Bi Ye Lun Wen（20_ _届）英语模糊语在商务英语信函中的语用功能The Pragmatic Function of Vague Language in Business Correspondence摘要模糊与精确是人类语言的两种基本属性。
“模糊”的概念和理论自从提出后的几十年里，人们对模糊语言进行了系统的研究。
商务英语信函一贯要求内容和信息准确，所以商务英语信函中的模糊语一直被忽略了。
本文从四个方面对模糊语之前的研究进行了归纳，然后对商务英语信函做出分析。
最后探讨了以下两个问题：（1）不同类型的英语商务信函中模糊语的使用情况（2）在英语商务信函中模糊语具有哪些功能。
从对相关英语商务信函的分析和研究，模糊语在中性或好消息，传递不愉快和不确定答复的信息和说服信三种信函中，运用是不同的。
而且模糊语言在商务交际中有四个语用功能：使商务语言更礼貌和更有说服性；提高商务语言的灵活性，增强商务语言的正确性和提高写信人自我保护功能。
关键词：模糊；模糊语；商务信函；语用功能。
IIIAbstractVagueness and precision are the basic attributes of human language. Since the concept and theory of vague language was proposed by L.A Zadeh in 1965, much has been done in systematic and descriptive study of vague language. Business English has always been required to be clear and concrete, so the study of vague language in this field has long been neglected. The author takes a review of previous research on vague language from four perspectives and then makes an analysis on the business correspondence. This study attempts to explore the following two questions :( 1) How does the addresser use vague language in different type of business correspondence?(2)What pragmatic functions does the vague language make in business correspondence? Based on the definition and delimitation of vague language in the present study and the analysis of the data, it is found that the use of vague language is different in good-news and neutral letters, bad-news letter and persuasive letters. Vague language has four pragmatic functions in written business communication: (1) making the writing more polite and persuasive, enhancing the flexibility of business language, making the expression more accurate, and ensuring self-protection.Key words: vague; vague language; business correspondence; pragmatic function.IVContentsAbstract (Ⅱ)1Introduction (1)1.1Overview (1)1.2 Rationale of the present study (1)1.3 The specific research questions (2)1.4 Outline of the thesis (3)2 Review of previous research on vague language (3)2.1 Pragmatic perspective (3)2.2 Philosopher perspective (3)2.3 Psychological perspective (3)2.4 Semantic perspective (4)3 Business correspondences (4)3.1 Definition of business correspondence (4)3.2 Classification of business correspondence (5)3.3 Principle for business writing (5)4 Specific contexts of using vague language in business correspondence (6)4.1 Employment of vague language in good-news and neutral letters (6)4.2 Employment of vague language in bad-news letter (8)4.3 Employment of vague language in persuasive letters (9)5 Four pragmatic functions of vague language in business correspondence (10)5.1 Making the writing more polite and persuasive (11)5.2 Enhancing the flexibility of business language (12)5.3 Making the expression more accurate (13)5.4 Ensuring Self-Protection (13)6 Conclusion (14)6.1 Major findings (14)6.2 Implications (14)6.3 Suggestion for further study (15)Bibliography (16)Acknowledgements (17)1.IntroductionVagueness and precision are the basic attributes of human language, both of them are very important. Precision is needed most of time when people want to express emotion, while vagueness also plays an important role because some things are vague. In fact, vague language doesn’t affect communication; on the contrary, it has special functions, making the words more polite and flexible. As the development of international business, people pay more attention on the vague language in business corresponds. In the present thesis, the author finds that vague language is used to realize the addresser’s communicative intention, and it is the result of the adaptation to various contexts.1.1OverviewSince Zadeh first proposed the concept and theory of vague language, people have done much systematic descriptive study on vague language. Many linguists think vague language play an important role in communication. Whether one can properly use vague language shows one’s language perfo rmance, because vague language is an inseparable part of language communication.(Zhang, 1998)It can be easily found that vague language has always been used as a communicative strategy in business activities. The addresser shows his communicative attention by it. And it also provides addressee with a guideline for understanding the addresser’s intentions. Crystal and Davy (1975) give four reasons for vagueness: (a) memory loss- the speaker forgets the correct word; (b) the language has no suitable exact word, or the speaker does not know it; (c) the subject of the conversation is not such that is requires precision, and an approximation or characterization will do; (d) the choice of a vague item is deliberate to maintain the atmosphere. Channel (2000) arg ues that “vagueness in language is neither all ‘bad’ nor all ‘good’. What matters is that vague language is used appropriately.” If it is used properly, vague language would lead unexpected success.1.2 Rationale of present studyThe author chooses the vague language in business corresponds as the object of the present study mainly because of the following reasons.Firstly, although vague language has been accepted extensively, and the researches about it are more and more, there is still a little research about the vague language in business corresponds. Maybe it is because the traditional idea that business corresponds should be clearly and accurately without any ambiguity. However this study argues that proper vague language has the special characteristics other words can’t instead.Secondly, the study on vague language in business corresponds has practical significant. People can use vague language perfectly if they comprehend it. The addresser can show his intention with vague language and the reader can understanding the real mean of the letter.Thirdly, in traditional opinion, writing business corresponds should follow 7Cs principle, that is, be clear, concise, correct, courteous, conversational, convincing and complete. However, in some situation, the 7Cs can’t meet the demand because not everything in business is certain. Sometimes, people will adopt vague language rather than follow strictly the 7Cs so as to avoid unnecessary disputes or to facilitate business deal.1.3 The specific research questionThe present study has focused on the employment of vague language in business correspondence, and in so doing, it has set out to work towards answers to the following two questions:1. How does the addresser use vague language in different type of business correspondence?2. What pragmatic functions does the vague language make in business correspondence?1.4 Outline of the thesisThis thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter one is a general picture of the vague language. It introduces the vague language and the rational of the study and the research questions. Chapter two is a review of previous research on vague language. And the author mainly focuses on pragmatic perspective. Chapter three gives a research on business correspondence. And it mainly focuses on the classification of business correspondence and 7C principles in business correspondence writing. Chapter four describes the different use of vague language in different type ofbusiness correspondence. In this chapter, the author uses many business correspondences as examples to show that vague language used in each type of letter is the result of adaptation to its specific context. The employment frequency is different in good-news and neutral letters, bad-news letter and persuasive letters. In chapter five, the author gets four pragmatic function of vague language in business correspondence: making the writing more polite and persuasive, enhancing the flexibility of business language, making the expression more accurate, and ensuring self-protection. The chapter six is a conclusion which summarizes the major findings of the present study. At the same time, some suggestions are provided for further research on vague language.2 Review of Previous Research on Vague LanguageThe following is a brief survey of the related studies on vague language since the present study is about the employment of vague language in written business discourse. Vague language is an interdisciplinary subject with four perspectives, namely philosophical perspective, psychological perspective, semantic perspective and pragmatic perspective. And it will mainly focus on pragmatic perspective.2.1 Pragmatic perspectiveWhat pragmatics focuses on is the relationship between language and language users, and the pragmatic principle of the language. Atmosphere is very important to this relationship. People always enhance the speaking effect with vague language.Channel is one of the most famous linguist in this aspect. She thinks that using vague language is a language policy for native English speakers. In her vague language, Channel lists eight situations or purposes for people to use vague language: giving the right amount of information; deliberate withholding information; lexical gaps; lacking specific information; displacement; self-protection; power and politeness; information and atmosphere; women’s language(Channel,2000:194). The vague language’s pragmatic function can be seen from the above review. And a pragmatic perspective is necessary in the present study for the purpose of exploring the pragmatic function of vague language.2.2 Philosophical perspectiveWith the linguistic turn of philosophy at the end of nineteenth century, some attention is drawn to the phenomenon of vagueness of natural language in the philosophical circle (Ballmer & Pinkal, 1983:2). Philosophers have concentrated on the origin of vagueness, and they have worked hard to solve the problems of “why natural language has such property as ‘vagueness’ and how this property is handled”.2.3 Psychological perspectiveActually, vague language is less analyzed from the psychological perspective .But there are still some research. Psycholinguists focus on the question of how ambiguous sentences are comprehended in spoken and written discourse. It is viewed by psycholinguistics that potential ambiguity, which is considered as a kind of reflection of vagueness in our terms, is pervasive and ubiquitous in natural language.2.4 Semantic perspectiveMuch attention has been paid on the vague language in the field of formal semantics. Truth-conditional semantics which aims to describe the meaning of sentences in terms of the conditions usually operates with three truth value: true, false, and lacking a true value.3 Business CorrespondenceSince it is a research on vague language in business correspondence, it is necessary to have a general idea about what business correspondence is and what its characteristic is.3.1 Definition of business correspondenceBusiness refers to all the activities of buying and selling goods or services. Business correspondence is one of the basic means of communication in international trade. It used to sell products or services, request material or information, answer customer inquiries, maintain good public relations, and serve a variety of other business function. In order to write effective business correspondence, it is quite essential we have a good understanding of the language characteristics and some principle of business correspondence so as to establish relationship and get a satisfactory result.3.2 Classification of business correspondenceBusiness correspondence may be classified from various angles. The most common ways of classification are as follows:The first one is classified based on the content of the correspondence as follows: request correspondences, correspondences answering requests, claim and adjustment correspondences, credit and collection correspondence, sale correspondences, employment correspondences and social business correspondences, etc(Stewart, 1984: 380-381)The second one is classified based on the different functions in the process of a business transaction. There are correspondences for establishment of business relations, correspondences for the enquiry of business, quotation correspondences, negotiating correspondences, confirming order correspondences, payment correspondences , shipment and insurance correspondences, acknowledge goods receipt correspondences, claim correspondences and adjustment correspondences, etc.(Shi ,1993)The third one is classified by the intention that the information given. Stwart (1984: 382) summered up “four kinds of information in terms of its effects on the readers’ needs：good-news correspondence, neutral-news correspondences bad-news correspondences and persuasive correspondences. Good-news correspondences and neutral-news correspondences together are called everyday correspondence.”It is impossible to make a complete and perfect classification as business correspondences’ various and rich types. And it can be found that there is no differencebetween some types of correspondences, so sometimes we can’t distinguish one kind of correspondences from others. Letters of establishing business relations, orders, confirmation to orders, routine inquires, reply to inquires, favorable response to claims and adjustment requests ,favorable replies to credit inquires, shipping advice and so forth fall into good-news letters and neutral-news letters, while letters about orders such as back orders, substitutions, infallible orders and non-confirming orders, negative answers such as denying cooperation with routine requests, declining invitations and request for favors, and adjustment of claims and complaints etc. belong to bad-news letters. Persuasive letters are letters that aim to convince the reader to do something not previously considered or something that might be inconvenient. Sales letters, claims letters and letter that request special favor orinformation such collection letters belong to persuasive letters.(Hu ,2005:10)3.3 Principle for Business Writing7C principles in business correspondence writing (Lu Mozhu, 2002:1-5)(1)Consideration: Prepare every message with the reader in mind and try to put oneself in his place. Adapt the language and message to the recei ver’s need, and focus on the positive rather than the negative approach.(2)Courtesy: Courtesy is not mere politeness. The courteous writer should be sincere and tactful, thoughtful and appreciated.(3)Clarity: The writer must try to express himself clearly so that the reader will understand. To achieve this, he should keep in mind the purpose of his correspondence and use appropriate words in correct sentence structure to convey his meaning. He should also avoid ambiguous sentences.(4)Conciseness: conciseness means saying things in the fewest possible words. A concise business correspondence should say things briefly but completely without losing clarity or courtesy.(5)Concreteness: Make the message specific, definite and vivid.(6)Correctness: Correctness means appropriate and grammatically correct language, factual information and accurate figures.(7)Completeness: A business communication should include all the necessary information.It is absolutely right that the business correspondences should be precise because the addresser should give the correct information to the addressee which matters two companies’ relationship. Only that, the addressee can know the addresser’s real intention without misunderstanding. However, in some situations, the principles are not against the use of vague language in business letters. Vague language will play an important role in business correspondences if it is used properly. So vague words and precise words are both needed.4. Specific Contexts of Using Vague Language in Business CorrespondsBusiness corresponds can be divided in to three types, namely, good-news and neutral letters, bad-new letters and persuasive letters. And addresser will choose proper words to adapt the context. Vague language used in each type of letter is the result of adaptation to its specific context.4.1 Employment of vague Language in Good-news and Neutral LettersIn this kind of letters, good news or routine, neutral information are carried. Such as placing an order, making an adjustment requested by a customer, and supplying information. The information in the letters is positive and good for the relationship of both sides. So these letters are relatively easy to write.The order letterIn an order letter, the addresser uses less vague language because he has to explain every detail to avoid the trouble caused by inaccuracy. However vague language still exists when it mentions personal emotion. An example is given as follows:We have much interest in the different models of electric fans you offer, but as we have had no experience in dealing in Chinese electric appliances we can only place a small order at the moment for a trial sale for the following on the terms and conditions stated in your letter.500 sets of “Five Rams” Brand, Model 145 USD 14.5 per set CIF2% Port LouisI hope we will keep a long mutually beneficial trading relationship.The purpose of this letter is to indicate the details of quantity, price, shipment date etc. when describe these, there is no vague language because these information must be accurate. And the addresser use vague language “much” and “small’’ to descriptive the interest and order. The addresser shows his interest towards the electric fans. “A small order” may give the addressee the impres sion of a potential big order in the future. It is benefit for the trade cooperation. It is more acceptable compare with the letter without vague language although the means aren’t changed.Inquires and reply to inquiresThis pair of business corresponds is written as the first exchange of information. Both parties want to give the other a friendly and cooperative impression. So the addresser uses vague language to make its language not so absolute but morecomplimentary and its content more negotiable.Dear SirWe have been looking for a reliable manufacturer to supply us with photocopying machines on a regular basis. I visited your stall at the Spring Guangzhou Fair, 2006 and noticed that you manufacture photocopying machines.There is a good demand for photocopying machines of high quality. We are very interested in your products and would be glad if you would send us your catalogue with full specifications and latest price list.Please let us know what discount you can give us for substantial orders as well as some other favorable terms that may help us to make the best choice for our purpose. We are looking forward to receiving an early reply.At the beginning of the letter, the addresser compliments the addressee a “reliable” manufacturer which makes the addressee feel pleasant. Then the addresser uses several vague expressions to give positive feelings to the other party. The request seemed to be attractive and negotiable. After reading this letter, the addressee will try his best to satisfy the request for the potential big order in the future.The adjustment letterThe main purpose of the adjustment letter is to give the reader positive information. When a customer seeks an adjustment, most firms grant the adjustment immediately although they are not sure whose fault. Sometimes neither party appears to be at fault, and a third party may be responsible, but the firms don’t want to lose a customer.Dear SirsHere is our credit memorandum for $521, which covers the returned shipment of Family lawn chairs ($477.80) and shipping charges ($43.20).Although the chairs we sent you seem to be the ones listed in your April 7 order, perhaps they are not what you had in mind. I’m sending you a copy of your order, together with an ad sheet of the Family Line, so that you may check. Because we think there might have been some misunderstanding,we are paying the return shipping charges, which we don’t ordinarily do.The important thing, of course is that you have a stock of lawn chairs to meet your summer needs. Be sure to place another order soon so that you may have them for the first warm day. Separately I am sending you a section from our general summer furniture catalog: you might be more interested in the new Easy-fold ling, which isfast becoming our best seller.Let me know, please, how I can be of future help. By the way, we can ship your next order the same day it is received.Sincerely yours Vague expressions “seem to be”, “what you had in mind” ar e used because the addresser think although they sent chairs as customer’s order, the customer doesn’t satisfy because it is different from the chair they want. The addresser gives the information that it’s not just their fault mildly with “some misunderstanding”. But the company still agree to give customer compensation, it creative chance to communication next time.Therefore, the addresser adopts vague language when conveying good-news message or neutral message. Such employment of vague language helps the addresser realize his communicative intention more smoothly.4.2 Employment of vague language in bad-news letterThis kind of letter is difficult to write because it gives negative information. If the addresser can’t use proper words, the reader might be angry. But if the words are chosen properly, it would give the other an honest impression. And it is very important to the relationship between two companies.Adjustment refusalAdjustment refusal is a typical kind of bad-news letter expresses negative information. It needs the addresser have skills of using vague language.Dear Ms.Black:I talked with you on the telephone about returning the machines yesterday, and I promise we are willing to do as much as we reasonably can to make things right. What we can do in each instance is determined by the facts of the case. When the machines arrived today, I was shocked at their condition. All returned machines must be unquestionable new. As you know, our customers expect only the best from us. So I’m afraid we can’t receive the machines.I’m sorry to disappoint you, but under the circumstances I am confident that you will fully appreciate my position.Very truly yours, The final aim of the addresser is to refuse adjustment. And he uses a large number of vague words to avoid the unhappy consequence caused by refusal. Itseemed polite and honest. And it is good for solving the problems. The addressee may be enraged if the addresser refuses him directly. So using the vague language in bad-news letter properly is real important.4.3 Employment of vague language in persuasive lettersSimply defined, persuasion is the art of getting people to do something that they would not ordinarily do if you don’t ask. The es sence of persuasive letter is making the reader believe what the addresser says and getting the reader’s understanding and support. Then the reader will do as the addresser’s anticipation. In the persuasive letter, vague language is used frequently.Sales letterIn the sales letter, the addresser uses a lot of vague words to persuade the addressee purchasing the goods.Dear Sirs,I enclose an illustrated supplement to our catalogue. It covers the latest designs which are now available from stock.We are most gratified that you have, for several years, included a selection of our products in your mail-order catalogue. The resulting sales have been very steady.We believe that we will find our new supplement; please let us know if you would like to take the matter future. We would be very happy to send samples to you for closer inspection.For your information, we are planning a range of classical English dinner services which should do well in the North American market.We will keep you informed on our progress and looking forward to hearing from you.Yours faithfully,Peter Vague language is most frequently employed in this type of letter. And the letter becomes attractive and persuasive with vague words. In the above example, the addresser persuades the addressee to purchase their new products with frequent employment of vague language which makes the letter more persuasive. However, if the letter was written without vague language, it would be very normal and the persuasive function will be little.ConclusionIt can be easily found that vague language exists in every type of businesscorresponds. And in different contextual, different vague language are used to express the addresser’s intention. And as we see, the employment frequency are also different in different type of business corresponds. In good-news and neutral letters, little vague language is used. While more vague language exists in bad-news letter and persuasive letters. And the chosen of the vague language depends on the writing purposes. Channel (2000) argues that “vagueness in language is neither all ‘bad’ nor all ‘good’. What matters is that vague language is used appropri ately.” If it is properly used in business correspondence, the vagueness will promote the business communication and help to fulfill the communicative purposes.5 Four Pragmatic Functions of Vague Language in Business CorrespondenceWith the rapid development of Socio-economic, English business corresponds has became a important way to communication with each other in the global economic fields. People can exchange the information, contact business and deal with problems by it. Now there are much vague language are used extensively in business corresponds and it not only affect the preciseness of the expression but also get many advantages. Vague language has four pragmatic functions in written business communication: (1) to make the writing more polite and persuasive; (2) to enhance the flexibility of business language; (3) to make the expression more accurate (4) to ensure self-protection5.1 Making the writing more polite and persuasivePoliteness is a basic principle in people’s communication and we sh ould consider the feelings of others. Brown and Levinson (1987) suggest that “one way for speakers to be polite when expressing a point, which might be construed as threatening or rude to the hearer, is to be vague.” Likewise, Channell (1994:206) argues t hat an understanding of vague strategies would seem to be essential to the analysis of some types of politeness. Pilegaard(1997:35) points out that in business correspondence, politeness strategies are used to(1) prepare the group for formulation of the letters main request, (2) redress the face-threatening act of requesting, and(3) round off the letter. Channell(2000) holds that “vagueness is used as one way of adhering to the politeness rules for a particular culture and of not threatening face”. Vague la nguagein business correspondence can save both the addresser’s and the addressee’s face. Alexander (1994: 18) point out that “your reader must be addressed in a sincere, polite tone: your letter should be courteous when writing business letters”. Now that politeness is an important principle of business correspondence, and one way to follow this rule is to use vague language.(1)Your reply is a little lateThe use of “a little” ease the tough tone, makes opponent aware his mistake but give him face. This practice is polite and socially. It makes possibility for the cooperation next time.(2)We saw other company’s catalogue, and I’m afraid that your price is not competitive.It doesn’t use “expensive” but “is not competitive”. Their means are the same while the second one is more polite and acceptable.Hubler(1983) also holds that the reason for using hedges is to make sentences more acceptable to the addressee and thus increase their chances of ratification, which in turn would facilitate business. According to Hubler the function of hedge is to reduce the chances of negation, which could save both of the addresser’s and the addressee’s face. So it is very important to pay attention to the principle of politeness in business corresponds, and it is a pragmatic principle we must follow.Channel summarized that one of the purposes of using vague language is for using language persuasively.(3)As a busy manager, you appreciate the importance of meeting deadlines; customers demand prompt service. On the othe r hand, you are sensitive to your employees’ need. When the day is too hectic for an hour away for lunch, employee performance can suffer. Gordon’s Deli has a solution that will perfectly serve your needs.The addresser uses “prompt” and “perfectly” to describe the service which is demanded by the customer and the quality service they offer respectively. The two words give the information that what you need is just what the FaxFood service offers, this service may be your right choice. And it is more persuasive than express the mean directly.5.2 Enhancing the flexibility of business languagePreciseness and accurate is indispensable in business. But sometime we need vague language to avoid the conversation be too absolute because some questions are。
