跨文化禮儀交際在商務英語函電中的應用探析

王瑞琳

【Abstract】Business English correspondence is an important medium for communication between business partners. Business English correspondence is often used in international business contacts， is to carry out foreign trade business and related business activities， the basis and important tools， international trade， a well-written language， the use of appropriate correspondence， to facilitate the transaction will often To a great role， and the role of etiquette can not be ignored， and even can affect the success or failure of a transaction. In this paper， by comparing the cultural differences and politeness in Chinese and English business correspondence， this paper puts forward the concrete way of realizing courtesy in cross - cultural communication， so as to make better use of business English correspondence for cross - cultural communication.

【Key words】Business English； Correspondence writing； Cross-cultural communication； Etiquette

1. Introduction

In the 21S` century， with the fast development of science and technology and theeconomic globalization， the world seems to become a smaller global village and the intercultural contact is much more frequent than ever， which requires people to be able to appreciate， communicate and worlc interculturally. With Chinas entry into the WTO， China is now faced with increasing opportunities to interact with other countries. With one-fifth of the worlds population and one of the fastest rates of economic growth， China is becoming a major target for the world business. As a result， opportunities for international business are on the dramatic increase. International business brings people together from different countries who discuss common and conflicting interests in the hope of concluding a transaction of mutual benefit. Hence， Chinese people are set to immerse themselves in intercultural communication more frequently than ever.

2. What is Business English？

Definition of Business English

When the Chinese market is more deeply integrated into the international economic society， the domestic talent market due to a large number of foreign companies landing， the demand for business English talent is also growing. But we need to understand that business English is not a panacea， it is not independent， Many foreign companies need to have more professional English proficiency of employees， “professional English”， such as ETS TOEIC and TOPE， the other known as TOEIC business English， in fact， there is a difference between the two， its meaning and role is different.For professional English， students participate in a test and get a certain score to prove their ability to apply to the English language. Students need to get a score that proves their ability to undertake the relevant work. In fact， such as TOEFL， the high score of the candidates does not prove that they have the corresponding ability.endprint

3. Cultural Differences in Business English Correspondence

In different cultural backgrounds， business people in the form of correspondence to communicate， the expression of the way and the expression of the style will be different. Professor Gild Hoffstad of cultural master has conducted a survey， comparison and analysis of the culture of more than 50 countries in the world. Four dimensions of cultural differences in different countries are proposed： individualism and collectivism， power distance， uncertainty Sexual evasion， maleism and feminism. This paper focuses on the cultural differences in business English correspondence from the two dimensions of individualism and collectivism and power distance.

Individualism and collectivism

Individualist countries tend to put power and privacy first， emphasizing individual respect and freedom. While collectivist countries attach importance to responsibility and harmony， often in the collective contribution to the performance of humility. When communicating with business correspondence， some collectivist countries are often more subtle and humble， and they are faced some disputes and disputes， in order to take into account each others face， often expressed ambiguous， and even ten can not effectively solve the problem.

In this letter， we obviously feel that the writer is not have enough stamina， in the case of the other breach of contract， should be straightforward to ask the other party to pay immediately， or pursue their responsibilities. But the letter is afraid of offending people， doing things left room， the performance is not tough and positive， which is a typical embodiment of collectivism. Collectivist interpersonal relationship emphasizes ten emotions， in interpersonal relationships in the human feelings and mutual exchanges， do not want to tear face to maintain a good relationship. And for the ten Western countries that emphasize individualism， public and private， in the trade between the two sides， respect for business rules， human and things separated. In front of the facts， they are often business affairs， not for the feelings of the left and right.

4. The Characteristics of Business English Correspondence

Importance

With the accelerated pace of world economic integration， international business cooperation is growing. After Chinas accession to the World Trade Organization， economic exchanges with other member countries have become increasingly frequent， and foreign economic and trade cooperation has developed rapidly. International trade continues to develop， and business correspondence in todays world trade boom is the occasion of international business contacts essential means， all aspects of foreign trade through correspondence. From the establishment of business relations to achieve the transaction， the implementation of the contract， as well as the implementation of the contract process disputes， mostly through the letter electrolysis Decision.endprint

5. Intercultural etiquette and ceremonial communication

Politeness and Business English

As an important communicative tool in foreign trade activities， Business English has to fulfill the intended communicative goals， as well as to be strategic enough in order to arrive at effective communication and politeness. The writer should bear in his mind the possible reactions of the reader and compose letters accordingly.

Properly composed Business English is closely related to politeness. On the one hand， the relationship between each letters illocutionary goal and politeness is different from one another， which has already been discussed in 3.2；on the other hand， all the letters have the same goal of conveying information effectively and， at the same time， maintaining a sound relationship between the writer and the reader by applying certain politeness strategies. Thereby， on the premise of effective communication， the writer should employ necessary politeness strategies in Business English writing to protect， maintain or enhance the readers face and avoid potential threat on his own， thus to communicate in a proper manner and keep a long and friendly relationship with his partners.

Conclusion

Politeness principle is one of the most basic principles in business English writing， but because of different cultural and cultural differences in different countries， there are differences in the form of courtesy. We should understand the cultural characteristics of different countries and abide by the customs and expressions of other countries， Truly respect for others， courteous to others， to better cross-cultural communication.In international trade， the principle of politeness runs through all aspects of business English correspondence.Courteous business English correspondence is not only a good communication media， or to attract customers， an important means of building friendship. A business letter in strict accordance with the principle of politeness can make enterprises establish a good image， and establish a harmonious business relationship with customers， whether it is regular inquiries， offer， orders and other positive information， or overdue， delay， complaints and Claims and other negative information， polite principles are very important.

References：

[1]高永晨.大學生跨文化交際能力的現狀調查和對策研究[J].外語與外語教學，2006（11）.

[2]肖懷勇，周錳珍.對商務英語教學中文化因素的認識-基于跨文化商務交際案例的分析[J].蘭州商學院學報，2006（05）.

[3]江春，丁崇文.商務英語課程設置探討[J].國際商務.對外經濟貿易大學學報，2004（01）.endprint