VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* NGUYỄN THỊ PHƢƠNG ANH A STUDY ON POLITENESS STRATEGIES TO MAKE REQUESTS USED IN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCES WRITTEN BY AMERICANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC LỊCH SỰ KHI ĐƢA RA YÊU CẦU TRONG THƢ TÍN KINH DOANH ĐƢỢC VIẾT BỞI NGƢỜI MỸ M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 HANOI - 2017 VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGE AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* NGUYỄN THỊ PHƢƠNG ANH A STUDY ON POLITENESS STRATEGIES TO MAKE REQUESTS USED IN ENGLISH BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE WRITTEN BY AMERICANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC LỊCH SỰ KHI ĐƢA RA YÊU CẦU TRONG THƢ TÍN KINH DOANH ĐƢỢC VIẾT BỞI NGƢỜI MỸ M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201 Supervior: Assos Prof Dr Ngô Hữu Hoàng HANOI - 2017 DECLARATION I hereby certify that this thesis is entirely my own work I have provided fully documented references to the others‟ work The material in this thesis has not been submitted for assessment in any other formal course I also accept all the requirements of ULIS relating to the retention and use of M.A Graduation Thesis deposited in the library Hanoi, 2017 Nguyễn Thị Phƣơng Anh i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not be fulfilled without the help of some people, and in some ways, I would like to thank everyone who has taught me, inspired me, challenged me, and supported me throughout the realization of this thesis I would like to express my deepest thanks to my beloved supervisor, Assoc.Prof.Dr Ngo Huu Hoang, , for his whole-hearted assistance, encouragement as well as his profound guidance he gave me while I was doing my research I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all lecturers in Faculty of Post-graduate Studies, University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi for their interesting lectures which have inspired me to conduct this thesis I would also like to express my thanks to my colleagues -teachers of English, who encourage me, and help me during the project Last but not least, I am most thankful to my relatives who have always inspired and encouraged me to complete this study Hanoi, May 2017 Nguyễn Thị Phương Anh ii ABSTRACT This thesis is to raise the competence of pragmatics in business writing for language learners when the needs of communications among people in the world are increasing much more and more However, it is obviously indicated that English learners seems not to have understandings about pragmatics and essential issues in linguistics that makes them difficult in learning foreign language effectively The researcher would like to show the importance of politeness strategies in requestings in native English speakers, in order to help learners avoid the FTAs when writing In the thesis, the material is used : seventeen letters from Americans, which support the researchers carry out the research They are letters of customers to suppliers and vice versa, to ask information of price, products, shipment By the deductive method, the research is carried out based on the theory of politeness strategies of Brown and Levison, then the data is descriptive, emumerated and analysed which the most frequent politeness strategies to make requests in writing mode and the trend of use these strategies in American business letters It aims at giving full awareness of politeness strategies, the roles of pragmatics in commmunicating iii TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii ABSTRACT iii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale 1.2 Aims of the study 1.3 The research questions 1.4 The scope of research 1.5 Significance of the study 1.6 Design of study PART B DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 The pragmatic scope of the study 1.1.1 The speech act theory 1.1.2 Requesting as a speech act 1.2 Theoretical background of politeness 1.2.1 Brown and Levison‟s theory of politeness 1.2.1.1 Face 1.2.1.2 Face-threatening acts ( FTAs) CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 14 2.1 Research on politeness to make requests in written language 14 2.2 Business letters and making requests 15 2.2.1 Business letters 15 2.2.2 Making requests in English business letters 16 2.2.3 Some research on business letters 16 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 18 3.1 Research method 18 3.2 Data collections 18 3.3 Data analysis 19 iv 3.4 Research procedures 20 3.5 Summary 20 CHAPTER 4: FINDING AND DISCUSSION 22 4.1 Frequency of occurrence of politeness strategies to make request in business letters composed by Americans 22 4.1.1 Requests from customers to suppliers 22 4.1.1.1 Positive politeness strategies 22 4.1.1.2 Negative politeness strategies 25 4.1.Requests from supplier to customers 29 4.1.2.1 Positive politeness strategies 29 4.1.2.2 Negative politeness strategies 30 4.1.3 Results 33 4.2 Comparison of using politeness strategies to make request between customers and suppliers 35 4.2.1 Positive politeness strategies to make requests from customers and supplier 35 4.2.2 Negative politeness strategies to make requests from customers and supplier 36 PART C: CONCLUSION 38 Summary 38 Recapitulation 38 Limitations 39 Implications 39 Suggestion for further research 40 REFERENCES 41 APPENDIXES I v ABBREVIATION FTA: Face-threatening act FSA: Face- saving act S: Speaker H: Hearer EFL: Engish as Foreign Langague vi LIST OF FIGURES, TABLES, AND CHARTS FIGURE Figure Face-threatening acts(Meier, 1995) Figure Social factors affects the speaker‟s strategies in communication 11 Figure Possible strategies for doing face-threatening acts(Brown & Levinson, 1987) 11 TABLE Table The frequency of occurrence of politeness strategies in business letters from customers to suppliers 33 Table 2: Politeness strategies to make requests in letters from suppliers to customers 34 CHART Chart 1: Positive politeness strategies to make requests from customers and suppliers 36 Chart 2: Negative politeness strategies to make requests from customers and supplier 37 vii PART A: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale Studying pragmatics is one interesting aspect in linguistics because of its practical features on communicating activities of people around the world Politeness strategy is one considerable topic in pragmatics Using and having competence of politeness strategies brings many advantages for communicating effectively, because it has effects on result of communication between people and people According to Brown and Levinson (1987)Politeness is the expression of the speakers' intention to mitigate face threats carried by certain face threatening acts toward the listener Another definition is "a battery of social skills whose goal is to ensure everyone feels affirmed in a social interaction"(Mills, 2003) Therefore, being polite can be an attempt for the speaker to save their own face or the face of who he or she is talking to These days, means of communication not limit on direct communication because of development of technology Therefore, doing business is much easier than before, businesspeople can use letters sent via Internet to discuss, transactions what they need Within communicating activities, requesting that can threaten the addressee‟ face most Normally, it is studied in spoken language more than written language such as business letters Meanwhile, the exchange of information between businesspeople is mostly continuous every day, especially via e-mails, including asking for information and ordering Therefore, the present study would like to analyze requesting in business letters written by American It can bring a clear finding about the politeness strategies to make requests in written mode It can help learners who learn English as a second language/ foreign language be competent the pragmatics, politeness strategies in making requests 1.2 Aims of the study The main purposes of the study are to examine which kind of politeness strategies to make requests in business letters from Americans And, the second purpose is to find out the factors that affect choosing their politeness strategies in different business situations Appendix New World Computers.Ire Sept,12,2010 Mary Matta 27 High Road Ipswich, MA 01801 Dear Ms Matta: According to our records, you recently contacted the New World Computers Technical Support Service and spoke with our representative, Joan Kim We hope your experience was pleasant and effective We would appreciate your giving us feedback your experience with Technical Support by taking a few minutes to fill out the enclosed Customer Survey forms By letting us know about the quality of the support you received, you will help us ensure that we continue to provide you and all our customer with the excellent service that you deserve Please return the form in the enclosed envelope, or you can complete it online by going to our website at www.nwc.com/customersurvey If you have any questions, please contact the Customer Support Office at 800-555-8978 Thank you for being a New World Computers‟ customer Sincerely, Sanutel JP.ee Samuel Lee, Support Service Manager IV Appendix 4: Dear Ms Miller, I would like to thank you for your interest in and order form the JP.William company It is exciting to know that our products travel all over the world However, as I process your order form I notice a discrepancy which I misunderstood and apologize for the size of the F24 pullover item is missing from the form I wonder if you could respond, either by mail (with the provided stamped envelope) or by phone(at our cost) to our dilemma and let us know of the appropriate size to send Again I apologize for the trouble and delay for your order I have not been successful at reaching you by telephone and therefore writing to you know Hoping to receive your respond soon V Appendix 5: Oracle Corporation 500Oracle Parkway Redwood Shores, CA 94065 United States (650)591-2011 October 25, 2008 Jennifer Lewis 2438 South Strantford Road, Winston Salem, NC, United States (336)765-9027 Dear Ms Lewis: As per our discussion in the college last week, I am requesting you to give me information about you recently launched Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) by your company The Sales Executive of you company who had come to my office to collect the monthly premium had told me about the scheme that will be launched in a fortnight Yesterday‟s newspaper had the advertisement of the scheme but did not give all the details, I searched on the Internet but I got information in bits and pieces I want all the details about the scheme like initial investment, monthly installment, locking period etc This will help me in taking a final decision for investment Let me understand how the scheme will help me in securing my amount and what profit I will make after 3, 5,or 10 years as per your scheme I will appreciate if you send me the complete brochure regarding the scheme If you can manage to send a Marketing Executive who will explain me the scheme then it will be of great help to me If I like the scheme and find it worth investing then I will give the initial amount right there to your Executive I am looking forward to your positive reply You can contact me at (650)5912011 extension 116, or my personal email address-Daniel@redeffmail.com Yours truly, VI Appendix Daniel Smith 67 Acacia Avenue Westside, CA 4891 Dear Sirs, I would like to take out a subscription to Modern Geographic magazine I sometimes pick up copies of your publication when I travel, and I have always been impressed by quality of your articles and pictures As an environmentalist, I particularly enjoy your section on world resource and environmental issues I‟ll not need a copy of the world map, so I would like to ask you NOT to send it I feel it would be a waste of resource to receive something that I will not use I have enclosed a check for $23.95 and look forward to receiving my first issue Regards, Miguel Sousa VII Appendix 7: Terry Dear, Jenny Pls kindly provide shipper contact information so that we could double check with ALL detail of each shipments, because we MUST get correct information to get the correct quote and cost… So the Dims are 120x80x144(cm) weight 168kg and the other one approximate 120x80x124 cm around 200kg Now you said that Cnee said the unit should be in INCH…we must make sure, because if that were the case, that shipment can NOT fit into any regular container That is for special equipment shipping, such as using Flat Rank And if Cnee want to ship everything together, therefore, we must have ALL detail of shipment, and information so that we could check ALL cost accordingly… Thank you very much Best VIII Appendix Tom Atkinson Global MIE Inc Edith Street Hackney West Dear We are pleased of your interest in our services and we hope to serve you to the best of our abilities In order that we may provide you with reasonable and competitive prices, we ask all our customers to submit a credit application We understand that the information we require may be sensitive However, rest assured that by requiring the same information from all our customers we are protecting you from having to pay higher prices from someone else‟s bad credit Could you please fill the enclosed application and forward it to us at your earliest convenience, so that we may extend to you 30-day payment term upon approval? Sincerely IX Appendix CSC-South America Branch Raymond Kwok Manager 323 728 3501 ex 113 rkwok@columbia.com March 20th 2009 George Franklin Sales Manager Columbia Sportswear Company (CSC) 1256 Link Park, Central Building Washington DC USA Dear Sir I am writing to ask you some technical questions about Factory Quality System Control Manual( FQSCM) which was sent to our branch in South America yesterday Will we apply this FQSCM for a series of T-shirts model CSC-A123? In FQSCM, there will have a Qualified Testing Lab for all CSC branches all over the world, so when will you start building it in South America branch? I am not quite clear about Defect Classification Manual in FQSCM, could you please give me further information? For your convenience, you can contact me by email at rkwok@columbia.com or telephone number 323 7283501 extension 113 at any time I look forward to hearing from you Yours sincerely, Raymond Kwok Manager CSC-South America Branch X Appendix 10: Dear Mr Galoob Thank you for sending me a copy of your latest ceramics catalog Your vases and bowls are quite exquisite They look so realistic I would like to order 50 more of the Ladybug bowls According to the catalog, they are available in small, medium and a limited number of extra large sizes I‟m interested in purchasing approximate 25 of the extra scorpion cups If they are popular I may consider ordering more, if the museum has the budget, please send me information on your available stock I would appreciate receiving the information by fax I look forward to hearing from you and hope that we‟ll be able to continue doing business for a long time to come Sincerely, XI Appendix 11: Market Products, Inc 830 2nd Ave, Suite 20B New York, NY 10015 Ms Lucy Harper 2091 W 4th Avenue Buffalo, NY1238 Dear, Ms Harper We thank you for your interest in our firm‟s service and we look forward to serving you I am certain that you will be interested in our 30 days payment term, so that we may process your credit application, please provide us with the following : The name, address and telephone number of your bank Your bank account number The name and telephone number of suppliers whom we may contact as references We look forward to doing business with you Sincerely XII Appendix 12: Kenneth Beare 2520 Visita Avenue September 12, 2009 Jackson Brothers 3489 23rd Street John Miley Manager, the Acreme Hotel 140 Main Street WA98501, US Dear, Mr Miley Now that you have had a chance to evaluate our product, we would like to hear from you? The total sasticfaction of our customers, even after their purchase, is extremely important to us Won‟t you take a moment to fill out the enclosed questionnaire? Acreme Hotel knows as that it‟s our customer who make our business We therefore want to make sure that the purchase of a set of kitchen‟s facilities is a sastifying experience for all We greatly appreciate your response to this questionnaire Should you any immediate assistance, or would prefer to respond by telephone Please feel free to contact us at 0090-775-168 I would welcome any comment you may have Thank you Yours sincerely, XIII Appendix 13: Sorana Holl 5104 Crawford, N.W Washington, DC 2008 August 10th, 2006 Ms.Rhonda Hipkins Sales and Marketing Silver Garment Company 319 Stalling Road, Suite 109 Stallings, NC 28104 Dear Ms Hipkins I read an advertisement about the dress collection, Autumn 2006 in Fashion magazine-Elle some days ago, and I really like to buy a dress However , I did not get much information about the collection such as the price, colors, and materials of each dress Can you please send me your catalogue of the collection? Moreover, I would like to know how to pay for the product and how long I could get the product I want to buy You can contact me by email at Sorana221@gmail.com or phone me at 770559-1988 I look forward to hearing from you soon and I hope to be your regular customer Yours sincerely Sorana Holl XIV Appendix 14: Arlington Heights Programming Associates 16 Oak Street Springfield, CA 90562 November 11th 2009 Customer Relations Turing data Solutions 2394 Maple Avenue Mountain View, CA 94920 Dear Customer Relations, I am a system engineer at Arlington Heights Programming Associates developing a new client-server net worked database system for two non-profit corporations My team is considering using your new release of Omega Database Plus 1.0 as a key part of the system If we incorporate your product into our design, our clients will need to purchase at least a total of 140 copies of your software We have read your promotional material and are very interested in using your product We need, however, the answer to the following questions before we can decide whether or not to use Omega Database Plus: Are you still planning to release the Omega Database Plus version 1.0 on February 12, 2009 What Lan environments will your product support? Will your product support PGP encryption? I would be happy to talk to you further about your product You can call me at (415) 666-323 or email me at egrarel@arlpro.com Yours sincerely, Edgar Garrels Senior Systems Engineer XV Appendix 15: To Rachel Vinton, Production Head Artistic Paperwork Ltd 15th Novel Street West Virginia Date 25th April 2014 Subject: Enquiry about the pipe roll boxes for wall stickers Dear Rachel, Hope you are doing well! I am connecting to you as I have got your reference from one of friends in crockery industry by the name of Blaze Crystalware for paper based packing materials Firstly, I would like to introduce about my business to you so that you can take a call whether we can be business a lies or not We are a start-up company by the name of Wattistic Art and we‟ve made a part of the market a year back that is in March 2013 We produce reasonably priced wall art in the form of removable wall stickers and decals We wish to ally with you for the packaging of these wall stickers which would be a pipe roll box made from very hard cardboard paper with ads on both sides of the boxes If you are already into manufacturing such boxes then please send us a quotation a long with a sample for the same If you are not manufacturing such boxes at the moment then please let us know If you not with to take up this project but have references for such a job then also please try to share those with us Hoping to hear back from you soon on what your take is regarding this business enquiry Thanks and regards, Janet Mayor XVI Appendix 16: Better Widget Makers, Inc 5565 Widget Avenue Silver City, CO 80483 September 26, 2003 Mr Russ Hamilton Vice President, Sales and Marketing Golden Bread Company 123 Loaf Street Silver City, CO 80451 Dear Mr Hamilton Construction on the new employee cafeteria at Better Widget Makers, Inc is nearing completion and I am looking for a supplier capable of fulfilling our weekly bakery needs Do you have an information packet that would help me project the cost of doing business with your company? We will need daily deliveries of pasties, pies, dinner rolls and sandwich bread Our facility operates 24/7, Monday through Friday, with a flextime workforce of 1,500 employees To complete my operational budget I will need the following information: Wholesale price sheets Quantity cost breaks Annual contract discounts Delivery and or any other service charges To submit my proposal to the finance committee at their October 20 th meeting I will need to receive your information by the 10th I will also need to meet with you after reviewing the requested materials Please call me for an appointment at your earliest convenience My personal extension is 216-800,#29 In keeping with long-standing policy we would like to place this contract locally I look forward to working with you and am hopeful that the Golden Bread Company can fulfill our needs Sincerely, Ida Mae Knott Purchasing Agent XVII Appendix 17: Mr Jan Schmidt Senior Executive Manager Marketing Department 245 Manufactures and Suppliers Pvt Ltd Chicago, US Date: June 25th 2009 Subject: Launch date of the new product-inquiry Dear, Mr Schmidt I am Frieda Larssen , and I own a retail shop down in Brooklyn, where sell all consumer and electronic products The reason with which I write this letter is to inquire about the status of a new product In April this year the company announced that it will be launching a new model of food processor The announcement stated that the product will be launched somewhere in mid-September It would be really helpful if you could inform me about the date on which the company now plans to launch the product and the date on which the product will be supplied to stores in New York With regards Frieda Larssen XVIII ... CORRESPONDENCE WRITTEN BY AMERICANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC LỊCH SỰ KHI ĐƢA RA YÊU CẦU TRONG THƢ TÍN KINH DOANH ĐƢỢC VIẾT BỞI NGƢỜI MỸ M.A MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS Field: English Linguistics Code: 60220201... POST-GRADUATE STUDIES ******************* NGUYỄN THỊ PHƢƠNG ANH A STUDY ON POLITENESS STRATEGIES TO MAKE REQUESTS USED IN ENGLISH BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE WRITTEN BY AMERICANS NGHIÊN CỨU CÁC CHIẾN... requesting strategies are comparable to bald on record, conventional indirectness to negative politeness strategies, and non-conventional strategies to off-record strategies In the Cross-cultural Speech