Abstract:

Fuzzy language has drawn much attention in the linguistic field since it is proposed. A lot of scholars at home and abroad have made a variety of researches on both theory and practice. The writing of English business letter, as an important communicative means, always complies with the 7C principle (Clearness, Conciseness, Correctness, Concreteness, Courtesy, Consideration and Completeness) in order to avoid troubles and arguments, thus, it seems that fuzzy language should not exist in English business letters. However, we find in a large number of English business letters a wide use of various fuzzy expressions. This paper analyzes the application of fuzzy language in English business letters from the perspective of pragmatics, which has certain practical directive significance. It may help the addresser and the addressee have a further understanding about the fuzzy language in English business letters so as to promote its application in business letter writing.

Key words: fuzzy language; English business letters; pragmatics

摘要：

“模糊语言”的概念自问世以来便一直受到语言学界的关注，国内外学者对此进行了大量的理论及实证研究。商务英语信函作为商务活动重要的交流手段之一，一直遵循着7C原则（清楚、简洁、正确、具体、礼貌、体谅、完整)，以避免不必要的纠纷与麻烦，因此，模糊语言似乎不应该出现在商务英语信函中。但通过对大量商务英语信函的实证分析与研究，人们发现，模糊语言不可避免地存在且是被普遍运用于这一文体中。本文从语用学角度对模糊语言在商务英语信函中的应用进行分析，使有关模糊语言的研究具有了一定的实践指导意义，有助于商务英语信函的撰写者及读信者对模糊语言有进一步的理解，以更好地把握其在商务文体中的应用。

关键词：模糊语言；商务英语信函；语用学

Introduction
With the development of Chinese economy and the frequentness of international business activities, business English as an language tool is becoming more and more important. As one significant document of the trade, business letters are directly related to the success of trade activities. Besides, in the event of trade disputes, business letters can also serve as important written documents.
The phenomenon that language has the property of fuzziness has aroused people’s attention for a long time, but it was not until 1965 that the concept of “fuzziness” and its theory were put forward by Zadeh— a very famous American scientist— in his paper entitled Fuzzy Sets which is related with mathematics. The domestic research of fuzzy language began at the 1970s, which was first proposed by Professor Wu Tieping in his book Fuzzy Language. Then gradually, scholars commenced to conduct some systematic and descriptive researches on fuzzy language, especially from the semantic aspect.