On the Politeness Principle for Business Letters' Translation

摘要

Along with China's opening to the outside world and the entry into WTO, our country's international business trade is more prosperous. Business letter plays an indispensable role in this process. A great deal of business is transacted in it. More than at any previous time business people feel the need to put ideas and information into business letter. A polite and properly worded business letter can help a company build a good image and bring a lot of business. So, to achieve a excellent translation of business letter is an urgent task in international business trade. Politeness phenomenon which reflects on all social levels is a common social phenomenon. In order to gain interests, people have to follow politeness principle. It is also true in the usage of language. Business language is no exception. Linguists give politeness principle a deep study and reach their own conclusion. Among them, British linguist G.N.Leech give us his famous 'six maxims'. However, politeness principles in different cultures bare different characters. To understand these differences is the preparation of applying politeness principle in translation. The politeness principle should be considered during translating business letters. Different politeness principles in different culture are indispensable for conducting successful business in commercial correspondence. This is assignable pragmatic principle which has to be followed in international business letter translation.