Business English discourse

Author: Zhang Zuocheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: As the use of English in international business and activities, Business English can be viewed both as a process and as a product. Treating Business English as a functional variety or genre of English actually focuses on the product aspect of Business English, while the process by which this product is generated and described is not given enough attention. Discourse analysis involves analyzing the use of naturally occurring language to describe the process of language users generating and understanding discourse, as well as the implicit knowledge they possess. An in-depth understanding of Business English requires a detailed description of its process, and discourse analysis is naturally an effective method. Of course, like discourse analysis which generally infers the process from the product, our study of Business English from a discourse perspective also adopts the analysis of Business English texts. We aim to describe the process of discourse generation and understanding from the perspective of discourse reference, as well as the implicit knowledge involved. This book is written by the author based on the materials accumulated over the years from reading and teaching. The main purpose is to organize and analyze relevant research findings on Business English discourse, revealing the characteristics of the use of English vocabulary and grammatical resources in the field and activities of international business, the cognitive structures and organizational knowledge of business professionals, their sequence and steps, as well as the processes and practices by which they adhere to conventions while exercising initiative in specific social cultural contexts and situational contexts. Business English covers a wide range of content, and the research findings have significant practical guidance value. This book provides a preliminary organization and analysis of existing research findings and raises some issues worthy of further study. More work is hoped to be carried out in collaboration with fellow educators and researchers in Business English teaching and research.