英语商务信函中语用预设的研究

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硕士学位论文

III

摘要

预设是语言中存在的一种普遍现象。预设作为语用学中的一个重要概念，被

许多语言学家和哲学家们所关注。预设在英语商务信函中的重要性却未引起人们

足够的重视。随着世界经济一体化步伐的加快，英语商务信函在国际经济活动中

的使用越来越频繁，起到越来越重要的作用。然而目前研究者们主要对英语商务

信函中礼貌原则的使用进行研究，几乎没有学者对其中预设现象进行研究。

所以本文从礼貌原则和语言经济性原则两个方面，尝试着对英语商务信函中

语用预设的应用及其功能进行研究。本文主要探讨了三个问题：第一，语用预设

被应用在英语商务信函中的原因；第二，语用预设是怎样被应用在商务信函中的；

第三，语用预设在商务信函中起着怎样的作用。

为了解决以上三个问题，本研究主要进行了以下五个方面的工作：1）收集英

语商务信函并分为四类；2）归纳语用预设的特点；3）统计语用预设在商务信函

中的分布及其频率；4）对分类的商务信函，逐一分析语用预设是如何被应用的；

5）总结出语用预设在商务信函中的功能。本文采用了定性分析为主，定量分析为

辅的研究方法。其中，对英语商务信函中语用预设功能分析采取了定性的研究，

而对语用预设分布及其频率的统计则属于定量分析。

研究结果发现，在四类商务信函中均能发现语用预设的使用。其中，在好消

息商务信函，坏消息商务信函以及劝说类商务信函中出现的较为频繁；在中立类

商务信函中出现的频率却很小。通过对四类商务信函中语用预设应用的分析，本

文从三个层面总结出了语用预设在商务信函中所起到的作用。在语言层面上，它

是应用是商务信函语言更加礼貌和简洁；在语篇层面上，使商务信函语篇更加连

贯；在信息量层面上，使商务信函语言或者语篇所表达色信息量更大。

本研究既有理论上的启示又有实践上的启示。理论上可以加深对语用预设的

认识和理解，丰富它的内容，同时开辟了英语商务信函研究的新视角；实践上能

硕士学位论文

够帮助商务信函写作人撰写出更加成功的有效的信函，同时对人们之间的日常交

流也起到一定的启示作用。

关键词: 英语商务信函；语用预设；礼貌原则；语言经济原则；功能

硕士学位论文

Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………….....1

Chapter 1 Literature Review...............................................................................…...6

1.1 An Overview of Presupposition ……………………………………….……….6

1.2 A Review of Study on Business

Letters ……………………………………….10

Chapter 2 A Theoretical Framework for the Thesis………………………………...14

2.1 Some Basics of Presupposition……………………………………….….........14

2.2 Relevant Theories………………………………….……….............................17

Chapter 3 An Analysis of Pragmatic Presupposition in EBLs……………………23

3.1 The Distribution and Frequency of Pragmatic Presupposition………………..23

3.2 Presupposition and the Politeness Principle………………………….....…….27

3.3 Presupposition and the Principle of Economy of Language……………….....38

Chapter 4 Functions of Pragmatic Presupposition in EBLs……………………….45

4.1 In the Language Level……………………. …………. …………..................45

4.2 In the Discourse Level………………………………………………..............50

4.3 In the Level on the Amount of Informativeness………………………….......51

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………….........54

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………..........56

硕士学位论文

Introduction

1. Background of the Study

English business letters (EBLs) are of great importance in business transactions,

because they are required not only to exchange information, but also to establish and

maintain harmonious business relations since China joined the WTO. English business

letter communication has been playing more and more important role in business

transaction.

Presupposition is a very common language phenomenon. There is no exception

with EBLs. Chen (陈新仁，2009:94) holds that, in pragmatics, we incline to have a

broader interpretation of the concept such that pragmatic presupposition covers

everything that the speaker assumes to be in existence or true prior to making an

utterance. It concerns not only actual information but also expectations, desires, claims,

attitudes, fears, and beliefs. The application of presupposition in EBLs can not only help

to convey information, but also help to establish and to maintain the harmonious

business relations. Although the subjects of both presupposition and EBLs have been

discussed respectively by many scholars, the two were seldom associated as one subject

for investigation. This thesis studies and analyzes the application of presupposition in

EBLs from the pragmatic perspective, with the purpose to find or conclude the

functions of its application in EBLs with the help of both politeness principle and the

principle of economy of language, which will help English learners and business people

obtain a better understanding of the EBLs.

2. The Rationale of the Study

People have many beliefs or desires in communication. An important and obvious

one is that we put great emphasis on presupposing what we believe or desire to be

硕士学位论文

thought to be true by the hearer or the reader. Therefore, the application of

presupposition is very common in language. And there is no exception to EBLs. The

application of presupposition in EBLs is chosen as the object of this study mainly

because of the following reasons.

Firstly, traditionally, most scholars hold that in the process of writing business

letters, writers should follow seven principles that are clarity, correctness, conciseness,

courteousness, completeness, concreteness and consideration. The application of

presupposition in business letters is to meet some of the 7Cs principle. For example, we

treat some known information in business communication as presupposed information

in order to avoid wordiness, which is to meet the conciseness principle. The present

study sets out to describe the appropriate use of presupposition in EBLs which may lead

to smooth business communication and can enhance the successful conclusion of

transactions.

Secondly, probing into the application of presupposition in EBLs is conductive to

the explicit relations between the application of presupposition and the addresser's

intentions. What we want to explore is the situations and reasons people apply

presupposition to satisfy particular intentions, but not the pure semantic meanings of

presupposition, because the application of presupposition is context-dependent while

semantic presupposition is context-independent, and the employment of presupposition

is due to the subjective motivations while semantic presupposition doesn't have such

motivations or intentions. Therefore, for the present study, the author chooses the

application of presupposition in EBLs as object, which provides a way for the addresser

or writer to realize his/her communicative intentions and it also offers a guideline for

the addressee to better understand the addresser's intentions beyond the pure semantic

meanings of the presupposition.

Thirdly, it is theoretically and practically significant to present a systematic

analysis of presupposition in EBLs. Although the subjects of both presupposition and

EBLs have been discussed respectively by many scholars, the two were seldom

associated as one subject for investigation. With the fast development of the research on

硕士学位论文

the various kinds of pragmatic theories, the thesis is intended to make an analysis of

presupposition in EBLs from the pragmatic perspective. At the same time, the study of

the pragmatic functions of presupposition can help people obtain a better understanding

of the application of presupposition in EBLs.

Because of the above reasons, the author will carry out a tentative research on why

presupposition is used in EBLs from the pragmatic perspective.

3. Data Collection and Research Methods

Taking Leech's Politeness Principle and Hjelmslev's Principle of Economy of

Language as the major theoretical base and choosing the presupposition phenomenon in

EBLs as research object, the research attempts to make an analysis of pragmatic

presupposition in EBLs. This study employs both qualitative and quantitative methods

to analyze the presupposition phenomenon in EBLs.

Any transaction depends on the exchange of information. It is particularly

important in modern international business. There are many ways to exchange

information, in spoken or in written form. As far as written form is concerned, it usually

includes letter, telegram, telex, fax and e-mail. With the development of science and

technology, fax and e-mail are widely used while telex and telegram are seldom used

nowadays. But anyhow, letters are still the base of information interchange, and a good

business correspondence is of great important in foreign trade fields. In this thesis, the

analyzed and collected business letters are mainly from letters by papers, letters by fax

machines and letters by e-mails.

In the first stage of the study, the author collects altogether 112 sample EBLs at

random. Because letters from companies are more believable while letters from

published textbooks are more classical. Therefore, the collected or selected business

letters not only include letters from import and export companies in realistic business

communication but also include letters from publishes textbooks on business letter

writing. Among them, 40 of the material for the present study are drawn from

companies involved in a broad range of industries and sectors such as textile, chemicals,

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摘要：

硕士学位论文III摘要预设是语言中存在的一种普遍现象。预设作为语用学中的一个重要概念，被许多语言学家和哲学家们所关注。预设在英语商务信函中的重要性却未引起人们足够的重视。随着世界经济一体化步伐的加快，英语商务信函在国际经济活动中的使用越来越频繁，起到越来越重要的作用。然而目前研究者们主要对英语商务信函中礼貌原则的使用进行研究，几乎没有学者对其中预设现象进行研究。所以本文从礼貌原则和语言经济性原则两个方面，尝试着对英语商务信函中语用预设的应用及其功能进行研究。本文主要探讨了三个问题：第一，语用预设被应用在英语商务信函中的原因；第二，语用预设是怎样被应用在商务信函中的；第三，语用预设在商务信函中起...

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