摘  要

拒绝言语行是一种常用于人类生活中的言语行为，是人类对于对方的请求、邀请、建议或供求之后,回应所做出的一种"不合作性"的行为,拒绝语言被人们用于不同的交际场合和场所。本文系统研究了英语中的拒绝言语行为,并同时阐述了其特点、分类以及影响因素。在商务英语信函中表达拒绝信息时写信人要完成两个目标：一是主要目标，即传递坏消息，二是次要目标，即与读者保持良好关系。任何不当的拒绝行为实施都有可能造成客户的流失，给公司带来经济损失。同时，写信人在写作过程中必须注重拒绝信息的委婉传递。有鉴于此，本文以布朗和列文森的"面子理论"以及利奇的"礼貌原则"为基础来分析，商务英语信函中常用的三种委婉拒绝策略，即运用第二人称、运用模糊限定语和使用情感词，并从语用角度进一步讨论它们的交际功能。本研究可以帮助商务英语方向的学生充分利用以上三种拒绝策略，避免消极的一面，更得体的书写商务信函，从而在国际贸易中更好地实现其交际意图。

关键词：拒绝言语行为；礼貌策略；商务信函

Abstract

Refusal speech acts is always used in daily communication. It is the "non-cooperative" option which is directed towards the speakers' request, invitation, suggestion or offer. Refusal is commonly used in various social communication. This thesis tries to do systematic research on English refusal speech act. The author expounds thoroughly on the characteristics, categorizations and influencing factors of the refusal speech act. There are two goals that need to accomplish when we are expressing the refusal message in English business letters. One is the main target, that is, delivering bad news. And the secondary target is to keep good relationship with the reader. Any improper refusal speech act may result in the loss of client, and cause finacial losses for company. At the same time, the writer must send the refusal information politely. In view of this reasons, the author use Brown and Levinson's "face theory" and Leech's "politeness principle" as the basis to analyze three refusal strategies used in English business letters—the use second persom pronoun, the use of hedges and the use of emotional words, and make further discussion on their communicative fuction from a pragmatic perspective.The paper can help business English students fully use the above three kinds of refusal stretegies, and avoid the negitive part. Moreover, students can write business letters in appropriate way, and achieve their communicative intention in internation trade.

Key words: refusal speech act; politeness strategies; business letters