Лингвистический фон деловой корреспонденции (Linguistic Background of Business Correspondence)

c.i.f. London prices, discounts and delivery dates.

Though you will see we offer a wide selection of watches, may we draw

your attention to pp. 23-28, and pp. 31-37 in our catalogue, which we

think might suit the market you are dealing with? And on page 34 you

will notice our latest designs in pendant watches, which are becoming

fashionable for both men and women.

As you are probably aware, all our products are fully guaranteed and

backed by our world-wide reputation.

If there is any further information you require, please contact us.

Meanwhile, we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Let's sum up the basic rules concerning the letter length.

The letter should be neither too long nor too short. It is better to

include too much information than too little. Your reader cannot read your

mind. If you leave out vital information, he won't know what he wants to

know, unless he writes back again and he may not bother to do that.

If you include extra information, at least he'll have what he wants,

even though he may irritated by having to read the unnecessary parts.

Provided, of course, that you include the vital information as well as the

extras: the worst letter of all is the one that gives very piece of

information about the product, except for the price.

Order and sequence

As well as containing the right amount of information, the letter

should also make all the necessary points in a logical sequence, with each

idea or piece of information linking up with the previous one in a pattern

that can be followed. Do not jump around making a statement, switching to

other subjects, then referring back to the point you made a few sentences

or paragraphs before.

1. Unclear sequence

Consider this badly-written letter. There is no clear sequence to the

letter, which makes it difficult to understand.

Dear Sir,

We are interested in your security system. We would like to know

more about the prices and discounts you offer.

A business associate of ours, DMS (Wholesalers) Ltd., mentioned

your name to us and showed us a catalogue. They were impressed with the

security system you installed for them, so we are writing to you about

it. Do you give us guarantees with the installations?

In your catalogue we saw the 'Secure 15' which looks as though it

might suit our purposes. DMD had the 'Secure 18' installed, but as we

mentioned, they are wholesalers, while we are a chain of stores. We

would like something that can prevent robbery and shoplifting, so the

'Secure 15' might suit us.

How long would it take to install a system that would serve all

departments? Could you send us an inspector or adviser to see us at

some time?

If you can offer competitive prices and guarantees we would put

your system in all our outlets, but initially we would only install the

system in our main branch.

We would like to make a decision on this soon, so we would

appreciate an early reply.

Yours faithfully,

2.Clear sequence

Here is a better version of the same letter, in which the ideas and

information are in logical order.

Dear Mr. Jerry,

We are a chain of retail stores and are looking for an efficient

security system. You were recommended to us by our associates DMS

(Wholesalers) Ltd. for whom you recently installed an alarms system,

the 'Secure 18'.

We need an installation which would give us comprehensive

protection against robbery and shoplifting throughout all departments;

and the' Secure 15' featured in your catalogue appears to suit us.

However, if one of your representatives could come along to see us, he

would probably be able to give us more advice and details of the

available systems.

Initially, we will test your system in our main branch, and if

successful, then extend it throughout our other branches, but of course

a competitive quotation and full guarantees for maintenance and service

would be necessary.

Please reply as soon as possible as we would like to make a

decision within the next few months. Thank you

Yours sincerely,

Paragraphs

1. First paragraph

The first sentence or paragraph of a letter is an important one since it

gets the tone of the letter and gives your reader his first impression of

you and your company. Generally speaking, in the first paragraph you will

thank your correspondent for his letter (if replying to an enquiry),

introduce yourself and your company if necessary, state the subject of the

letter, and set out the purpose of the letter. Here are two examples:

Thank you for your enquiry dated 8 July in which you asked us about

our range of cosmetics. As you have probably seen in our advertisements

in fashion magazines, we appeal to a wide age-group from the teenage

market trough to more mature women, with our products being retailed in

leading stores throughout the world.

Thank you for your letter of 19 August which I received today. We

can certainly supply you with the industrial floor coverings you asked

about, and enclosed you will find a catalogue illustrating our wide

range of products, which are used in factories and offices throughout

the world.

2. Middle paragraphs

This is the main part of your letter and will concern the points that need

to be made, answers you wish to give, or questions you want to ask. As this

can vary widely with the type of letter that you are writing, it is dwelt

in other parts of my diploma work.

It is in the middle paragraphs of a letter that planning is most

important, to make sure that your points are made clearly, fully and in

logical sequence.

3. Final paragraph

When closing the letter, you should thank the person for writing, if your

letter is a reply and if you have not done this at the beginning. Encourage

further enquiries or correspondence, and mention that you look forward to

hearing from your correspondent soon. You may also wish to restate , very

briefly, one or two the most important of the points you have made in the

main part of the letter. Here are some examples:

Once again thank you for writing to us, and please contact us if

you would like any further information. To go briefly over the points I

have made - all prices are quoted c.i.f. Yokahama; delivery would be

six weeks from receipt of order; and payment should be made by bank

draft. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I hope I have covered all the questions you asked, but please

contact me if there are any other details you require. May I just point

out that the summer season will soon be with us, so please place an

order as soon as possible so that it can be met in good time for when

the season starts. I hope to hear from you in the near future.

We are sure that you have made the right choice in choosing this

particular line as it is proving to be a leading seller. If there is

any advice or further information you want, we shall be happy to supply

it, and look forward to hearing from you.

3. Rules and manners for writing a business letter

. Main steps

. Technical layout of letter

. A letter's style

Writing an effective business letter is an important skill for every

manager and business owner.In this brief overview we will examine the five

main steps in creating an effective business letter.

Main Steps:

1.Identify your Aims:

Clearly establish what you want to achieve from the letter- whether it is

to win back a dissatisfied customer or to reprimand an employee.Whatever

the aim, create your letter from these goals.

2. Establish the facts:

Make sure you have the relevant accurate facts available. For a late

payer,this might include relevant invoices, complaint forms, talks with

your sales department and any previous correspondence from the customer.

3. Know the recipient of the letter:

Write in the language of your recipient. Try to put yourself in the

position of the recipient. Read it from his point of view. Is the letter

clear or open to misinterpretation. If you know the recipient, use this

knowledge to phrase the letter to generate your desired response.

4. Create a sample Copy:

Having established your aims, amassed the relevant facts with a conscious

view of the recipient- write down the main points of your letter.

5. Decide on Physical layout of letter.

The physical appearance of a letter consists of the paper and the envelope.

The first thing a recipient sees is the envelope. It is essential that it

is of suitable quality with the name and address spelt correctly.Quality

envelopes and paper suggest a professional company. It is wise to make

sure the envelope matches the size of the paper.While you will use 81/2 x

11 inches(A4 size) sized paper for the majority of letters - a 4 x 6

inches(A5) can be used for specific shorter letters.But insist that

properly sized envelopes are used for this A5 size paper,allowing you

maintain and convey an coordinated image.

Technical layout of letter:

1.Letterhead:

This will include your company's name, address, telephone number, fax

number and email address. Include your web address if available. Other

information may be required depending on the legal status of your business

formation.Contact your legal adviser for exact details.

2. Name and address:

Always include the recipient's name, address and postage code. Add job

title if approriate. Double check that you have the correct spelling of the

recipient 's name .

3.Date:

Always date your letters.Never abbreviate January to Jan. 31.

4.Reference:

These are optional.They are a good idea if you have a large volume of

correspondence.These day modern word processors made this an easy task to

complete and maintain.

5.Salutations:

The type of salutation depends on your relationship with the recipient.

Always try to personalise letter thus avoiding the dear sir/madam

situation.

6.Subject matter:

Again this is optional, but its inclusion can help the recipient in dealing

successfully with the aims of your letter. Normally the subject sentence is

preceded with the word Re: It should be placed one line below the greeting.

7.Communication:

This will contain a number of paragraphs, each paragraph dealing with one

point and one point only.

8.Signature:

The signature should be clear and legible-showing you are interested in the

letter and consequently the recipient.Your signature should also be

followed underneath by a typed version of your name and your job title.

9.Enclosures:

If you include other material in the letter, put 'Enclosure','Enc', or'

Encs', as appropriate, two lines below the last entry.

A letter's style:

Previously we created the main points of our letter, now we must transform

this into a final version.To do this, four main considerations are

necessary.

1.Format:

There are three main formats: blocked, semi-blocked and indented.

The former has all entries tight against the left -hand margin.The semi-

blocked format sets the references and the date to the right margin for

filing and retrieval purposes, with the remaining entries placed against

the left margin.

The indented format follows the same layout as either of the above, but

indents each paragraph by five or six spaces.

2.Prose:

Clarity of communication is the primary goal. Don't use technical jargon if

the recipient is unlikely to understand it. Short sentences are less likely

to be misunderstood or misinterperted. Be precise , don't ramble. Check

each sentence to see if it is relevant.Does it add to the point ?

3. Manner:

Always try to personalise your letters. Always try to be civil and friendly

even if the subject matter is stern and sensitive.Give the impression to

the recipient that some effort and thought has gone into the letter.

4. Accuracy:

Once the final version of the letter has been created, polish it off with a

final spelling and punctuation check.

Letter writing etiquette

Always make sure you start and end your letters correctly. If you are

writing to Mrs Jane Smith then you should start the letter 'Dear Mrs Smith'

and finish it with 'Yours sincerely' - N.B. 'sincerely' does not start with

a capital 'S'.

Particular care is required when you are writing to a woman. If she has

just written her name as Jane Smith do you start the letter 'Dear Jane' or

'Dear Ms Smith'. She might be offended if you refer to her as 'Ms' and you

might not feel comfortable writing 'Dear Jane' as it sounds too familiar.

To get round this problem all you have to do is ring the company and ask

them how she likes to be addressed. If there is not a telephone number for

the company in the advertisement just call Directory Enquires (dial 192 in

the UK). When you ring the company all you have to say is that you are

writing to Jane Smith and you would like to know whether she is a Ms, Mrs

or Miss so your letter can be correctly addressed.

If the advertisement just says reply to J. Smith how would you address the

letter? Dear Sir? or Dear Madam? Dear Mr Smith? You would be well advised

to ring the company and find out J. Smith's full name and title

(Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss). Remember politeness costs you nothing, but it can really

pay dividends and you will probably be the only person who has bothered to

find out. This may distinguish you from everyone else who applied - being

noticed is the key to writing a potential interview-winning covering

letter.

If the advertisement just says write to the Personnel Department or reply

to Box Number 55 it may not be possible for you to find out who will be

handling your reply. In these cases you will have to start your letter

'Dear Sir/Madam' and finish the letter with 'Yours faithfully'. Please note

that 'faithfully' does not start with a capital 'F'.

Striking the Right Tone

An underlying goal of most business letters you write is to

promote goodwill between you and your reader. Especially when writing to

someone for the first time, you should use a tone that will encourage that

person to listen to you and want to work with you now and in the future

If your letter is primarily informational or contains good news, a

direct approach is usually best. State your point or offer your news

immediately and briefly, and then explain any other information the reader

needs to know.

Finding the proper tone is more difficult if you are delivering bad

news. In this case, taking an indirect approach may be a better strategy.

In the first few sentences, for example, you could begin on a positive note

by stating how much you want to work with the reader’s company or by

reminding the reader of times you accommodated his or her requests in the

past. When you do get to your point, try to minimize the reader’s

disappointment or anger by delivering the message in carefully considered

language that conveys your news clearly but tactfully.

Establishing a Courteous Tone

The fast pace of letters makes it easy to send a message

without fully considering the nuances of its tone. If you do not take the

time to think about your words and how they may be perceived, your letters

may seem overly blunt or even insulting.

A simple rule can keep you from writing inadvertently offensive

letters: Always ask yourself how you would feel if you received the message

you are sending. If you would bristle at its terseness, you can assume the

reader will as well. If you are unsure how the message might be taken, ask

for someone else’s opinion, or let it sit overnight and read it again the

next morning with a fresh eye.

If someone sends you a rude e-mail message (or “flame,” in e-mail

slang), take a moment to calm down before responding. The best way to douse

a flame is to write back using the most neutral and measured tone you can

muster. In some cases it’s best not to respond to a flame.

4. Style of a business letter

Now I will deal with some common writing problems that do not involve rules

of grammar. These problems—of parallelism, redundancy, and the like—are

more rhetorical than grammatical; that is, they involve choices you must

make as a writer trying to create a certain style of expression. You must

determine what stylistic choices will afford greater clarity and cogency to

each of your efforts to communicate. We all make different choices when

faced with different communicative tasks depending on what we feel will be

most effective. An expression that is appropriate for a formal letter may

be utterly off-putting in an informal message.

A successful and distinctive writing style is an elusive bird of

paradise. It is unmistakable once you see it but difficult to find. It

involves many things: creating an appropriate voice for your purpose,

choosing the right words for the subject and audience, constructing elegant

sentences whose rhythm reinforces their meaning, presenting an argument in

a logical fashion that is both engaging and easy to follow, finding vivid

images to make thoughts accessible to your readers. You can probably add to

this list. You may, for example, want to shock or jolt your audience rather

than court it, and this strategy requires stylistic features that are quite

different from those you would use for gentle persuasion.

Parallelism

Most memorable writing has as one of its recognizable features the ample

use of parallel grammatical structures. A basic guideline about parallel

constructions is to make sure that all the elements in a balanced pair or

in a series have the same grammatical form. That is, if you start with a

that-clause, stick with that-clauses; if you start with an infinitive,

stick with infinitives; if you start with a participle, stick with

participles; and so on. What you don’t want is a mixed bag, as in She had a

strong desire to pursue medicine and for studying literature or The

scientist asked for volunteers with allergies but who had not given blood

recently.

A second point is to make sure that once you have chosen the kind of

grammatical forms you want to make parallel, you structure them

symmetrically. Remember that an initial article, preposition, auxiliary

verb, or modifier will tend to govern all elements in the series unless it

is repeated for each element. For example, if you set up a series of nouns

with the first modified by an adjective, the reader will expect the

adjective to modify the rest of the series as well. Thus you should say The

building has new lighting, plumbing, and carpeting but not The building has

new lighting, plumbing, and different carpeting. The same is true for

articles: He brought the rod, reel, and bait. If you want to restrict a

modifier to only one noun, repeat the article for each noun: He brought the

light rod, the reel, and the bait.

When you spot a faulty parallel, recast the structure to give all

the elements equivalent treatment. If your new parallel construction does

not seem much of an improvement, rewrite the sentence completely to avoid

the parallel construction. Better to have no parallel structures than to

have parallel structures that sound overblown or stilted.

Faulty parallelism is all around us. We see and hear it every

day—often without taking notice. How many times have you heard Please leave

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