Business e-mail communication: some emerging tendencies in register

Gimenez, Julio

doi:10.1016/s0889-4906(98)00030-1

Cited by 169 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Compared with traditional business correspondence, the discourse of business emails is much more informal, colloquial and individual. Ginenez (2000) believes that the language used in emails is more straightforward and distinctive than in traditional letters when people try to make a request or command. The nature of informality, colloquialism, personality in business emails makes hedges overspread in business emails.…”

Section: The Pragmatic Functions Of Hedges Used In Business Emailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hedges Used in Business Emails: A Corpus Study on the Language Strategy of International Business Communication Online

Siwei¹,

Wang²

2014

HES

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Based on a corpus of 296 authentic business emails produced in computer-mediated business communication from 7 Chinese international trade enterprises, this paper addresses the language strategy applied in CMC (Computer-mediated Communication) by examining the use of hedges. With the emergence of internet, a wider range of hedges are applied extensively in four types of business emails: marketing email, inquiry email, quotation email, follow-up email. Marketing emails have the most hedges while follow-up emails, quotation emails have the least, and inquiry emails in between. As plausible shields, modal verbs are massively adopted in four types of business emails to show politeness and eagerness for business partnership. Marketing emails employ adaptors and rounders to soften the exaggerated expressions in the introduction to the company and its products so as to make a convincing promotion. Both inquiry emails and quotation emails use adaptors and rounders very often when figures concerning products and prices are deliberately offered in a modest way for further negotiation. Follow-up emails use rounders, adaptors and attribute shield extensively in negotiating and reaching agreement. The three types of hedges help both parties to reduce risk and defend themselves against claims with tactic language strategy. The use of hedges in business emails demonstrates the flexibility of business communication with the help of IT technology. The rules of accurate expressions in business letters are no longer strictly observed in computer-mediated communication. The breakthrough of extensive hedge using in business emails showcases a change in business communication manners mediated by IT technology.

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Section: The Pragmatic Functions Of Hedges Used In Business Emailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hedges Used in Business Emails: A Corpus Study on the Language Strategy of International Business Communication Online

Siwei¹,

Wang²

2014

HES

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“…Some authors (Collot & Bellmore, 1996;Gains, 1999;Gimenez, 2000;Crystal, 2008aCrystal, , 2008b argue that the language used in electronic means of communication such as emails, instant messaging (IM) and Short Message Service (SMS) text messages (henceforth text messages or texting) manifests a sufficient number of distinctive characteristics for it to be considered a new medium alongside speech and writing. Electronic communication, it is suggested, is a hybrid medium manifesting some features of written language and some features of spoken language.…”

Section: Medium Of Apology: Speech Writing and E-communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

English and Malay Text Messages and What They Say about Texts and Cultures

Marzuki¹,

Walter²

2013

OJML

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This study of the pragmatics of cross-cultural text messages throws light on the evolution of new hybrid forms of literacy and on the complex ways that culture is expressed and mediated in second language/ second culture contexts. An investigation was carried out into the pragmatics of apology in first-language (L1) and second-language (L2) short messaging service text messages of adult Malay speakers who are proficient users of English, living and studying in an English-speaking university environment; and into L1 English users' text apologies in the same context. Research questions included whether these proficient L2 English users would perform differently from L1 English users in this high-stakes speech act, and from their own L1 Malay use; and whether apologies in what has been called a hybrid medium would differ from those previously studied in writing, in speech and in other electronic media. Twenty-six native speakers of English and 26 native speakers of Malay responded via text messages to discourse completion tests (DCTs) in L1; the DCTs represented either high or low levels of offence calling for apologies. The Malay native speakers also responded to apology situations in L2 English. Data were coded using an adapted version of Cohen and Olshtain's (1981) coding scheme. Analysis of the messages sent by participants revealed clear signs of a hybrid type of text that is differently conceptualised by the two communities. It also showed that the Malay users' second language literacy was shaped in a complex way that sometimes accommodated the second language/second culture and sometimes retained first language/first culture values.

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“…Following Gimenez's (2000Gimenez's ( & 2006 conversational framework, four conversational features (discourse particles, abbreviation, contracted forms, and decapitalization) were studied. The results of chi-square tests, revealed significant differences only in the use of decapitalization.…”

Section: The Parallel Conversational Featuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversational feature Definition and exemplification Discourse particles -Typically found in spoken discourse, they are rare outside of the conversational genres (Biber, 1988): M-em13: Now,… Abbreviations -Their use may be seen as evidence for existence of specialized discourse communities (Swales, 1990) E-em 10: bio …( conventionalized abbreviation, i.e., biography) E-em6: plz…(personalized abbreviations, i.e., please) Contracted forms -It is very rare in formal letters as it provides evidence for the stylistic similarity with informal spoken discourse (Gimenez 2000): E-em 7: …by the time you've sent it… Capitalization -Since decapitalization can be associated with informal unplanned discourse, capitalization is also worthy of some consideration (Gimenez 2000): E-em 15: attached you will find… Table 10. 1.…”

Section: Conversational Features Characteristic Of Letters Of Articlementioning

confidence: 99%