumsyexpressions,theconcisewordsarepreferred.AccordingtoZipf(1949),theconceptofeconomy,atenetortendencysharedbyalllivingorganisms,maybereferredtoas"theprincipleofleasteffort",whichconsistsintendingtowardstheminimumamountofeffortthatisnecessarytoachievethemaximumresult,sothatnothingiswasted[8].Inthefieldoflanguageuse,whenotherthingsbeingequal,thesmallerthecognitiveeffortsthereadershouldmaketounderstandthewriter'smeaning,thebettertheexpressionsare.E.g.2.16:Wewishtoacknowledgereceiptofyourreply.Thankyouforyourreply.Weherewithhandyououtcheckfor$400.Weencloseourcheckfor$400.Bycomparison,sentences2)and4)arebetterthansentences1)and3)thoughfewerwordsareusedintheformertwo.Themeaningisexpressedclearly.Asfarasconcernedintheabove-mentionedtheories,theeconomyinlanguageisobvious.Ifwecanuseminimumlanguagetoexpresstherealandsufficientideainaletter,thatwouldbethemostperfectandeconomicalwaywhileusinglanguage.Beingconciseinwritingbusinessletterisanembodiment.Tousemorewordsthanarenecessarywillcausewoollyexpressionsmostofwhicharemerelypadding.Unnecessarywordswastetime,addnothingtomeaningandcontributenothingtothereader'sperceptionofwhatiswritten.Therefore,itisjustakindofoppositesideoftheprincipleofeconomy,whichisalsoagainstthenatureoflanguage.InviewofZipf'sPrincipleofLeastEffort,itisnoticeablethattendingtowardstheminimumamountofeffortisnecessarytoachievethemaximumutility,sothatnothingiswasted.Usingconcisewordingisagoodexampleofhisprinciple.Inbusinesslettersitmeansincreasedeffectivenessanddecreasedcosts.Toachievethis,trytoobservethefollowingwordchoices.AvoidanceofLongandUnusualWordsE.g.2.17:LongShort大約approximatelyabout開始commencestart,begin薪水emolumentpay,fees改動modificationchange展示demonstrateshow現(xiàn)在currentlynow鄰近的imminenthear輕率的imprudentrashIfyouthinkthelongwordexpressesthenecessaryshadeofmeaningthattheshortworddoesnotexpress,youmayusethelongword.Onelongwordwillprobablynotmakethewholeletterunintelligible.Whatwillhavethiseffect,however,istoincludemanylongwords.Itisbettertouseeverydaywordsratherthanunusualwordssuchasacademicorliterarywords.Accordingtothestrategyorprincipleofsecondarypositionofaestheticmotivation,althoughsomepoeticorliterarylanguageisverybeautiful,theyareseldomusedinEnglishbusinessletters.Becausepeopleshouldfirstassurethepriorityoftheinformationneededinlimitedtimeandenergy,thelanguagecanachievethemaximumeffort.Therefore,inalimitedtimeandenergy,peoplemustgivetheprioritytothedemandoftheprimaryinformationfromthereceiverinordertobringthe中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/中國最大的論文知識平臺中國最大的論文知識平臺/r/maximizationutilityintoplay,withleastefforts.E.g.2.18UnusualEveryday總計aggregatetotal提高augmentincrease努力endeavortry錯誤的erroneouswrong外部的externalouter火conflagration.fire提問interrogatequestionItisevidentthatthesentenceswillbemuchmoreeasilyunderstoodwhenthecommonandsimpleeverydaywordsareused.Undoubtedlyagreatnumberofexperiencedwritersofbusinesslettershaveemphasizedtheimportanceofusingshortandsimpleeverydaywords.AvoidanceofWordinessTakeitasaruletousenomorewordsthanisneededtomakeyourmeaningclear.E.g.2.19:WordyConcise目前atthepresenttimenow盡管inspiteofthefactthatevenenough按你方要求inaccordancewithyourrequestasyourequested允許affordanopportunityallow,enable、:、一J注意attentioniscalledpleasenote同樣otherthingbeingequalnormally,equally為了forthepurposeoffor期間duringthetimethatwhile通常inmajorityofcasesusually因為duetothefactthatsinceorbecause由于inviewofthefactthatsinceorbecause按慣例inthenormalcourseofourprocedurenormallyTheoveruseofprepositionscaninterferewiththeclarityofanidea.Whentoomanyprepositionsareused,theideabehindthewordsdiminishes.Sothisphenomenonisexplainedbythelawofdiminishingmarginalutilityofspeech.Astheincreaseofsatisfactionofthereader,themarginalutilityofthelanguageinputisconstantlydiminished.Whenthemarginalutilitycomestozero,ittellsthatthelanguageinputarrivesatequilibriumwiththepsychologicaldemandsforlanguage.Atthispoint,thetotalutilityoftheinputreachesthemaximization.Ifwecontinueaddinginput,thesatisfactionandenjoymentofthereaderwillstopincreasingratherthanarousedislikesoastosetoffthetotalutility.Therefore,itmightbeadvisabletoabandonunnecessaryprepositionsasmanyaswecan.Wordyexpressionsaresimplythedeadpartinasentence.SupposethatitwillcostyouUS$100peraword,youmusttryyourutmosttoconsidereverywordyou'lluse,inthisway,youwouldtalkabouttheessentialthings.Thosewordswhichdonottransformnecessaryinformationnotonlykillreaders'timeanddecreasetheirintereststoreadtheletter,butalsowasteyourmoney.Thefollowingexamplesgiveyousomehintsonhowtobeprecise.Andwordyexpressionsareoppositetothenaturalregulationsoflanguagedevelopment.SinceChomsky(1965)propose