Violations Of The Cooperative Principle And The Politeness Principle In Chinese Students’ Business English Writing

Business English writing is a very useful tool in the communication of international trades.Its main function is to improve the communication and avoid misunderstanding in order to achieve mutual benefits of both sides.Successful business English writings can not only deliver the information effectively in the shortest possible time but also build good images for companies and maintain stable long-term cooperative relations.With the development of science and technology and globalization,a growing number of trade activities between countries have been carried out.Many universities in China have started to establish business English as an independent discipline to develop professional business talents.Grice’s cooperative principle is the knowledge base of normal communication,while Leech’s politeness principle makes communication more smooth and efficient.As two most frequently used pragmatic principles,they also have a great effect on guiding business English writings,which can make the communication between the two parties more convenient and effective and finally reach a win-win goal.But some Chinese business English students,actually,violate the maxims under the cooperative principle and the politeness principle in writing practice.The subjects of this study are 82 Chinese students of business English majors in Weifang Business Vocational College.How and why they violate the two principles are the topic of this thesis.And then the author arrives at some conclusions and provides suggestions for both Chinese teachers and students of business English majors.The main body of this thesis can be divided into four chapters.Chapter 1 makes an introduction to literature review,which briefly describes the concept and style features of business English writings,introduces the maxims of the cooperative principle and the politeness principle in a detailed manner and explains the relationship between them.Chapter 2 concentrates on the research methodology,which presents the subjects,procedures,data collection and analysis of the research.Chapter 3 is data analysis.First,the author gives a description of data.Then it explains how Chinese business English students violate the cooperative principle and the politeness principle in their business English writings by case study.In chapter 4,the author gives some insights into business English writing through discussions.This part lists the possible causes of these violations from the aspects of language using,professional knowledge and cultural differences.Then the author,based on the maxims of the cooperative principle and the politeness principle,and the characteristics of business writing,provides some suggestions for Chinese business English students and teachers,in the hope of improving their business English writing skills.This thesis aims to help Chinese business English students to avoid some unnecessary mistakes in further learning and practice through the analysis and illustration of their improper expressions in business English writing.Finally,the thesis gives suggestions in teaching and learning so that teachers and students can apply the cooperative principle and the politeness principle into business writings in a reasonable manner.