2. Overview of Business English Correspondence     

2.1 Origin of the study

With the implementation of reform and open-door policy and China’s successfully joining the WTO, business English translation plays a more and more important role in international trade, and the same as the translation of business English correspondences. In recent years, many people have engaged in business English translation, such as staff proficient in English, professional translators, university teachers, postgraduates and so on. However, business English translation is not such an easy thing that almost everyone who knows English can do it well. 

As a branch of English for specific purposes, business English is a combination of English knowledge and business knowledge; is a kind of English variant which is used by merchants in international business activities, which covers finance, law, advertisement, secretary and accountant etc. Nowadays, because of the increasing popularity and significance of business English, more and more people turn to study, teach business English in order to adapt to the development of our society. Even more and more scholars turn to devote themselves to Business English translation to facilitate international trade. However, Business English translation is not as easy as literary translation and even more complicated than it, for business English involves different fields of knowledge and different styles of writing. And in general, the official document, the advertisement and the exposition are three kinds of style of business English. 

Business English correspondences, contracts, and legal documents belong to official documents, commercials belong to the style of advertisement, while economic and trade comments, reports and speeches belong to the style of exposition. From this, it is obvious that it is not an easy thing for us to make a unified criterion for business English translation. Different styles or different documents need different translation principles. In recent years, many scholars have devoted themselves to the theories of translation for business English and have given their detailed explanation on how to translate business legal documents, English commercials, trademark, specifications and business contracts etc.

2.2 Researches both at Home and Abroad

For the translation of business English correspondence, especially in practical international trade involved the translation of business correspondence, many domestic and foreign scholars have conducted researches and discussions in many aspects.

In 1983, based on the research of Speech Act Theory, Geoffrey Leech, the British linguist pided business correspondence into four categories: cooperation, competition, harmony and conflict, according to the features of business correspondence. In the early 1980s, the politeness theory, which was based on Brown and Levinson’s (1987) famous works, Some Universals in Language Use, had been the classical theory for the study of politeness phenomenon in linguistics, and it was also used for reference in other related fields by its great impact.