Pragmatic Analysis Of Vague Expressions In English Business Correspondence

Vagueness is one of the primary properties of natural language.Vague expressions are frequently employed in human communication.Since Zadeh proposed the Fuzzy Set Theory in 1956,many researchers have been aroused to conduct systemic descriptive researches on vague expressions,especially from the semantic perspective.But this perspective places too much emphasis on the formalization of vague expressions.It is incapable of explaining why people tend to deliberately use vague expressions in some circumstances.As is known,business communication is intention-driven.The language to be used in English business correspondence is supposed to be precisc and clear,lest misunderstanding arose between the parties concerned,so as to avoid losses.Interested in this language phenomenon and this special discourse,the author carries out an interpretative research on the vague expressions in English business correspondence from the pragmatic perspective.This research is targeted at discussing these four questions:1.How frequently are vague expressions used in English business correspondence? 2.What means of linguistic realization of vague expressions can be observed in English business correspondence? 3. How can we interpret this vagueness-involved business communication? 4.What pragmatic functions do the vague expressions have in English business correspondence?This thesis classifies English business correspondence into eight types according to the process of a business transaction.Forty sample letters are collected for the present research,five for each type of English business correspondence.Based on the data,the author performs both a quantitative and a qualitative research on the vague expressions in English business correspondence.On the basis of the quantitative research,it is found that vague expressions are pervasive in English business correspondence and there is some discrepancy in the frequency of vague expressions in different types of English business correspondence.The difference is depicted as such:Enquiry＞Sales＞Counter-offer＞Adjustment＞Re-enquiry＞Offer＞Complaint＞Order.Besides,the means of linguistic realization of vague expressions are observed to include various lexical means and syntactic means.On the other hand.dais thesis explores the interpretation of vague language on the part of both the addresser and the addressee via Adaptation Theory and Relevance Theory respectively.It is found that the addresser chooses to use vague expressions in adaptation to the social conventions and to his psychological motivations so as to achieve his communicative intentions,while taking the vague expressions as ostensive stimulus, the addressee seeks to infer the optimal relevance and derive the addresser's communicative intentions.Based on this research,it is clear that the vague expressions in English business correspondence have such pragmatic functions:1.Making English business correspondence more polite.2.Making the language more persuasive.3.Arousing interest.4.Achieving self-protection.This research is expected to have some theoretical and practical significance.Firstly, it helps to deepen the understanding about the nature of vague language,its linguistic features and pragmatic functions,communicative strategies and the relationship between language and psychology and cognition,etc.Secondly,it casts some enlightenment on foreign language teaching,business English teaching in particular.Business English teachers should introduce vague expressions to the course and teach students how to use vague expressions appropriately to achieve their communicative intentions.Finally,it also raises professional businessmen's awareness to use vague expressions properly when necessary and helps them conduct smooth and successful business communication.