论文总字数：30672字

摘 要

商务谈判的成功取决于很多因素的相互作用，其中，语言作为谈判的载体，在商务谈判的进程中发挥重要的作用。而礼貌是商务谈判重要的原则之一，礼貌语言和策略的合理使用有助于增强谈判双方之间的信任和理解，从而提高商务谈判的成功率，促进谈判的发展。本文以利奇等人的礼貌原则为依据，结合诸多谈判实例,分析礼貌语言在不用语境下的使用策略，旨在促使人们在商务谈判中多使用礼貌语言，减少谈判失误。

关键词：商务谈判；语言；礼貌策略

Contexts

1.Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

2.1 Business negotiation 2

2. 2 Politeness strategy 3

2.3 Theoretical basis of politeness strategy 3

2.4 Studies on politeness at home and abroad 5

3.Functions of Politeness Strategy in Business Negotiation 6

3.1 In face management 6

3.2 In cooperative relationship 6

3.3 In benefit of national self-interest 7

4. Application of Politeness Language in Business Negotiation 8

4.1 Application of decent language 8

4.2 Application of fuzzy language 10

4.3 Application of humorous language 11

4.4 Application of praise language 12

4.5 Application of euphemism 13

5. Conclusion 13

Works Cited…………………………………………..…………..........14

1.Introduction

With the deepening global economic integration, there is a growing trend on business negotiation among different countries. The success of business negotiations depends on the proper use of various factors and pragmatic strategies, this requires negotiators should not only have relevant knowledge of foreign trade and legal knowledge, but also be skilled in business conversation. The ultimate goal of politeness is “the attainment of community” (Leech 104), which means that politeness strategy can enhance the mutual trust so as to increase more opportunities for negotiation success. It is a win-win process because it can increase the trust between negotiators, improve the flexibility and consciousness of negotiations, increase the chances of success in negotiations, etc. Therefore, politeness language strategy has a significant role in achieving a “win-win” result in business negotiations.

Based on many business negotiation examples, with relevant politeness theories and strategies, this paper analyzes the application of politeness strategy in different contexts, in order to raise people’s awareness of using politeness strategy in business negotiations and to reduce the existence of negotiation failure. The conclusion is that negotiators who have a good command of politeness strategy in the negotiation communication and be able to use of it correctly in practical use are more likely to communicate accurately and effectively in business negotiations.

This paper contains five parts. The first part introduces the background, purpose, significance of the study and main structure. Literature review on politeness strategy and business negotiation are introduced in second part, in which main achievements of Chinese and foreign scholars’ research are briefly reviewed as well. The author also points out the advantages and disadvantages. The third part analyzes the role of politeness principle in business negotiation from three perspectives: to maintain face, promote cooperation and safeguard their own interests. The fourth part analyzes the specific application of politeness choice in business negotiations from five principles based on specific cases and improves the success rate of business negotiations by flexibly applying these politeness strategies. The last part draws a conclusion of the research.

2. Literature Review

2.1 Business negotiation

Business negotiation is a formal discussion between individuals from different companies, with the aim at achieving mutual understanding, resolving difference and finally gaining mutual interests. It is also a dynamic process where both parties are involved in and try their best to gain benefits and reputation, reaching a generally satisfactory agreement by the end of the process. Business negotiation is not simply a business or a negotiation, it is also a communication. In short, negotiation is essentially a kind of economic activities whose major goal is to benefit both parties who take part in the process, which just means bargaining. It is very common to see that both “cooperation” and “conflict” may exist in the progress of business negotiation to some degree. It may be reciprocal but not always absolute equal. Business negotiation is typically divided into three types according to the personalities approach of the negotiators, they are “Win-win, Win-lose, Lose-lose”. Liu Xiaoping divided negotiation into six sequential phases: preparation, non-task sounding, task-oriented exchange, persuasion, concession, and conclusion (Liu 33).

2. 2 Politeness strategy

Politeness, a significant code of human social activity, is a social phenomenon which exerts influence on every aspect of life. It is one of important communicative behaviors, reminding us of showing regard for others and behaving politely.

Politeness strategy is a kind of communicative strategy used by individuals to communicate with others. Business negotiation is an activity in which two trading parties negotiate with each other in order to achieve a certain goal or solve a certain dispute. As a process of economic coordination, negotiation is an interpersonal communication activity where both parties exchange views, move emotions and benefit from each other. At this time, some basic principles of polite language have become necessary in business negotiations, such as the principles of equality and cooperation, mutual benefit and so on. In business negotiations, polite language is an effective strategy which plays a significant role in promoting the negotiation go well. It is commonly used to save face when there is a disagreement in the progress of negotiation. As a negotiator, one needs to have a good command of politeness strategy and be able to apply it flexibly in practical use.

2.3 Theoretical basis of politeness strategy

American language philosopher H. P. Grice，a famous Oxford University philosopher, made a speech at Harvard University in 1967, put forward that all speakers whatever their race and culture backgrounds, abided by a basic principle regularizing conversation. He termed the cooperative principle. In his principle, both sides of the conversation need to adhere to the following four maxims: Quality Maxim, Quantity Maxim, Relevance Maxim, and Manner Maxim. With “Cooperative Principle”, there will be no logic chaos in conservation. Besides, the two parties can communicate smoothly, which make it easier for them to achieve a successful communication.

In 1978, Brown and Levinson put forward the face theory, which contained three basic notions: face threatening acts (FTAs) and politeness strategy. In their view, politeness means the all kinds of rational behaviors of a model Person, with the purpose to satisfy his face wants. Face means the self-image that everyone wants to claim for themselves and stands in their own side. The face consists of positive face and negative face. Positive face means our need to be accepted and recognized by others and our social group shares common beliefs and goals. Negative face means our right to be independent in action and our need not to be influenced by others.

In 1983, Leech found a model of politeness on international rhetoric and viewed politeness as conflict avoidance and put forward the famous “politeness principle” (PP) in order to make up for Grice’s principle of cooperation. He pointed out that politeness principle can “rescue” cooperation principle, and there is a mutually beneficial relationship between the two principles, or a relationship of compromise.

Politeness principle includes the following six principles:

(1) Tact Maxim: Minimize benefit to self and maximize benefit to other.

(2) Generosity Maxim: let him or her benefit as little as possible and suffer a loss as much as possible.

(3) Approbation Maxim: try to disparage people as little as possible, try to praise them as much as possible.

(4) Modesty Maxim: Modesty Maxim means you should praise yourself less and derogate from yourself more.

(5) Agreement Maxim: minimize disagreement between the two parties and maximize agreement between them.

(6) the Sympathy Maxim: minimize the antipathy and increase the Sympathy. (Leech 183)

2.4 Studies on politeness at home and abroad

From the perspective of contrastive linguistics, most of the current studies on politeness began with the facework of Goffman in1967. Later, Brownamp; Levinson in 1987 extended Goffman’s theory and proposed the face theory. Two strategies of human communication proposed by Lakoff in 1973, including concise and harmonious. Based on this, he also put forward two principles on speech competence: clearness and politeness. And then he further perfected this principle of politeness in 1988, containing hesitation, equality or friendliness.

In 1983, Leech found a model of politeness on international rhetoric and viewed politeness as conflict avoidance and put forward the famous “politeness principle” (PP) in order to make up for Grice’s principle of cooperation. Holmes in 2004 considered politeness in workplace.

In china ,the meaning of politeness is usually thought to be traced from the merit of Li (礼)，which originated from Confucius one of the greatest philosopher in Chinese history. It refers to the ancient social hierarchy and order. Therefore, Chinese scholars usually take politeness as a political or moral issue instead of a linguistic one for a long time. However, the actual domestic study of politeness started in this century. Liu Lin , the pioneer of politeness strategy in China, made a systematic research on pragmatic theories and language strategies. He pointed out that “pragmatic strategies are the speech means chosen by language users to achieve communicative purposes” (Liu 231), using the implicit meaning generated by the principles of conversational cooperation to achieve the communicative purpose, which means the implement of pragmatic strategies.

He Ziran regarded that polite language is actual a pragmatic strategy (He 122). Yang Lingcong hold that polite language is the leverage that language communication may involve parties, which exerts the effect on adjusting personal relationships (Yang 133).

3. Functions of Politeness Strategy in Business Negotiation

3.1 In face management

In many communicative activities, individuals would like to use polite language with the purpose of maintaining good social relationships and helping to create a peaceful atmosphere so that to make the business go smoothly. The research on pragmatic strategies in international business negotiation shows that the negotiators’ cognition and emotion are sometimes not completely the same. It may be correct in one party but the other party will find it difficult to accept. In this case, to save face, the negotiators will adopt appropriate politeness strategies to make the other side accept their opinions happily emotionally. Under this circumstance, mutual respect is significant to each other. As a result, the two parties will feel comfortable and be willing to make deeper communication. It will be seen that the phenomenon of using politeness strategy to save face is widely existed in business negotiations, which undoubtedly also provides support for the opinion put forward by Brown and Levinson that politeness is a common linguistic phenomenon (Brown 132).

3.2 In cooperative relationship

Language is the most important carrier of communication. It is the common psychological need of human communication to expect the consent of the other party when speaking. Resonance can shorten the distance between each other. In the case of stakeholders, the speaker may express strong thoughts and feelings, causing discomfort to the other party, thus damaging the bilateral trade cooperation. In particularly, people are required to avoid conflicts caused by inconsistent views. Polite language will help the two parties avoid the contradiction and establish a cooperative relationship when they hold different views.

Example (1)

A: “Did you see the wonderful adjustments that we have made to the project?”

B: “Nancy, you have done well, but I am not sure why you have done...”

In the above dialogue, B expressed his dissatisfaction with the document, but he skillfully expressed his opinion, first praising A, and then asking some questions. Words “well” and “not sure” in some degree will make A feel that B is not satisfied with A. But at the same time these words show that B is trying to cover up his opinions, considering A’s feelings and maintaining A’s face. After hearing B’s answer, A also knows B hopes that they can continue to maintain A friendly relationship. As we can see from the example, the disagreement of opinions does not harm the friendly relationships between the two sides. Therefore, in cross-cultural business negotiations, we should use polite language flexibly in order to establish a good cooperative relationship between the two sides.

3.3 In benefit of national self-interest

Polite language can be used in business negotiations as a negotiation strategy and skills to indicate the position and get rid of unnecessary responsibilities to protect their own interests. There are many unfair phenomena in business activities. Some big companies rely on their own advantages and often put unreasonable additional conditions on other small companies. If the small company refuses, it may anger the big company and lead to the breakdown of the negotiation. A qualified negotiator should be one who can tactfully get rid of unnecessary responsibilities. Example (2) The speaker: “Well, I fully understand your requirements, but our transaction needs to an enormous sum that it needs my manager’s authorization and you can go back first. As soon As I get my manager’s agreement, I will get in touch with you. Is that OK?” For an excessive request, the answer “I fully understand your requirements” meets the “positive face” of the other party. The clause indicates that it is the objective reason, not the speaker, that prevents the transaction from going ahead. “As soon as” is a vague expression that leaves room for future communication and avoid the possible embarrassment at the same time.

4. Application of Politeness Language in Business Negotiation

Politeness Strategy is now commonly used in business negotiations, the proper use of politeness language plays a significant role in a successful negotiation. Based on the Leech’s Politeness Principle, the following passages introduce the application of politeness language in practical use.

4.1 Application of decent language

Decent language refers to the words which are morally correct or acceptable according to the Oxford Dictionary. The appropriateness of language is a prerequisite for happy communication, we should be polite and respectful to each other. According to Politeness Principle, the Tact Maxim refers to the use of decent language. “It is very happy to…”, “We feel it is really honor to…”, “The advanced equipment in your company impress us deeply” and other decent words are all types of polite strategies. It is necessary to protect the other’s positive face by using words that make the other feel happy. The use of decent language is helpful to establish a friendly relationship between two parties and earn mutual trust. Phrases like “be assured”, “put your words in mind” and “try our best” show that we care about the other party’s needs and put the buyer’s interests first. “We are very confident in this transaction” “I hope that we will have a chance for further cooperation…” Such polite expressions convey the positive cooperation attitude of both sides, and at the same time shows that both sides are full of confidence in the successful completion of the transaction. In business negotiation, we should try to avoid the following inappropriate language behaviors:

1. A excessive humility tone.

Example (3) A seller says: “we are extremely and sincerely sorry for the error that we have made and hope that you will accept our sincere apology.” In this sentence, the seller violates the Tact Maxim, he uses too many modest words such as “extremely”, “sincerely sorry”, “sincerely apology”. The frequent use of these words may not necessarily make the relief to the listener. On the contrary, the frequently use of fuzzy words will make the listener may feel uncomfortable and even think the speaker is not trustworthy at all. We can draw the conclusion that appropriate humility is necessary in business negotiations, but excessive humility should be avoided.

2. A reproachful tone.

Example (4) A: “Your words are not clear at all, and I can hardly understand them.” In this example, the speaker expresses his strong discontentment with a reproachful tone and without considering the feeling of the listener, and therefore lead to the awkward situation, which violates the Approbation Maxim. In business negotiation, we are all equal and need to respect others in order to create a harmonious relationship between each other. Such harsh accusations should be avoided in order to show basic respect for others.

3. A smug tone.

Example (5) A seller: “All wise companies are willing to trade with us.” In this example, the seller conveys the meaning that they are popular in the market and have a competitive advantage and it is unwise for the listener to refuse cooperation. Example5 violates the Modesty Maxim. We can learn from that the seller is so confident and even a little conceited which will make others not at ease. Therefore, the buyer may find the seller is not sincere at all and even arrogant which may have a bad influence on their further communication.

At the same time, negotiators should be clearly aware that the most politeness language is not necessarily the most appropriate one, it works in one situation may not work in another. Since each country has a different language habit, before negotiation, we should consider the different cultural differences and social backgrounds of the other party and select the language behaviors corresponding to them.

During a visit to China, a large American company complained that the Chinese had asked them three times whether they are willing to revise a proposal, and each time they had said “no” clearly and positively. In fact, they do not understand that according to Chinese courtesy, anything needs to be repeatedly conceded to accept. The Chinese will ask again and again to show their respect and do not know that Americans are proud of their “directness” and that “no” means “no”, which leaving a bad impression on Americans. Therefore, if we master the principle of politeness at the same time, pay attention to the appropriateness of language use, and study the cultural differences, then in business negotiations, we can avoid a lot of confusion and embarrassment.

4.2 Application of fuzzy language

Fuzzy is used to describe something is vague and not clearly defined in order to minimize disagreement between two parties, according to the Agreement Maxim. It is a quite common strategy in business negotiation. People speak in vague terms out of self-interest or a need to be polite to others. For example: “Well, perhaps you could rethink this issue.” Such vague words as “Well”, “perhaps”, “rethink”, have given the addressee more room to evaluate whether they are feasible. This is a “negative courtesy” strategy.

Fuzzy language has a positive influence on business negotiations. The proper use of it not only help to ease the atmosphere of negotiations, but also to test the intentions of the other party. Normally in business negotiation, it is impossible to force the other side to reach an agreement immediately. Therefore, it is necessary to change positions and attitudes at any time without damaging the self-image in order to leave room for negotiation and avoid deadlock. Example (6) the buyer: “Since we’ve received offers on similar goods from other companies, our business depends largely on your prices.”

Obviously, negotiators here have highlighted sources of similar goods from other suppliers. The key on whether buy the product or not depends that the seller can offer a reasonable price.

Example (7) The buyer: “Some requirements of your company are reasonably essential, and we are going to discuss it later”. In this phase, the buyer used fuzzy words such as “some”, “reasonably”, “essential”, “discuss”, “later”, suggesting that he would reconsider instead of a real promise, which is a polite way of saying no to a request. He adhered to the Agreement Maxim because this kind of rejection is more acceptable to the seller than direct opposition to the seller. As a result, the buyer avoids the awkwardness of a rejection and allows himself the luxury of not being blamed if he fails to do what he says he will.

There is no doubt that vague language improves the flexibility of the speaker and avoids the dilemma of negotiation. The negotiation with accurate words lacks flexibility and room for maneuver. However, it should also be noted that the purpose of fuzzy language in business negotiations is to obtain accurate and appropriate communicative effects so as to reach an agreement satisfactory to both parties. Being too vague can backfire. Therefore, we should grasp the sense of propriety in order to create a harmonious communication environment.

4.3 Application of humorous language

Humor strategy means that in a conversation, people deliberately violate some conversational principles in order to achieve a certain purpose, resulting in the inconsistency between the speaker"s subjective intention and the objective effect. In negotiations, the use of humor strategy can reduce the interests of the two sides of the negotiation because of the formation of the feelings of opposition, leading to the creation of a harmonious negotiation atmosphere. Humorous language can convey feelings, suggest intentions and help to build a good image for negotiators by avoiding the other party’s edge which is the tension in the situation buffer.

Example (8) The buyer: “Your products are quite satisfactory. However, I am a little worried about the prices you’re asking.”

The seller: “Do you think we should be asking for more? (Laughs)”

After the buyer euphemistically said the price was too high, the seller understood the meaning of the buyer in the specific context, but still replied “You think we should be asking for more? Such a joke is humorous by deliberately misrepresenting the meaning of the other party. The use of this humorous tactic eased the tension of the “price war”.

Example (9) Green: “Shall we move on to the question of inspection and insurance this afternoon?”

Wang: “ Yes，of course. I would like to know what your insurance clauses cover ? ”

Green: “According to the contract，the insurance should cover All Risks and War Risks. Now，I am pleased to say we have never had any occasion to invoke War Risks.”

Wang: “And I hope you never will（They both laugh）”

Example 9 obeyed the Agreement Maxim. In this example, a humorous sentence like “I hope you never will” relaxes the atmosphere and leave a good impression between each other. An appropriate humor sometimes has an unexpected effect and is an effective measure or means to resolve the deadlock. In future negotiations, which will make it easier for us to break the deadlock and other issues in the negotiations though this way, moreover, negotiators can get the initiative of the negotiations to reach the ultimate goal of the negotiations.

4.4 Application of praise language

People have the psychological expectation of being recognized by others. There is no exception that the Negotiators want praise from others on their own personal ability, expertise, reputation and other respects. According to the Approbation Maxim, negotiators should try to praise people as much as possible. Therefore, appropriate praise can win the goodwill and trust of the other party and can also increase the rate of success in business negotiation. An experienced negotiator often commends the other party in some aspect during the negotiation process or after reaching an agreement in order to create a comfortable and harmonious negotiation atmosphere. In the process of business negotiation, negotiators can appropriately adopt some compliments and praises of speech acts to please others so as to cater to their pride, which can make it easier for us to build a good communication bridge between the two parties and promote the smooth progress of negotiations.

Example (10) A: “We appreciate deeply for your intention to push the sale of our products. But our advice to you, as a preliminary step, is to do some research on the market ahead of time.”

Example（11） B: “I acknowledge that your products with better quality. But there is competition from synthetic products, too. You can ’t overlook that prices of synthetic bristles have not changed over the years”. The first example firstly expresses the appreciation of the other party’s good wishes, while the second example firstly expresses the recognition of the quality of the other party’s products in order to gain the trust of the opponent and pave the way for the subsequent requests.

4.5 Application of euphemism

A euphemism is a polite expression used to describe things that people may find it embarrassed to talk about. Euphemism is common to see in daily communication and it is typical use of Sympathy Maxim. Because of the differences of time, place, atmosphere, we need to take euphemistic, implicit expression instead of speaking directly. In the process of international business negotiations, both sides should take the “avoid” semantic expression according to the differences and sensitive issues. This kind of euphemistic and implicit pragmatic strategy can not only save the other party"s loss of face, but also avoid the unpleasant feelings of the other party, thus effectively promoting the smooth progress of business negotiations. Therefore, euphemism is often applied in the expression of disagreement issues and interest-related issues, mainly by means of certain euphemism to express their sorry to the other party. We are supposed to use mild words like affirmative sentence “I understand your feeling perfectly” instead of saying “It does not make sense of you to be so angry”, which will make others feel comfortable. The success of euphemism depends largely on the choice of wording and syntax.

5. Conclusion

Business negotiation is essentially an economic activity through language, and it is central to doing business. It is also a complex pragmatic activity. In order to obtain benefits and meet demands, both parties of the negotiation discuss and argue about the negotiation content, and finally reach an agreement by resolving differences. A successful negotiation will greatly help us to save face, establish cooperative relationship and benefit national self-interest. Negotiators should not only have the knowledge of business trade, but also need to master the language strategies of negotiation and flexibly apply the principle according to the characteristics of speech acts. It is suggested that the negotiators should use appropriate decent language in speech adequately and make proper use of euphemism; praise language; fuzzy language; and humor language in Process of negotiations. Only in this way, will they better resolve contradictions, reduce differences, and overcome conflicts and finally achieve complete success in intercultural business negotiations.

Works Cited

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