外貿函電中詞匯的文體色彩研究 （全英文）

外貿函電中詞匯的文體色彩研究（全英文）StylisticColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondence一、綜述國內外對本課題的研究動態(tài)，說明選題的依據(jù)和意義：隨著中國加入世界貿易組織（WTO）以后，與國外的接觸日益頻繁，我國對外貿易與對外經濟合作的不斷向前發(fā)展，外貿函電成為了商務交流中互通商業(yè)信息，聯(lián)系商務事務及促進貿易關系的重要橋梁。A.Shley認為“在商務函電中，為了使函電更加禮貌得體，除了選用一些得體的語言外，還多用被動語態(tài)……因為被動語態(tài)能使你的請求顯得更具體更加通和……”。美國L.E佛雷利在《商務書信全書》全面分析了在商務方面的各個環(huán)節(jié)信函的寫作原則，也就是結構嚴謹，用詞簡潔禮貌，避免使用虛偽孤傲恐嚇之詞，真正達到函電交流的目的。國際譯編社在《標準英文商業(yè)書信》中這樣說“商務英語函電是貿易雙方互相往來的途徑讀信人與寫信人一樣由他自己的感情，我們不得忽視他的感受，我們是一筆代口談生意，因而，使用的語言不能生硬呆板，冷冰冰顯的缺乏親切感”。我國國內一些業(yè)界人士對這一領域同樣作了很多的研究，他們從語言學的角度來分析外貿函電，即使用會話原則，合作原則，禮貌原則等。他們應用語用學充分分析語言在外貿函電中呈現(xiàn)的特點和它的語用功能。他們還從語法角度剖析了外貿函電中出現(xiàn)的語法特點和這些語法在外貿函電中起到的作用。全面研究了外貿函電的特點：語言正式規(guī)范，用詞嚴謹準確；專業(yè)術語使用的專業(yè)性和實用性；語言禮貌委婉；使用書面語體的語言結構。本文主要根據(jù)我國國內人士在這一領域的研究成果，從外貿函電的詞匯方面著手，詳細的分析詞匯在外貿函電中的文體色彩，解析各種詞類在外貿函電中的新的特點和新的用法，指導我們在撰寫外貿函電時，準確恰當?shù)倪x擇應用詞匯。二、研究的基本內容，擬解決的主要問題：本文主要將外貿函電中的詞匯分成幾類，一般用詞，專業(yè)術語，縮略詞和古體詞等，引進一些典型的詞匯例子剖析詞匯在外貿函電的中特點和用法。隨著經濟和科技的發(fā)展，不斷涌現(xiàn)出新的詞匯，外貿函電作為一種特殊的文體，這些詞匯如何在函電中正確的應用；如何正確使用一般的詞匯表達外貿函電中特殊的含義；以及專業(yè)術語、縮略詞等為什么大量的出現(xiàn)在函電中和它們所起到的作用。Today,underthebackgroundofeconomicglobalizationandeconomicintegration,foreigntradecorrespondencehasbeenthemostimportantlinksofforeigntradeactivitiesasatoolofbusinesscommunication.Foreigntradecorrespondenceisofaspecialstyleandhasformeditsownlanguagecharacteristicsgraduallyintheforeigntradeactivities.Also,wordisanindispensableelementoflanguageformation.Intheforeigntradefield,alotofnewinformationandadvancedtechnologyemerge,withthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology.Beyondalldoubts,intheprocess,therearemanynewwords.Eachwordhasitsownstylisticcoloringrespectivelyinforeigntradecorrespondence.Thisthesismainlyanalysesthewords’featuresandusesinforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologismthroughalotofexamples.Also,intermsofpragmatics,accordingtopolitenessprinciplesandotherrelevanttheoriessuchas‘3c’principle,wordscanbefurtherstudiedonhowtobeappliedinforeigntradecorrespondenceandwhateffecttheycanproduce.Thisthesisfirstlyintroducesforeigntradecorrespondenceanditsmainfeatures.Then,intermsofstylistics,thethesissimplyexplainswhatstylisticsisandelaboratesthestylisticfeaturesofforeigntradecorrespondence.Thethirdpartdetailsstylisticcoloringofwordsintheforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects.Oneshouldemploywordsappropriatelytoachievethepurposeofmoreefficientbusinesscommunicationinforeigntradecorrespondence.外貿函電作為一種商務交流的工具,在經濟全球化和經濟一體化的大背景下，它是對外貿易往來中很重要的一個環(huán)節(jié)。外貿函電是一種特殊的文體,在貿易活動往來中逐漸形成了自己的語言特征,而詞匯又是構成語言的一個最重要的因素。隨著科學技術的不斷發(fā)展,外貿領域中不斷有新的信息和先進的技術出現(xiàn),無疑,大批的新的外貿詞語隨之涌現(xiàn)。在外貿函電中，這些詞呈現(xiàn)出它們各自的文體色彩。本文從以下五個方面即常用詞匯、專業(yè)詞匯、縮略詞、書面用詞和新詞等通過大量的實例全面地分析這些詞匯在外貿函電中的特點和用法。同時，從語用學的角度來講，根據(jù)禮貌原則和相關的理論如‘3C’原則等對詞匯進行深入的分析研究，它們怎么樣應用到外貿函電中，以及能產生什么樣的效果。本文首先介紹了外貿函電及外貿函電的特點，接著，從文體學的角度，簡單的解釋了什么是文體學，又闡述了外貿函電的文體特征。第三部分從五個方面詳細地分析了外貿函電中詞匯的文體色彩。在外貿函電中，正確使用詞匯將會達到有效的商務交流目的。ContentsIntroduction……………........11FeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondence…………………11.1DefinitionofForeignTradeCorrespondence…….21.2MainFeatureofCorrespondence………..22StylisticsofForeignTradeCorrespondence…………………42.1Stylistics…………………..42.2StylisticFeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondence……..43StylisticsColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondence……………53.1PopularWords…………..63.2TechnicalWords………103.3Abbreviation……………133.4LiteraryWords……….....153.5Neologism………………17Conclusion…………………..17IntroductionWiththedevelopmentofeconomyglobalization,businesscommunicationbetweencountriesismoreandmorefrequent.Intheforeigntradefield,foreigntradecorrespondenceplaysavitalroleforexchangingbusinessinformationandestablishingforeigntraderelationships.Athomeorabroad,manypeoplehavemadealotofresearchesontheforeigntradecorrespondence.SomeofthemwereinfluencedbypolitenessprincipleproposedbylinguistLeechandcooperativeprincipleproposedbyGrice.Theyanalyzedtheapplicationofcooperativeprincipleandpolitenessprincipleintheforeigntradecorrespondenceintermofpragmatics.Also,therearestudiesonstylisticfeatureofEnglishforforeigntradeandcharacteristicsofforeigntradecorrespondenceanditscountermeansoftranslation.Buttheresearchesonthewordsincorrespondencearenotsomany.Therefore,thisthesismainlyconcentratesonthewordsstudy,whichcanbecategorizedintofiveaspects:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologism.Thisthesiswillexplainthosewords’characteristicsandtheirfunctionsintheforeigntradecorrespondence.TheaimofthisthesisistoofferinformationormaterialaboutwordsasmuchaspossibletostudentsmajoredinEnglishforforeigntradeandsomeotherpersonswhoworkonforeigntradeorrelevantjobs.Toacertainextent,someprinciplesonwordsinforeigntradecorrespondenceplayanimportantrole.Inpractice,itisusefulforpeopletomasterthoseprinciplesandtoemploythemlimberlyatdifferentcircumstancesinforeigntradecorrespondence.1FeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondenceWiththedevelopmentofeconomyandsociety,thetradeactivitieseconomiccooperationwithforeigncompanieshaveincreased,especially,afterChinaenteredWorldTradeOrganization(WTO).Theimportanceofforeigntradecorrespondencetoestablishtraderelationsbetweentwoco–operationsindifferentregionsordifferentcountieshasbeenseentoday.1.1DefinitionForeigntradecorrespondenceisoneoftheimportantcommunicationtoolsofforeigntradeinordertoexchangebusinessinformation,lookingfortransactionandestablishingbusinessrelationships.Itisawayofcommunicationinwriting.Itconcludesinquires,offers,counteroffers,ordering,pressingforpayments,andshipmentetc.1.2MainFeaturesofCorrespondenceForeigntradecorrespondenceisakindofformalwriting,unlikepersonallettersorotherinformalwritings.Inthebusinessfield,asamajormeanstocommunicatewithcustomers,foreigntradecorrespondenceischaracterizedbyformallanguageandaccuratewords.Formallanguageandaccuratewordingareamongthoseimportantfeaturesofcorrespondence.Foreigntradecorrespondenceisdistinguishedfromthegeneralletter.Itreferstomanythingsonbusiness,suchasinquiry,offer,counteroffer,insuranceetc.Therefore,formallanguageandlotsofformalexpressionsmustbeusedinforeigntradecorrespondencelike‘withregardsto’insteadof‘about’,‘deliver’insteadof‘send’,‘inquiry’insteadof‘ask’,‘inreplyto’insteadof‘answer’,and‘duplicate’insteadof‘copy’etc.E.g.(1)We’regladtoinformyouthatthegoodsyouorderedhavebeenshippedbyS.S.peaceonOctober20th.Inthissentence,ifweuse‘tell’insteadof‘inform’,thewholesentenceapparentlyissoinformalthatitislikethetalkbetweentwopersons,notseriousatall.Buthere,using‘inform’makesthelanguagemoreformal.E.g.(2)Wewillaffecttheinsuranceonourcoverinviewofourlongcooperationrelation.Aspriortosentence,here,‘inviewof’ismoreformalthantheword‘for’inforeigntradecorrespondence.Then,anotherfeatureofcorrespondenceisusinglotsofcourteousexpressions.Thefinalaimofforeigntradecorrespondenceistoreachanagreementandtoestablishbusinessrelationship.Thus,politenessprinciplemustbeusedincorrespondence.Sometimes,courtesymaybringfriendshipandmakeprofitsforpeople,becauseeveryonehopesthatotherscanrespectthemandunderstandthem.Forsavingface,euphemismisagoodmethodtorefuseotherswhorequestyoutodosomethingyoucan’tdo.Inthiscase,itnotonlyexpressesyoumeanings,butsavesfaceandkeepsthelongbusinessrelationshipsfriendly.E.g.(3)a.WewillbeappreciatedifyouextendyouL/Cfor20days.b.YouhavetoextendyourL/Cfor20days.Afterreadingthetwosentences,distinctly,thesentencea.feelsmorecomfortablethansentenceb.,because‘wewillbeappreciatedif...’insentencea.isapoliteexpression,whilethereisatoneoforderinsentenceb.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,manypolitewordsareusedlike‘please’,‘you’reinvited’,‘welookforwardto’,‘we’reappreciated’,‘thankyoufor’,‘wouldyouplease’,etc.E.g.(4)WethankyouforyourquotationofMarchthe3tdandthesamplesofsocks.(5)WeappreciateyourarrangingtoshipuponreceiptoftheL/CthefirstfouritemsbythefirstavailablevesselsailingtoNewYorkdirect.(6)Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.(7)Weregretthatwecannotbooktheorderatthepricewequotedsixweeksago.Thosesentencesarecourteousexpressions,whichcannarrowthedistancebetweentwopersonsorcompanies.Courteousexpressionisnecessaryinforeigntradecorrespondence.Besides,usingmoretechnicalwordsisanothermainnotablefeature.TechnicalwordscontainspecialmeaninginforeigntradeactivitiessuchasD/A(documentsagainstacceptance),D/P(documentsagainstpayment),D/D(documentarydraft).Inaddition,othertypicalwordsareshowingasbelow:addressingbank(通知銀行),jointventure(合資企業(yè));transportationterms:partialshipment(分批裝運),containertransport(集裝箱運輸)etc.E.g.(8)Onecopyofnegotiablebillofladingtogetherwithadraftandothershippingdocumentshasbeenforwardedtoyourbankforcollectionofthepayment.Inthislongsentence,thewords‘negotiablebilloflading’,‘draft’,‘shippingdocument’,‘collectionofpayment’,aretechnicalterms.2StylisticsofForeignTradeCorrespondence2.1StylisticsWhatisstylistics?XuYouzhisaid‘simplydefinedstylisticsisadisciplinethatstudiesthewaysinwhichlanguageisused;itisadisciplinethatstudiesthestylesoflanguageinuse.’(3)Inotherwords,stylisticsisthatlanguageinuseisorganizedfollowingcertainmeansforsomespecialpurposes.‘Stylisticsisadisciplinethatappliesconceptsandtechniquesofmodernlinguisticstothestudyofstylesoflanguageuse.Ithastwosubdivisions:generalstylisticsandliterarystylistics,withthelatterconcentratingsolelyonuniquefeaturesofvariousliteraryworks,andtheformeronthegeneralfeaturesofvarioustypesoflanguageuse...’(3).Ofcourse,thestylisticswearediscussinghereistheformerone.Wemainlyanalyzethestylisticofforeigntradecorrespondence.2.2StylisticFeaturesofForeignTradeCorrespondenceWiththedevelopmentoftelecommunicationsandinternet,thewayofcommunicationhasdevelopedfromtraditionalletter,telegram,telextofax,evenE-mail.Duringthedevelopingprocess,thefeaturesofitsformanditscontenthavechangedinforeigntradecorrespondence.But,afterbusinesspracticeforafewyears,foreigntradecorrespondencehasformeditsownstyle.Thoughthisstylehasnotformeditsowngrammarsystem,rhetoricsystemandwordssystem,ithassomecertainfeaturesongrammar,rhetoricandwords.(孟廣君65-66)Grammarisadispensableelementofasentence.Incorrespondence,obviously,itsgrammarischaracteredbycompoundsentences,declarativesentences,fewnegativesentences,passivesentencesandsomeinvasivesentences.Sothesegrammardevicesareusedhereforthepurposeofmakingthecontentofcorrespondencemoreclearandavoidingmisunderstanding.Foreigntradetransactionisacomplexprocess,socompoundsentencescanexplainclearlytheproblemsinthewholeprocessatonetime,suchastime,place,price,quantityetc.Inaddition,declarativesentencesaremoreoftenused,becausedeclarativesentencedeclaretheexistedfactsandsomeinformationwithnopersonalfeelings.Atthesametime,rhetoricaldevicesareusedinEnglishcorrespondence,likesubjunctivemood,whichiseasytoexpressopinion,view,requirementorsuggestioninfriendlyatmosphere.Metonymyisalsoarhetoricaldevice,whichexpressessomethingbysimplelanguagelike‘kettle’insentence‘thekettleisboiling’insteadof‘thewaterinthekettle’.Obviously,nomatterwhatrhetoricaldevicesweuseinforeigntradecorrespondence,wemustfollowtherequirementsofclarityandcourtesy.(孟廣君70-71)Soweneedtopaymoreattentiontothewords.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,wordsarequiterichandhavespecialfeaturessuchasshiftingfromgeneralmeaningtospecialmeaning;pluralnumbersexpressingthemeaningofsingularnumber.Besides,manyloan-wordsareseenhere,suchas‘statusquo’(拉丁語：現(xiàn)狀),‘delcredere’(意大利語：保付貨價)etc.Thosewordsareloadedduetotradebetweentwocountries.Thedetailofwordswillbediscussedinnextsection.3StylisticColoringofWordsinForeignTradeCorrespondenceAccordingtothefeaturesaboveandstylisticofforeigntradecorrespondence,weknowthatthemaindifferencesbetweenforeigntradecorrespondenceandcommonletterlieinwordsused.Whilewordsinforeigntradecorrespondencehavetheirownvividstylisticcoloringdistinguishedfromthewordsinotherwritings.‘...thereforethereisapreferenceforclear,logicalthoughtemphasizedbythekindsofwordsthatindelicatethelogicalprocess(forexample,‘asaresult’,‘forthisreason’,‘inorderto’).Thereisoftenaneedtobeconcise–particularlywhencommunicatingbyfaxortelephone–andcertainfamiliarconceptsmaybeexpressedinwordclusterstoavoidcircumlocution(forexample,‘cashwithorder’,‘justintimedelivery’).Certaintermshaveevolvedtosavetimeinreferringtoconceptswhichpeopleinbusinessarefamiliarwith(forexample,‘primaryindustry’,‘parentcompany’).Manyoftheseareacronyms(forexample,CIFandFOB)’(EllisandJohnson20-30).Thisthesiswillgivedetailsonthefeaturesandnewusesofwordsinforeigntradecorrespondencefromfiveaspects.Thatistosay,next,thewordswillbeanalyzed,whicharedividedintoseveralparts:popularwords,technicalwords,abbreviation,literarywordsandneologism.Itisessentialtoknowhowtochoosethewordsexactlyandproperlyandthentoapplythemintotheforeigntradecorrespondence.Wordisacoreoflanguage,soitisnecessarytoanalyzethewordsintheforeigntradecorrespondence.3.1PopularWordsForeigntradecorrespondenceisapartofbusinessEnglish,whichisakindofEnglishforspecialpurpose.Duetothespecialbusinesspurpose,usuallysomebodyinacompanyinformshispartnerdetailedinformationefficientlybyforeigntradecorrespondencethatbelongstowrittencommunication.Underbusinesscircumstance,foreigntradecorrespondence,communicationinwritingisrequiredtofollow‘3C’principle(conciseness,clarityandcourtesy).(李力維102)First,concisenessisarequirementoflanguageinforeigntradecorrespondence.ConciseandclearexpressionsinforeigntradecorrespondencereflectthatbusinessEnglishcommunicationownssomefeatureslike:areeasytounderstandthepurposeofthecorrespondence;aretofindtheessentialinformationquicklyincorrespondence.Thus,foreigntradecorrespondencealwaysfollowssomeprinciples.A.Preferenceforsimplewordsandshortwords.Wemustknowthepurposeofforeigntradecorrespondencethatchangeinformationistoestablishbusinessrelationsfinally.Aslongasweknowthepurpose,wecouldunderstandthenecessityofusingconcisewords,becausesimplewordsandshortwordsareeasiertounderstandthancompoundwordsandlongwords.E.g.(9)Wehavebeguntosellourmachinetocountriesabroad.Wehavebeguntoexportourmachines.Afterreadingthosetwosentences,apparently,wethinkthesecondsentenceismoreconcisethanthefirstsentence.Also,readersarealwaysgladtoreadsuchasentencelikethesecondonewhichexpressesmeaningefficientlybyusingconcisewords‘exportourmachines’insteadofcomplexexpression‘sellourmachinestocountriesabroad’.Manyshortwordsarebetterthanlongoneslike‘end’betterthan‘terminate’,‘do’betterthan‘accomplish’,‘ask’betterthan‘request’,‘about’better‘approximately’,‘need’betterthan‘require’,‘use’betterthan‘utilize’,‘duty’betterthan‘obligation’etc.B.Preferenceforsinglewordsandprepositionalphrases.E.g.(10)a.Intheeventofthatyoucouldlowpricealittleinregardtoproductionourcompanymaygiveconsiderationtoourcooperationagain.b.ifyoulowpricealittleaboutproduction,ourcompanymayconsiderourcooperationagain.Comparingthesetwosentences,sentenceb.ismoreproperinforeigntradecorrespondence.Sometimes,inthecorrespondence,wordslikes‘soon’isbetterthan‘inthenearfuture’.Otherwordsarelike‘now’insteadof‘atthepresenttime’,‘because’insteadof‘forthereasonthat’insteadof‘insomecases’etc.C.AvoidingwordyandredundantphraseLetusseethefollowingsentences.E.g.(11)Theregulationsareprovidedinthebooklet.Theregulationsareinthebooklet(12)WeareinreceiptofyourletterdatedMay5th.WereceivedyourletterdatedMay5th.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,theexpressionslikefirstsentenceoftwogroupsofsentencesabovearefewseen.‘Inreceiptof’isanoldbusinessterm,buttoday,weusuallyusetheword‘received’.Thethreekeypointsabovereferredtoaremoreimportanttofollowandtohavethelanguageconciseinforeigntradecorrespondence.Second,clarityisthebasicprincipleamong‘3C’principle.Itisimportanttoexpresscorrespondencemeaningclearlytoreceiver,because,themeaningconveyedtoreceiverdirectlyinfluentsthedecisionwhetherthereceiverestablishbusinessalien-ionwiththewriter.Sothewordsincorrespondenceareexactandclearinordertoavoidmisunderstanding.Wetakeanexampletoillustrateclearly.‘Pleasequoteyourbestpricesforyourbestqualitycoal.’First‘best’means‘lowest’whilethesecond‘best’meansgood.But,inforeigntradecorrespondence,weneverseesuchlikesentenceabove,whiletheexactexpressionisthat‘Pleasequoteyourlowestpricesforyourbestquality.’‘weshalltakeafirmlinewiththefirm’srepresentative’,inthissentence,thefirst‘firm’means‘strong’,whilesecond‘firm’means‘company’,sothesentenceiscorrectedlikeas‘weshalltakeastronglinewiththefirm’srepresentative’.Thus,foravoidingmisunderstandinginforeigntradecorrespondence,fewthesamewordsemergeinthesamesentencetoexpressdifferentmeanings.Besides,incorrespondenceusuallytheexactnounsontimeordatelike‘January’or‘February’areusedinsteadofuncertainwordslike‘instant’,‘approx’,inordertoavoiddivergenceemergedduetovagueconcept.E.g.(13)Thispolicyisissuedinduplicateatshanghaionthe7thdayofMayintheyeartwothousandandone‘The7thdayofMayintheyear’isanexactdateinthesentence,sothereisnoantherexplanationofthedate,anditcannotbeenmisunderstood.Inaddition,courtesyisalsoanessentialprincipletoconformincorrespondence.AccordingtopolitenessprincipleofG.N.Leechandface-savingtheoryofP.BrownandS.C.Levinsm,inthebusinesstextual,politenessisalsonecessaryusedinforeigntradecorrespondence.(林旭濤51-52)Mostly,thereareseveralmethodsofpoliteexpressionsincorrespondence.A.Usingpositivewords,notnegativewords.Usually,positivewordsmakepeoplehaveagoodimpression,whilenegativewordsseemlikecriticizing.Althoughsometimespeoplemakemistakes,wecannotusenegativewordstoblamethemdirectly.Ifnot,thepeoplewouldloseface,asresults,thebusinessrelationshipmaybebrokenup(何光明6-8).Now,wecomparethefollowingtwosentences.E.g.(14)(Negative)Thepricingschemeyousuggestedforthisproductisnotpractical.(Positive)Ifwecanincreasetheprofitby10percent,thepricingschemeyousuggestedcouldwork.Evidently,thesecondsentenceismorecourteousormorepoliteandiseasiertobeenacceptedthanthefirstsentence.B.You–attitudetoacknowledgewhattheothersidedid‘Business’isaspecialword,butitcontainsaveryinterestingthing.‘U’standsfor‘you’and‘i’standsfor‘I’.Intermsofthis,you-attitudeshouldbeputfirstplaceinbusinessletters(何光明11-15).E.g.(15)Youwillbepleasedtoknowthat...Yourcompliancewillbeappreciated.Yourorderisreceivingourimmediateattentionandyoucandependonustoaffectdeliverywellwithinyourtimelimit.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,suchsentencesarealwaysbeenused.C.EuphemismInordertoavoidhurtingother’sside,usuallyeuphemismisefficientwaytoexpressiontheunfortunateinformation.E.g.(16)Thepriceweofferedyouisverypractical,sowearesorrytosaythatyourcounterofferisunacceptable.D.VaguenessIntheinternationalbusinesscorrespondence,sometimes,therearesomedisagreementswhichcannotbesaiddirectlyandclearly.Inthiscase,vaguewordsareusedtokeepgoodsituationandleaveenoughspacetomakenegotiation.Itisillustratedbythefollowingletter:Someofyourrefereeshaverepottedthatduringthelast12monthssomepaymentshavemadeupto1/2monthslate.Weunderstandthatthelatenessofthepaymentmighthavebeenexceptional.Wouldyoucaretotellusaboutthissothatwecouldstillconsiderwhatcreditcouldbearranged?Asweshouldliketokeepyousupplied,weshallholdbackyourorderfor10dayswholeweawaityourreply.(qtd.inZhangQingsong58)Inthecorrespondenceabove,therearefourvaguetermsinall:‘some’,‘somepayments’,‘weunderstand‘and‘mighthavebeen’.‘Some’and‘somepayments’arereferentialvagueness.Here,fortheaddresser,thereferentialmeaningsof‘some’and‘somepayments’areclear,becausehemadeinvestigationofcreditinformation,butforthereceiver,therearevaguemeanings.Also,using‘some’canprotectthethirdpersonwhoprovidesthecreditinformationofreceivertotheinvestigation.Theaddresser’sattitudeisnotseenclearlyfromtheterms‘weunderstand’and‘mighthavebeen’.Thefunctionofthetwowordsarethattheaddressergivethereceiveraexplainingchanceandsendsuchinformationtothereceiveratthesametimethatwritertrusthisreputation,onlytoconfirmitagain.3.2TechnicalWordsInforeigntradecorrespondence,therearelargenumbersoftechnicalwords,whichisoneofthenotablefeatures.Itisthemainreasonwhyitisdifferentfrompersonalletters.Incorrespondence,thespecialwordshavethreekinds,suchastechnicalterms,wordswhichshiftfromcommonmeaningtospecialmeaningandwordsoffunctionalshift.Eachkindhasitsfeaturesanditsspecialfunctionsinforeigntradecorrespondence.Technicaltermshavevividstylisticcoloring,becausetheyaresharedbyinternationalbusinessandtheirmeaningsareuniquewithoutanypersonalfeelings.Itiseasytocomprehendthetechnicaltermswithoutdependingonthetext.Sostylisticsofforeigntradecorrespondencemustusetechnicaltermsforunderstandingclearlyrequire,quote,offerandcounteroffer.(廖瑛120)like‘Performainvoice’,‘soleagency’,‘termsofpayment’,‘documentsagainstpayment’etc.,thosewordsemergefrequentlyinforeigntradecorrespondenceduringtheforeigntradeprocess,especiallyinthecorrespondenceaboutpriceclause,termsofpaymentandinsuranceandsoon.Forexample,thefollowinglettercontainsmanytechnicalwords.Jan.10th,2011Dear...:Chrysanthemum”brandvacuumcleanerWereceivedyourletterofdec.29,1988andappreciateyourintentiontopromotethesaleofourvacuumcleanerinyourcountry.WeregretthatweareunabletoconsideryourrequestforpaymentonD/Aterms.Asarule,weaskforpaymentbyL/C.But,inviewofourfriendlyrelations,wewill,asanexceptionalcase,acceptpaymentoryourtrialorderonD/Pbasis.Inotherwordswewilldrawonyoubydocumentarydraftatsight,thoughourbank,oncollectionbasis,withoutL/C.Wehopetheabovepaymenttermswillbeacceptabletoyouandexpecttoreceiveyourtrialorderinduecourse.Welookforwardtoyourearlyreply.Sincerely(qtd.inQiYunfang125)Inthiscorrespondence,therearemanytechnicaltermssuchas‘payment’,‘L/C’,‘trialorder’,‘D/P’,‘D/A’,‘documentarydraftatsight’,‘collection’,‘paymentterms’etc.Also,thosetechnicaltermsemergemanytimesinthiscorrespondence.Technicaltermsrepresent18%percentofthewordsinallhere.D/A:DocumentagainstacceptanceL/C:letterofcreditD/P:documentagainstpaymentAlltheabovetechnicalwordsinthecorrespondencefulfillitsspecialfunctionandconveyaddresser’ssuggestedmeaningandsomeinformationtoreceiveraccurately.Infact,wordsshiftfromcommonmeaningtospecialmeaninginthebusinessEnglishisoneordinarykindoftechnicalwordsinforeigntradecorrespondence.Somewordsmeaningsinbusinesscorrespondencearequitedifferentfromtheirordinarymeaningslike‘against’.Itsgeneralmeaningis‘oppose’,‘alongside’,butothermeaningsareusedinforeigntradecorrespondence.E.g.(17)TherateofHongKongdollaragainstUS.Dollarisappreciating(againstmeans兌換)(18)Itisourcustomtoacceptordersagainstconfirmedirrevocableletterofcredit,validforatleast21daysbeyondtheprescribeddatedofshipment.(againstmeans憑…)(19)Againsttheinvoicedweighttheconsignmentwasfoundshortof1,500kgs(againstmeans與...相比)Thefollowingwordshavedifferentmeaningsindifferenttexts.WordsgeneralmeaningspecialmeaningCoverage覆蓋所投保險的險別Document文件單證Literature文學書面材料Offer提議報價、發(fā)盤Quotation引用報價With與...，隨著向...投保(qtd.inMengGuangjun65-66)Actually,insomesituation,functionalshiftofwordsinforeigntradecorrespondenceisalsoagoodmethodtoexpressthespecialmeaning.‘Achangeinthefunctionofaword,asanexamplewhenanouncomestobeusedasaverb(withoutanyreduction),isgenerallyknowsasconversion.’(Yule67-68)Thiscommonprocessisfunctionalshift.Inforeigntradecorrespondence,thisformusedseemsmoreformalandliteralstyle.Anumberofadverbsandadjective,suchas‘forward’,‘further’viatheprocessoffunctionalshift,cometobeusedasverbs,asinthefollowingsentences:E.g.(20)Yourletteraddressedtoourshanghaioffice,hasbeenforwardedtousattentionandreply.(21)Wewishtoputforwardourplanforsettingupajointcompanyintheunitkingdomtofurtheryourbusinessonawidescale.Someverbsoradjectivalchangetheirfunctionstobeusedasnouns,suchas‘particular’,forexample:E.g.(22)Air-waybill,givingfullparticulars,willbesenttoyouassoonastheconsignmentisreadyforairinchina.3.