Mitigation In Business English Letter From The Perspective Of Adaptation Theory

This thesis probes into the linguistic phenomenon “mitigation” in business English letter of foreign trade company with a view to making a tentative investigation of the classification,contextual constraints and possible pragmatic functions of mitigation.It adopts the qualitative method,which combines the descriptive and explanatory ones.Mitigation in business English letters of foreign trade companies has been classified into three types: bushes,hedges and shields on the basis of Caffi's tripartite of mitigation though the analysis of the data collected.It should be pointed out that the hedges refer to mitigators operating upon the illocutionry force in this thesis,which differs from the traditional ones.It is found that fuzzy terms and modal verbs which pertain to bushes are applied to mitigate the accurateness of their propositions for the purpose of lightening their commitments.With respect to hedges,writers are inclined to utilize subjective mood and politeness markers to lessen the illocutinary force of their utterance so as to reduce the imposition upon themselves and the receiver to accept the utterance.In terms of shields,first-person plural and evidential markers are employed to conceal the source of the utterance.While hypothetical construction is used to shift the utterance to another time and space,which distances the writer from the utterance.In addition,this thesis discovers that of all the linguistic devices bushes are most frequently used in letters of inquiry and letters of offer.And shields are most employed in letters of claim through induction and deduction of realization of mitigation,such kind of regularity is,to some extent,consistent with the purpose of the three kinds of letter.In the meantime,this thesis makes great efforts to analyze the contextual factors that constrain the employment of mtigatiors in business English letters of foreign trade company on the basis of Verschueren's Adaptation Theory.Specifically speaking,the analysis is conducted from three aspects: physical factors,social factors and mental factors.The physical world mainly involves spatial deixis and temporal deixis.The social world subsumes the laws and regulations,such as objectivity,and the social values,such as sincerity and restraint.The mental world includes the negative emotion of the receiver and the writer's intention of self-protection.Moreover,the thesis also explores the possible pragmatic functions of mitigation which is regarded as a strategy in business English letters.It is found that the use of mitigation in business English letter of foreign trade company aims to build solidarity between the writer and the receiver,achieve pacification and persuade receiver with a view to making their opinions and requests better accepted through induction and deduction of the research data.It is hoped that the present study may enhance a better understanding of mitigation and further study will be carried out at a deeper level in the future.In the meantime,it may help staff members in foreign trade company to better employ mitigation with a view to realizing their communicative goals and securing success of the transactions.