【正文】 畢業(yè)論文（設(shè)計(jì)）Politeness principle in English Business Correspondence1. Introduction 22. An overview of politeness and English business correspondence 3 An overview of politeness 3 Lakoff’s view on politeness 3 Leech’s politeness principle 4 Positive and negative politeness 5 Brief introduction to English business correspondence 5 Definition of business correspondence 5 Classification of English business correspondence 6 The relationship between politeness principle and business correspondence 73. Politeness in English business correspondence 8 Politeness in goodnews business letters 8 At the word and expression level 9 specific words 9 “You” instead of “I” or “We” 10 At the sentence level 11 Using short sentences 11 active voice 12 Politeness in badnews business letters 13 At the word and expression level 13 youlanguage when concerning impoliteness 13 general words 14 At the sentence level 15 Using passive voice 15 longer sentences with plex structures 16 Politeness in persuasive business letters 17 AAttention 18 IInterest 18 CConviction 18 AAction 19 of politeness principle in English business letters 19 Maximizing the facebuilding effects of the good news 20 the facebuilding effects of the bad news 20 the degree of imposition of the persuasive news 215. Conclusion 21References 231. IntroductionEven though politeness is prevalent in our daily life, it is still hard to define in the linguistic field. In fact, politeness is not only a way to convey information, but also an important means to build and maintain social relationships in munication.Lakoff (1973:298) thinks that politeness is used for “reaffirming and strengthening relationships” .According to her, “Politeness is a system of interpersonal relations designed to facilitate interaction by minimizing the potential for politeness and confrontation inherent in all human interchange.” Leech (1983:250) defines politeness from the perspective side and proposes that it is used to create and maintain harmonious interactions. Brown and Levinson (1987:300) consider politeness as forms of behavior that allow munication to take place between potentially aggressive partners. All the above definitions contribute to explain the essence of politeness. Simply speaking, politeness is a set of patterns to show the consideration for others and to achieve harmony in munication.Business correspondence, as a basic means of business munication, plays a vital role in economic activities. It is an effective way to exchange information build up and maintain harmonious business relationships. Without business correspondence, business activities cannot go on smoothly. With the globalization of world economy, the popularity of the Internet, English business correspondence, including not only traditional letters but also s and facsimiles, is widely used. This thesis is going to analyze the application and functions of politeness principle, mainly the Politeness Principle of Leech and the Face of Theory of Brown amp。 Levinson in English business correspondence. 2. An overview of politeness and English business correspondence An overview of politenessPoliteness, as a social activity, attracts great attention from the linguists. Before the analysis of politeness in English business correspondence, some main theories of politeness should first be mentioned.Politeness can be perceived in almost every aspect of our daily life, it is still hard to define. Different linguists have different definitions for politeness.Brown and Levinson (1987:300) define politeness as a redressive action taken to counterbalance the disruptive effect of facethreatening acts. Lakoff (1973:298) holds that politeness is a device used in order to reduce friction in personal interaction. According to those definitions, politeness is not merely recognized as a means of conveying information, but also an important means that help to establish and maintain social relationships. Lakoff’s view on politenessLakoff (1973:298) refers to politeness as “a device used in order to reduce friction in personal interaction” and introduces two rules: (1) be clear。 (2) be polite, as Pragmatic Competence. She also proposes three maxims of politeness from the perspective of the speaker.1) Don’t imposeUsed when formal/ impersonal politeness is required2) Give optionsUsed when informal politeness is required3) Make H feel goodUsed when intimate politeness is required (Lakoff, 1973:300)From Lakoff’s opinion, the speaker should avoid putting any imposition on the hearer, and choose to give the hearer options, in order to keep his positive face. At last, “make the hearer feel good” is very important (Lakoff, 1973:300). Lakoff’s view of politeness is in accordance with the politeness concerns in badnews business letters, where the basic need of being polite is far more important than the need of clarity. Leech’s politeness principleLeech (1983:250) thinks that politeness, as a phenomenon, exists in all language. Leech’s politeness principle can be stated as follows: other things being equal minimize the expression of beliefs which are favorable to the hearer (Leech，1983:251). Leech sums up six maxims of the politeness principle as follows: Tact Maxim, Generosity Maxim, Approbation Maxim, Modesty Maxim, Agreement Maxim, Sympathy Maxim. Tact Maxim is the most important one. Leech proposes politeness principle as a way of explaining how politeness operates in conversational exchanges. His politeness principle can be used to interpret the guidelines of business correspondence writing. Positive and negative politenessPositive politeness is the politeness shown for the addressee’s positive face, which let the addressee know that he or she is liked and approved of (胡俊琦，2003:100). When the reader is threatened by some acts, it is go