摘  要

英文商务信函是商务交流的一种重要方式，不仅可以传递信息，还可以建立并加强业务联系。从国内商务信函的教学与学习情况来看，大多侧重于商务信函的信息功能而非人际功能。但是，礼貌是写信人选择表达方式时的首要考虑因素。本论文从礼貌的角度，解释如何运用写作技巧体现礼貌原则，从而使商务信函表达更合理。自从20世纪70年代来，许多理论将礼貌作为一种语言现象来解释。最著名的是里奇的礼貌原则及布朗和列文森的面子保全论。本文首先回顾关于里奇的礼貌原则中的六项准则，然后将写作技巧应用到商务信函中，从词语和表达,句子以及篇章结构对礼貌如何促进商务交流进行描述性分析，并指出礼貌在商务信函中的重要性，这两者构成了本文的重要理论框架。

关键词：礼貌原则；礼貌策略；商务信函
 
Abstract

As an important way of business communication, English business letters can not only exchange business information, but also establish and strengthen business relations. When we look into the teaching and learning process of business letters in China, we may find that the information function is superior to its interpersonal one. However, politeness is likely to be the first choice for the writer in writing. This thesis tries to explain how all kinds of writing techniques are employed to embody politeness principles from the politeness point of view so as to make the business letters more reasonable. Ever since the early 1970s, dozens of the theories have been proposed to explain politeness as a linguistic phenomenon, among which the Politeness Principle of Leech enjoyed the prestige of the study on politeness. At first, we look back the six maxims in Leech’s Politeness Principle. Then we apply the writing techniques to business letters at the words and expression level, at the sentence and text level to have a descriptive analysis about how politeness facilitates the business communication and point out the importance of politeness in business letters which consisting of the main theory frame of the thesis.

Key words: Politeness Principle; politeness strategy; business letter

1 Introduction
With the intention to fulfill the research in this field, I want to analyze the application of politeness principle in business correspondences, mainly on applying the writing techniques to business letters at the words and expression level, at the sentence and text level. The feature of the business letter determines its application of politeness principle in it. We should pay more attention to the standing equality of both parties concerned, the affinity of the utterance, the representations of different information in various cultural backgrounds.