商务信函的语言分析
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摘要
二战以后，国际贸易蓬勃发展。英文商业书信逐渐成为贸易活动中不可缺少的部分。从七十年代早期开始，语言学家对语言在商务信函中的使用问题越来越感兴趣。语用学家、文体学家和会话分析家从各自不同的角度分析信函语言的语用特点、文体特征和语篇特色。他们的优势是对语言的形式特征比较了解，而且有一整套的描写方法，但他们着重考虑的是内容和形式之间的关系，而忽视了对语言的功能和语用的目的的研究，故而未能从整体上把握信函的语言特点，不能从理论上根本地解释信函语言的使用问题，也没有进行跨学科的研究。本文在前人研究的基础上尝试以一种新的方法——目的分析法来分析商务信函的语言问题，重点考察其语用的特征。
语言是一种工具。言语交际是由目的所驱使的行为，而且各种目的交织在一起，相互影响，互相冲突。为了达到最终目的，说话人(或作者)要把言外行为和言后行为“编码”于言中行为，听话人(或读者)则必须从言中行为推断出言外行为和言后行为，因此交际实际上是一种问题求解模式，它与人工智能的问题求解法有异曲同工之妙。这一观点要求人们对语用原则及其各准则灵活运用，如有时人们为了礼貌，就会有意违反合作原则中的质准则、或量准则、或方式准则、或相关准则；同样，为了遵守合作原则，就有可能不顾礼貌原则的各准则的要求。语用的最重要的尺度是语言对场合的合适性。而这种合适性是相对于语言使用的目的而言的。正如毛姆所指出的那样，因有利而行事，而非根据原则，所以，会话目的是人们使用语言的根本取向，也就是说，会话目的规定和解释人们为什么选择这样的言语而不使用那样的话语的根本原因所在。
这种目的分析法不但适应于语用学研究，而且也适应于语篇分析和文体学，因为语篇分析就是分析大于句子的语言的使用问题，而文体学也是一种语篇分析，只是这种分析更侧重于文学文本的考察，况且语用学发展到今天，它既分析句子的语用，也分析语篇的语用，既研究口头语言，也研究书面语言，也就是说，它既考察人际修辞，也考察文本修辞。商业信函既属于人际修辞，也属于文本修辞。
任何对语言的目的分析法都要涉及到下面有关的不同目的的区分问题：(1) 动态目的和常规目的；(2) 并存目的；(3) 从属目的和主导目的；(4) 长期目的和短期目的；(5) 主要目的和次要目的。
有关以上这些目的共同存在的非常特殊的例子是经贸信函交际，也就是说，这些目的都会在信函写作中涉及到，因为对外商务本身就是一个过程，在每一阶段的信函写作都有它不同的日的，概括起来，主要有三类：(1)交流信息，这一目的表现比较明显；(2)说服对方按自己的意愿行事；(3)给顾客
m个灯印象，保持与顾客的友灯关系。这二炎L＊吩别足＊常信函、劝说信函和报忧信函的主要目的
所在。勿庙置疑，信函写作的最终门的就足惭得利涧。
这样，在其口的的指引下，商务信函人儿门身的文体特点、语筋特征和语用特色。
1llj务信函是－中【。特殊的交际，只体地说，它址一种以皿信方式进行的会话。如果把英语的语体根
抛交闷。场合的不同 正式语体到非正式语体的一个连续体，那么信函语台刺鹉向于非正式语体；
这－书征决定了其特殊的词汇和句法特征。就卜仰二巾六，商州言函所】的词汇大致可分为五类：（）
业皿讪儿：①。叫川词汇八刀专业词汇：闪缩略饲汇；＊）厂”告词汇。商账函的句于简短，多用主动
状忐、现在时态和肯定句式等。
DW丫，受儿I的X刻向，1葡州言函枯俯的乡；仰刃B人＊定，段落特征叨显，衔按和连贯自然消楚。这
足它所具有的语篇特征。
信函写作迎常有六大原则：正伽、未整、清楚、简明、体谅和礼貌。这六个原则其实就是经典语
川原则0一州》。卜的体现。具体表现在：六人原则中的“小确”是合作原则中的“质”的准则的要拟即
小删嘘似的信。刽，所以，“正附”体现了“质”的准则；同样，“完整”则体现了“量”的准贝帅
捉供所需要的信息），“清楚”和“简明”体现了“力“式”准则，“得体”和“礼貌”则是fL8feji：i则的
休现，冈为礼貌原则具体到H常交际中上要闩”“s JjJ出发”和“问接法”两策略。“s 4方出发”
就足“体谅”对方，站在刘方的角度考虑问题，这样比较容易测］郧4方。“问接法”则可bde不利消
息所带来的冲击，井成功地蝴S语8中所带来的8外之意，维护收信人的面子，是一种有“礼貌”
／叭卧H策略。
合作原则在［］常信函的写作中的作川衣现山1姑，礼貌原则多用于指导劝说信函和报忧信函的写
作。当然这并不是说》戚源则在＊【c信函交际小不重婴，囚为最基本的规律是：“除非你对你的邻居
有礼貌……否则Nat惜不到他的割I川儿”die（！I．！983卜82）。
A Goal-oriented Approach to the Analysis of Language in Business Correspondence
Abstract
The end of the Second World War heralded an age of enormous expansion of economic activity on an international scale. English business correspondence became a dispensable part of business transactions. From the early 1970s, linguists have become increasingly interested in the language issue in business writings. Pragmaticians, stylisticians and discourse analysts have investigated the linguistic features of business letters from their respective perspectives. They bear the knowledge of, and are familiar with the formal structure and the techniques of linguistic analysis. The research lays emphasis on the relationship of the content and the form whereas neglecting the study of the communicative functions and the analysis of the goals of language in business letters. Thus it is either superficial or lopsided and cannot theoretically and systematically explain the particular choice of language in business writing. And there is also no inter-disciplinary study till now as to this aspect. Based on the predecessors at home and abroad, this thesis attempts to look into
the language in business correspondence with a new method------a goal-oriented approach, with its
focus on the pragmatic aspects.
Language is a tool for communication. All language communications are goal-oriented, in the course of which various types of goal interact. The speaker (or the writer), in order to achieve his ultimate goal, has the task of "encoding" both the illocutionary and perlocutionary acts in the locutionary act. The hearer (or the reader) has to work out, from the locutionary act, the illocution and perlocution. Therefore, communication is problem-solving which can be reconciled with the problem-solving study employed in the Artificial Intelligence. This viewpoint demands that we adapt the ideas of Grice and Leech somewhat freely. That is: these maxims or principles can be capable of being violated without the abnegation of the kind of activity in which the interlocutor engages; they can be observed or contravened to varying degrees. One principle or maxim may conilict with another and one may be adhered to at the expense of another. Just as what Maugham once pointed out, "The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency". And this, in fact, has been implied in what Grice and Leech advocated.
Thus, we are all right to say that it is the goal that gives rise to the appearance and structure of a particular language use. In other words, the goal is the base which serves to regulate and identify the different particular varieties of language use.
This goal-oriented approach is applicable not only to pragmatics, but also to discourse analysis and stylistics, because discourse analysis can be regarded simply as a projection of pragmatics into a suprasentential time dimension; and stylistics as the variety of discourse analysis dealing mostly with literary discourse. And in fact, we now take it for granted that the connection of pragmatics with spoken language is only accidental. It is also applicable to written language. In a word, pragmatics deals not only with interpersonal rhetoric but also with textual rhetoric. And business correspondence belongs to interpersonal rhetoric as well as textual rhetoric.
Any goal-oriented model of discourse analysis will have to handle the following distinctions:
1I) dynamic goals and regulative goals;
(2) coexisting goals;
(3) subordinate goals and superordinale goals;
(4) long-term goals and short-term goals;
(5) major goals and minor goals.
A special example of these different goals' coexistence is business correspondence. That is to say, we can find all the goals in business writing in the process of any business transaction.
Altogether, there are three types of goal in business correspondence. One goal, the most obvious, is to inform the reader. Another goal is to prod the reader into doing something. A third is to make a good impression on
语言是一种工具。言语交际是由目的所驱使的行为，而且各种目的交织在一起，相互影响，互相冲突。为了达到最终目的，说话人(或作者)要把言外行为和言后行为“编码”于言中行为，听话人(或读者)则必须从言中行为推断出言外行为和言后行为，因此交际实际上是一种问题求解模式，它与人工智能的问题求解法有异曲同工之妙。这一观点要求人们对语用原则及其各准则灵活运用，如有时人们为了礼貌，就会有意违反合作原则中的质准则、或量准则、或方式准则、或相关准则；同样，为了遵守合作原则，就有可能不顾礼貌原则的各准则的要求。语用的最重要的尺度是语言对场合的合适性。而这种合适性是相对于语言使用的目的而言的。正如毛姆所指出的那样，因有利而行事，而非根据原则，所以，会话目的是人们使用语言的根本取向，也就是说，会话目的规定和解释人们为什么选择这样的言语而不使用那样的话语的根本原因所在。
这种目的分析法不但适应于语用学研究，而且也适应于语篇分析和文体学，因为语篇分析就是分析大于句子的语言的使用问题，而文体学也是一种语篇分析，只是这种分析更侧重于文学文本的考察，况且语用学发展到今天，它既分析句子的语用，也分析语篇的语用，既研究口头语言，也研究书面语言，也就是说，它既考察人际修辞，也考察文本修辞。商业信函既属于人际修辞，也属于文本修辞。
任何对语言的目的分析法都要涉及到下面有关的不同目的的区分问题：(1) 动态目的和常规目的；(2) 并存目的；(3) 从属目的和主导目的；(4) 长期目的和短期目的；(5) 主要目的和次要目的。
有关以上这些目的共同存在的非常特殊的例子是经贸信函交际，也就是说，这些目的都会在信函写作中涉及到，因为对外商务本身就是一个过程，在每一阶段的信函写作都有它不同的日的，概括起来，主要有三类：(1)交流信息，这一目的表现比较明显；(2)说服对方按自己的意愿行事；(3)给顾客
m个灯印象，保持与顾客的友灯关系。这二炎L＊吩别足＊常信函、劝说信函和报忧信函的主要目的
所在。勿庙置疑，信函写作的最终门的就足惭得利涧。
这样，在其口的的指引下，商务信函人儿门身的文体特点、语筋特征和语用特色。
1llj务信函是－中【。特殊的交际，只体地说，它址一种以皿信方式进行的会话。如果把英语的语体根
抛交闷。场合的不同 正式语体到非正式语体的一个连续体，那么信函语台刺鹉向于非正式语体；
这－书征决定了其特殊的词汇和句法特征。就卜仰二巾六，商州言函所】的词汇大致可分为五类：（）
业皿讪儿：①。叫川词汇八刀专业词汇：闪缩略饲汇；＊）厂”告词汇。商账函的句于简短，多用主动
状忐、现在时态和肯定句式等。
DW丫，受儿I的X刻向，1葡州言函枯俯的乡；仰刃B人＊定，段落特征叨显，衔按和连贯自然消楚。这
足它所具有的语篇特征。
信函写作迎常有六大原则：正伽、未整、清楚、简明、体谅和礼貌。这六个原则其实就是经典语
川原则0一州》。卜的体现。具体表现在：六人原则中的“小确”是合作原则中的“质”的准则的要拟即
小删嘘似的信。刽，所以，“正附”体现了“质”的准则；同样，“完整”则体现了“量”的准贝帅
捉供所需要的信息），“清楚”和“简明”体现了“力“式”准则，“得体”和“礼貌”则是fL8feji：i则的
休现，冈为礼貌原则具体到H常交际中上要闩”“s JjJ出发”和“问接法”两策略。“s 4方出发”
就足“体谅”对方，站在刘方的角度考虑问题，这样比较容易测］郧4方。“问接法”则可bde不利消
息所带来的冲击，井成功地蝴S语8中所带来的8外之意，维护收信人的面子，是一种有“礼貌”
／叭卧H策略。
合作原则在［］常信函的写作中的作川衣现山1姑，礼貌原则多用于指导劝说信函和报忧信函的写
作。当然这并不是说》戚源则在＊【c信函交际小不重婴，囚为最基本的规律是：“除非你对你的邻居
有礼貌……否则Nat惜不到他的割I川儿”die（！I．！983卜82）。
A Goal-oriented Approach to the Analysis of Language in Business Correspondence
Abstract
The end of the Second World War heralded an age of enormous expansion of economic activity on an international scale. English business correspondence became a dispensable part of business transactions. From the early 1970s, linguists have become increasingly interested in the language issue in business writings. Pragmaticians, stylisticians and discourse analysts have investigated the linguistic features of business letters from their respective perspectives. They bear the knowledge of, and are familiar with the formal structure and the techniques of linguistic analysis. The research lays emphasis on the relationship of the content and the form whereas neglecting the study of the communicative functions and the analysis of the goals of language in business letters. Thus it is either superficial or lopsided and cannot theoretically and systematically explain the particular choice of language in business writing. And there is also no inter-disciplinary study till now as to this aspect. Based on the predecessors at home and abroad, this thesis attempts to look into
the language in business correspondence with a new method------a goal-oriented approach, with its
focus on the pragmatic aspects.
Language is a tool for communication. All language communications are goal-oriented, in the course of which various types of goal interact. The speaker (or the writer), in order to achieve his ultimate goal, has the task of "encoding" both the illocutionary and perlocutionary acts in the locutionary act. The hearer (or the reader) has to work out, from the locutionary act, the illocution and perlocution. Therefore, communication is problem-solving which can be reconciled with the problem-solving study employed in the Artificial Intelligence. This viewpoint demands that we adapt the ideas of Grice and Leech somewhat freely. That is: these maxims or principles can be capable of being violated without the abnegation of the kind of activity in which the interlocutor engages; they can be observed or contravened to varying degrees. One principle or maxim may conilict with another and one may be adhered to at the expense of another. Just as what Maugham once pointed out, "The most useful thing about a principle is that it can always be sacrificed to expediency". And this, in fact, has been implied in what Grice and Leech advocated.
Thus, we are all right to say that it is the goal that gives rise to the appearance and structure of a particular language use. In other words, the goal is the base which serves to regulate and identify the different particular varieties of language use.
This goal-oriented approach is applicable not only to pragmatics, but also to discourse analysis and stylistics, because discourse analysis can be regarded simply as a projection of pragmatics into a suprasentential time dimension; and stylistics as the variety of discourse analysis dealing mostly with literary discourse. And in fact, we now take it for granted that the connection of pragmatics with spoken language is only accidental. It is also applicable to written language. In a word, pragmatics deals not only with interpersonal rhetoric but also with textual rhetoric. And business correspondence belongs to interpersonal rhetoric as well as textual rhetoric.
Any goal-oriented model of discourse analysis will have to handle the following distinctions:
1I) dynamic goals and regulative goals;
(2) coexisting goals;
(3) subordinate goals and superordinale goals;
(4) long-term goals and short-term goals;
(5) major goals and minor goals.
A special example of these different goals' coexistence is business correspondence. That is to say, we can find all the goals in business writing in the process of any business transaction.
Altogether, there are three types of goal in business correspondence. One goal, the most obvious, is to inform the reader. Another goal is to prod the reader into doing something. A third is to make a good impression on
引文
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Baugh, L. Sue, Maridell Fryar and David Thomas. 1986． Handbook for Business Writing, Illinois: National Textbook Company.
Brown, G and G. Yule. 1987． Discourse Analysis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Davison, A. 1975． Indirectness Speech Acts and What to Do With Them. In P. Cole and J. . Morgan (ed.). Syntax and Semantics: 3 Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press.
Edmondson, W. 1981． Spoken Discourse: A Model for Analysis. London: Longman.
Ewer, J. R., and Latorre, G. 1969． A Course in Basic Scientific English. Longman.
Grice, H. P. 1975． "Logic and conversation". In P. Cole and J. Morgan (ed.). Syntax and Semantics 3: Speech Acts. New York: Academic Press.
Halliday, M. A. K., A. Mclntosh and P. Strevens. 1964． The Linguistic Sciences and Language Teaching. Longman.
He Ziran. 1996． Notes on Pragmatics. Guangdong: Guangzhou University of Foreign studies.
Hutchinson, T. and A. Waters. 1986． English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
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