Abstract: Business English letter plays an increasingly important role in today’s globalized business world, and you-attitude has been identified as the indispensable principle for business English writing. This paper focuses on forms and pragmatic functions of you-attitude in business English letter. Based on the theory of pragmatic empathy, this article analyzes the theoretical basis of You-attitude, explaining the exact definition of you-attitude. Secondly, it expounds specifically the forms of you-attitude in business English letter. Lastly, it discusses pragmatic functions of you-attitude in different categories of business English letters. This paper finds out that you-attitude is not only the writing strategy but also the indispensable principle that conducts effective and efficient business English letter writing.
Key Words: business English letter; you-attitude; politeness principle; pragmatic empathy
CONTENTS
Abstract
摘要
1.Introduction .1
1.1Introduction to the Significance of this Study
1.2Introduction to the Theoretical Foundation of the Paper
2. Literature Review 2
3. You-attitude in Business English Letters3
3.1 Business English Letter
3.2 You-attitude in Business English Letters
4. Forms of You-attitude in Business English Letters4
4.1 Lexical Methods
4.2 Use of Sentences
4.3 Use of Tense
5.Pragmatic Functions of You-attitude in Business English Letters 6
5.1 Consideration Function
5.2 Politeness Function
5.3 Cooperative Function
6. Conclusion8
Bibliography.11
Acknowledgments12
