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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION GRADUATION PAPER POLITENESS STRATEGIES USED IN BUSINESS COMPLAINT LETTERS Supervisor:Asso.Prof Nguyen Xuan Thom Student:Nguyen Thu Nguyet Course: 2010 Hanoi, 2014 ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC LỊCH SỰ SỬ DỤNG TRONG THƢ PHÀN NÀN TRONG THƢƠNG MẠI Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: PGS.TS Nguyễn Xuân Thơm Sinh viên: Nguyễn Thu Nguyệt Khóa: QH2010 Hà Nội - 2014 ACCEPTANCE I hereby state that I: Nguyen Thu Nguyet, QH2010.F1.E1, being a candidate for the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements of the College relating to the retention and use of Bachelor‟s Graduation Paper deposited in the library I agree that my paper deposited in the library would be accessible for the use of further study and research in accordance with conditions set by the library DECLARATION I certify that this study is my own work I have included fully references to the materials that I used as literature review This research has not been submitted for any formal assessment as well as published in any kind of press ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I would like to send my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Asso.Pro Nguen Xuan Thom for his guidedance, motivation and perserverence in the helping me finishing this thesis His particular directions, feedbacks and suggestions for improvement in every stage allow me to obtain the complete results of this study I would also like to express my appreciation with the lecturers in Fast-Track division for their advice in designing questionnaire and interview criteria in pilot study phase, for their willingness to be observed during my observation period Finally, I would also like to thank first year Fast-track students for their cooperation in this research and especially their performance which inspired me with the idea of conducting a study on students‟ learning style preference from the beginning The researcher, Nguyen Thu Nguyet ABSTRACT Learning styles of ESL students have been approached in different aspects with implication on match and mismatch between students‟ learning styles and teachers‟ teaching styles Employed from theory of previous researchers, this study focuses mainly on finding out learning style preferences of first year Fast track students and teachers‟ perception about their students‟ preferences Questionnaire survey, interview and observation reveal descriptive statistics and indepth responses for analysis Results show that first year Fast-track students at ULIS belong to sensory groups, who prefer external information from visual, sounds and experience Not all teachers have full understanding about their students‟ learning style preference Their use of activities, correction and instruction without awareness about students‟ preferences results in different reaction of students The activities implemented in class produce more effects if they match with students‟ preference In constrast, activities with less favorable attitude receive less attention Instruction experiences a similar trend Suggestions for facilitating students‟ learning style preferences are given by teachers of first year Fast-track students Those include types of activity, use of media and suitable time to employ RESEARCH OUTLINE PART 1: INTRODUCTION Statement of research problem and rationale for the study Aims and objectives of the study Significance of the study Scope of the study Methods of the study Design of the study PART 2: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW Speech act Politeness 2.1 The concept of face and face threatening act (FTA) 2.2 Politeness strategies 2.2.1 Positive politeness strategies 2.2.2 Negative politeness strategies 2.3 Weightiness of FTA Business complaint letters 3.1 Business letters 3.1.1 Essential Qualities of a Good Business Letter 3.1.2 Parts of a Business Letter 3.1.3 Format of a Business Letter 3.2 Complaint 3.2.1 Definition of Complaint 3.2.2 Classifications of complaints 3.2.2.1 Classifications of complaints in terms of pragmatics 3.2.2.2 Classifications of complaints in terms of fact CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOG Y Selection of subject Data collection instruments Data collection method and procedure Expected outcome CHAPTER 3: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION PART 3: CONCLUSION Summary of the main findings Contributions of the study Limitations of the study Suggestions for further studies REFERENCES APPENDICES PART 1: INTRODUCTION Statement of research problem and rationale for the study The technological developments in every area of business and commerce have imposed many alternatives to such a traditional method of communication like letters Contrary to popular belief, letter writing is not a lost art, but a viable t ool in today's corporate society (Lisa, 2011) Letters show you care, that you thought about the recipient individually, that they deserve more than an automated response, and that you are actually communicating your thoughts with each other (Garret, 2012) Besides, letters may be defined as a means through which views are expressed and ideas or information is communicated in writing in the process of business activities Companies write business letters as a way of persuading the customers or clients to accept the contract or proposal or enter into an agreement A wellwritten and formatted letter represents the business identity as well as conveys the professionalism of a company In reverse, the customers or clients can write letters to the companies seeking information about products; complaining about unsatisfactory goods, bad service, and inaccurate shipment or suggesting some changes that should be made to the company In regard of different purposes, there are different types of business letters: inquiry letters, sale letters, claim letters, etc Among these types of business letters, complaint letter is one of the most difficult types to write There are two main reasons for this The first is the writers may be in a bad mood when writing a complaint letter; therefore, they may use abusive language or allow themselves to get sidetracked from their specific problem into generalized criticism of the company or its products or services Second, writing complaint letters does not only mean the writers want to convey a complaint message to the company but also persuade the company to take a certain course of action to compensate for their dissatisfaction Therefore, expressing goodwill towards the recipient should be an underlying goal of any business letter (Nguyen, 1992), especially in a letter of complaint One of the strategies to create goodwill in business correspondence is politeness Politeness contributes to respectful interaction by showing consideration and deference towards others (Watts, 2003) Politeness also generates social connections among interlocutors and permits a particular form of social cooperation (Benjamins, 2004) Both Watts (2003) and Benjamins (2004) state that politeness cultivates a comfortable atmosphere in communication and m akes interaction more effective With the hope of finding out how English writers use politeness strategies to write complaint letters, the researcher hopes that her findings will be very useful for everyone who cares about English business complaint letters in the research paper entitled: “Politeness strategies used in English business complaint letters” Aims and objectives of the study The aim of this study is to find out the politeness strategies used in English business complaint letters as it comes out from works on pragmatics and illustrates different aspects, especially the language choices for making polite complaints To achieve those above aims, this study tries to answer these two following questions: What are the politeness strategies used in studied English business complaint letters? What are the effects of those politeness strategies in conveying the complaint? 10 catalogue on its way to you in case you have mislaid the one originally sent you.” the Sender is mitigating the threat to the Receiver‟s negative face posed by the enclosure by using the positive strategy of “asserting knowledge of and concern for the Receiver‟s wants” (17%) Request Almost Request in the data were mitigated The most frequently used strategy is “Impersonalise Sender &Receiver” (67%) as in the sentence: “An explanation of this delay will be appreciated” The next common strategy that occur when it comes to the need to request is a positive strategy “Assert reciprocity” (56%): “We are only prepared to accept the goods sent if you are willing to make a substantial reduction in the price.” In this situation, the Sender imposes a condition (a reduction in the price) to the Receiver and in reverse, the Receiver‟s goods would be accepted The negative strategy of “going on record as incurring a debt” (49%) occurred frequenty, for example in realisations such as “To resolve the problem, I would appreciate your [state the specific action you want: money refunded, charge card credit, repair, exchange, etc.]” and “We…would be glad if you would check this against our order and your copy of the invoice”, which include a further negative mitigation, “be pessimistic”, realised by verbs such as would, could, should One more strategy applied is “be optimistic” (17%): “We hope that this will not occur in the future and that our next orders will be dispatched strictly according to our wishes.” This mitigation can be seen as a friendly warning from the Sender There were only a few unmitigated Requests (7%) in the data set, e.g “We therefore urge you to everything possible to hasten the despatch.” These requests should not be used too liberally, or they will only create bad feeling and in many cases would be quite unnecessary, even unwise However, if there are 43 constant or needlessly prolonged delays, or frequent mistakes in carrying out orders, the Senders may be obliged to write in this way Inform The politeness strategy used in the Inform acts is that of writing in an impersonal tone, by using the passive voice or impersonal structures to indicate the reasons for complaint (which are assumed to belong to the suppliers) and the inconvenience caused (which leads to the displeasure and therefore, the need to complain of the customers) hence expressions of deference and solidarity, occurring almost simultaneously There is no personal reproach, as the mistake is depersonalized, thus avoiding placing the Receiver on the defensive or antagonizing them This negative strategy “Impersonalise Sender and Receiver” is also the most frequently used mitigation funtioning the Inform act (86%) For examples: "There appears to be an error in the statement.", "The mistake must be corrected as soon as possible.", "On unpacking I found that six mahoganyfinished dressing tables had been sent instead of…", "We are writing concerning the outstanding October account which should have been cleared last month." To the side of the positive strategies determined, there are two positive strategies, which are “give reasons” (77%) (“… a recurrence of this situation could well result in our customers placing orders elsewhere, and this is a risk we are unwilling to take.”) and “Assert reciprocity” (23%) (“As we have repeatedly pointed out to you, prompt delivery on your part is essential if we are to maintain satisfactory stock levels and fulfil our production schedules.”) Both of the two strategies convey that Sender and Receiver are cooperatively involved in the relevant activity and thus that they are somehow locked into a state of mutual helping 44 Apology In the data, the force of complaining (negative politeness) is basically toned down by the four main apologetic formulae: (1) I am sorry, (2) I regret, (3) I am afraid, (4) unfortunately, which are perceived as relating to the unpleasant content These strategies are supported by other strategies focusing more specifically on maintaining a friendly and cooperative atmosphere (positive politeness) The act of apologizing can be executed in various ways The Sender could express the apology or regret with a phrase „I am sorry‟ or „I regret‟ For examples: “We are very sorry to have to inform you that your last delivery is not up to your usual standard.” or “We regret that we have to complain about the way in which the consignment just received has been packed.” These face-saving items may involve the Sender taking the blame in order to avoid implying that the Receiver is at fault The Sender is, in this way, trying to minimize the particular FTA of complaining and therefore, maintain a good relationship with the Receiver by being deferential In some cases, reasons (by which the Sender dissociates him/ herself from the FTA) are given for redressing the FTA by means of an attitude marke r „Unfortunately‟, which serves both to express the Sender‟s attitude to the proposition and to tone down the stretch that follows: “Unfortunately, when we opened this case we found it contained completely different articles from those ordered…” Or by a highly used mitigation device articulated through the phrase “I‟m afraid”, by which the Sender expresses the desire of diminishing the force of the coming utterance followed by a justification: I‟m afraid 45 PART 3: CONCLUSION Summary of the main findings The findings help me to answer the two research questions from the beginning: What are the politeness strategies used in studied English business complaint letters? Both negative and positive strategies are use in business complaint letters Among those strategies, Notice, attend to H; Presuppose, assert common Ground; Be optimistic; Include both S and H in the Activity; Give reasons; Assume or assert reciprocity; Be pessimistic; Minimize the imposition; Give deference; Impersonalize S and H; Go on record as incurring a debt are the most frequently used strategies As we can see, negative strategies dominate positive strategies used What are the effects of those politeness strategies in conveying the complaint? All the strategies used have softened the negative atmosphere that is naturally assumed in complaint letters This makes both Senders and Receivers at ease and they are more easily to achieve Senders‟ aims as well as guarantee Receivers‟ branches when it comes to the need of compensating for their mistakes Contributions of the study Within the framework of this paper, the research focuses on politeness strategies used in 30 business letters of complaint The study is believed to bring an overview of language used in business complaint letters in terms of politeness strategies Accordingly, people who are interested in the field, especially ones who want to propose complaints through 46 letters can take this study a reliable reference source Furthermore, findings of the study are expected to contribute to related literature Suggestions for further studies The research focuses only on politeness and negative strategies according to Brown and Levinson Theory of politeness strategies Besides this field, other researchers can investigated in politeness strategies that take the theoretical framework of Leech or other linguists 47 REFERENCES Ashley, A.(2003).Oxford handbook of Commercial Correspondence Oxford Universiy Press Austin, J L (1962) How to things with words Oxford: Oxford University Press Blum-Kulka, S (1987) Indirectness and Politeness in Requests: same or different? Journal of Pragmatics II North Holland Brown, P & Levinson, S C (1978) Universals in language usage: Politeness phenomena Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Brown, P., & Levinson, S.C (1987) Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (2013) CARLA Retrieved December 4, 2013, from What is a Speech Act? http://www.carla.umn.edu/speechacts/definition.html Maier, P 1992 Politeness strategies in business letters by native and non-native English speakers English for Specific Purposes, 11: 189-205 Nickerson, C (2000) The use of politeness strategies in business letter written by native speakers of English Muchen: Lincom Nguyen Trong Dan (2008) The Language of Business Correspondence in English (6th ed.) Hanoi: Labour and Social Publishing House Rosidi, F (2011) Retrieved January 24, 2014, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/46991253/Politness-Theory Searle, J R (1980), “A Classification of Illocutionary Acts”, Language in Society, 5, pp 1-23 Searle, J R (1980), Speech Acts and Pragmatics, CUP, Cambridge 48 The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) (2014) Business Studies Business Corresspondence http://old.nios.ac.in/Secbuscour/Lesson1.htm 49 Retrieved from APPENDICES In this part, I include some complaint letters that are used to analyze in theresearch Complaint of the Wrong Delivery 50 Complaint of Damage 51 Complaint of Bad Workmanship 52 Complaint of Non-Delivery 53 Complaint of Wrong Goods 54 Complaint of Damaged Goods Complaint of Shortage of Goods 55 Complaint of The poor Service Dear Mr Richardson, My husband and I have patronized Pickle Mountain Restaurant many times over the past few years Your food is exceptional, and it is a great place to bring out of town guests We especially enjoy your fried pickle appetizers However, on Saturday, September 27, we had a poor experience I feel it is important that you be aware of the behavior of your employees I have not shared this experience with any of my friends (or on any social media) yet, and would like to provide you with the opportunity to respond.We arrived at about 6:45 PM We understand that this is a busy time We were understanding of the 30 minute wait The waitress seemed to be annoyed She did not smile or say anything friendly We thought maybe she was just having a bad day However, we ordered a hamburger without cheese for our son (He cannot have cheese as he is lactose intolerant.) When the food came, there was still cheese on it We told her and her response in a rude tone was "Well, you should have reminded me!" She said, "Just take it off." We couldn't just take it off because the cheese had already melted We asked a new hamburger She seemed very annoyed, but did get him a new hamburger She also did not refill our drinks until we asked I have enclosed a copy of our bill for your reference Please contact me at any time about this issue at (345) 333-1234 Thank you A response from you will make us more likely to return to Pickle Mountain in the future Respectfully, Paula Poodleson 56 57 ... TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP CÁC CHIẾN LƢỢC LỊCH SỰ SỬ DỤNG TRONG THƢ PHÀN NÀN TRONG THƢƠNG MẠI Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: PGS.TS Nguyễn Xuân Thơm Sinh viên: Nguyễn... “regret”, “unfornately”, “afaird” In addition to using mitigating device, the Sender emphasized the strong points of the supplier‟s service (“the promt execution of this order”), before stating the... politeness strategies in business letter written by native speakers of English Muchen: Lincom Nguyen Trong Dan (2008) The Language of Business Correspondence in English (6th ed.) Hanoi: Labour and