Construction of Interpersonal Meaning in English Business Correspondence

Abstract

With economic globalization, English business correspondence has become an important part of foreign trade activities. As a tool, English business correspondence is used to communicate with customers who come from in different countries for international business activities by using English correspondence in the business environment. Therefore, English correspondence can enable both parties to accurately communicate business information and conduct business activities.

The researches of English business correspondence at home and abroad mainly focus on translation skills, language features, and vague language. However, what this thesis differ from them is analyzing the principle of English business correspondence writing to know the construction of interpersonal meaning of English business correspondence from mood, voice and modality on the basis of Halliday’s systemic-functional grammar. 

This paper consists of four chapters: The first chapter introduces English business correspondence, and briefly analyzes its status, classification, features and functions. The second chapter studies Halliday’s systemic-functional grammar and focuses on the meaning and content of interpersonal function in functional grammar. The third chapter analyzes interpersonal meanings from the voice, mood and modality by combining the specific corpus of English business correspondence. The fourth chapter analyzes how to construct interpersonal meaning in English business correspondence by combining 7C principles of English business correspondence.

This thesis aims to make for writing English business correspondence, and smoothing communication of business activities, and cross-cultural communication.

Key words: the seven C principles; systemic-functional grammar; interpersonal meaning; English business correspondence