Abstract

It is generally believed that using precise language is encouraged for fear of causing unwanted misunderstanding and inconvenience in business communication. However, this point of view ignores a fact that vagueness is an inherent property of human language. Vague language is also an important business negotiation technique that business people must master. Under the guidance of pragmatics and other theories, this paper mainly studies the common application of vague language in business letters with an aim to reveal the pragmatic functions of fuzzy language and change the negative idea of using vague language in business communication.

Business letters fall into various categories. This paper collects twenty-one representative business letters in total and divides them into three main types, namely good-news letters and neutral-news letters, bad-news letters and persuasive letters by virtue of Stwart’s classification. Based on the basic theories of vague language, adaptation theory and politeness principle, the author makes a detailed analysis of the pragmatic vagueness in the letters by means of both qualitative and quantitative analysis. According to the data analysis, it can be seen that the frequency of vague language used in business English letters is different and it is largely determined by the nature of the letter. The addresser needs to be skillful to soften addressee’s disgust of bad-news rather than offend the addressee. The bad-news letter and persuasive letter are more frequently applied than that of good-and-neutral-news letter. Specifically, five practical pragmatic functions are as will be seen: advancing appropriateness, enhancing persuasiveness, increasing self-protection and avoiding crises, strengthening politeness and retaining information. The results of the study will further enrich the study of vague language as well as the application in business communication, and meanwhile, provide guidance to businessmen who are engaged in foreign trade and commerce to heighten the awareness of efficiency during business communication.

Keywords: English business letters; pragmatic vagueness; adaption theory; politeness principle

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1 Introduction1

2 Literature Review.2

2.1 Vague Language .2

2.1.1 Different Definitions of Vague Language 2

2.1.2 Classification of Vague Language .2

2.2 Related Theories5

2.2.1 Adaptation Theory .5

2.2.2 Politeness Principle.. .5

2.3 Related Research.6

2.3.1 Previous Research at Home 6

2.3.2 Previous Research Abroad 6

3 Research Methodology .7

3.1 Research Questions 7

3.2 Data Collection .7

3.3 Research Methods Employed ..7

4 Analysis of Pragmatic Vagueness.8

4.1 A General Account of Pragmatic Vagueness in EBL .8

4.2 Pragmatic Vagueness in Good & Neutral-news Letters..9

4.3 Pragmatic Vagueness in Persuasive Letters 14

4.4 Pragmatic Vagueness in Bad-news Letters .16

5 Pragmatic Functions of Vague Language18

5.1 Increasing Appropriateness of Business Language 18

5.2 Enhancing Persuasiveness .18

5.3 Increasing Self-protection and Avoiding Crises 18

5.4 Strengthening Politeness.19

5.5 Retaining Information .19

6 Conclusion 20

References21