Lexico-sementic characterstics of business letter correspondence - Предпринимательство - Скачать бесплатно
"if"? Because "if" by
itself leaves open the possibility of open contingencies:
"If Baker delivers 1,000 barrels I will buy them" is unclear if you will
buy them only from Baker. Therefore what about "only if"? Sometimes
this works out, but not always.
"I will buy 1,000 barrels only if Baker delivers them" is an example of
"only if" going fuzzy. One possible meaning is "not more than 1,000
barrels" with "only" assimilated with the wrong word. Here then a more
elaborate phrase is justified.
"I will buy 1,000 barrels solely on condition that Baker delivers them"
makes everything clear.
"Subject to" Few contracts can do without this phrase. Many promises can
be made good only if certain things occur. The right procedure is
to spell out these plausible impediments to the degree that you can
reasonably foresee them.
"We will deliver these subject to our receiving adequate supplies";
"Our agreement is subject to the laws of Connecticut";
"Subject to circumstances beyond our control ".
Foreign esoteric words
Every now and then a scholarly phrase becomes accepted in business usage.
"Pro rate" and "pari passu" are Latin expressions but concern
money. "Pro rata" proves helpful when payments are to be in a proportion
reflecting earlier formulas in a contract. "Pari passu" is used when
several people are paid at the same level or time out of a common fund.
Latin, however, is not the only source of foreign phrases in business
letters.
"Force majeure" is a French phrase meaning circumstances beyond one's
control.
English itself has plenty of rare words. One example is "eschew"; how
many times we see people struggling with negatives such as "and we
agree not to produce (whatever it is) for a period of X". The more
appropriate phrase would be
"we will eschew production".
But here it should be mentioned that not everyone can understand such
phrases. Therefore rare words should be used only once in a long while.
Those who uses them sparingly appears to be reliable.
Some words against passive
Until now the study of writing business letters has consisted largely
of contract phrases accompanied by brief essays evaluating their
usefulness. The words are only samplings and are presented mainly to
conduce writing business letters in a proper way. It will be wrong,
however, to bring this list to an end without mention of a more general
problem that arises in connection with no fixed word pattern at all. It
arises, rather from using too many passives. Such phrases as "The material
will be delivered";
"The start date is to be decided";
"The figures must be approved" are obscure ones leaving unsettled who it is
that delivers, who decides, and who does the approving. Which side it is
to be? Lawsuits are the plausible outcome of leaving it all
unsettled. Passives used in contracts can destroy the whole
negotiations. "You will deliver" is better for it identifies the one who
will do delivering. Certainly, "must be approved by us" violates other
canons. "We shall have the right but not the obligation to approve" is
less unfortunate. There is no doubt that passives do not suit business
letters, and if they go all the way through without adding something like
"by you" or "by us" they are intolerable. Once in a long while one may
find passives used purposely to leave something unresolved. In those
circumstances they will be in class with "negotiate in good faith", which
I've examined earlier.
EXAMINING ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS
Now let's turn to the practical point of writing business letters. They
may be divided into official and semi-official. The first kind of letters
is characteristic of those people working in business: an executive,
a department manager, a salesman, a secretary or a specialist in
business and technology. But also many people may want to buy something,
to accept an invitation or to congratulate somebody - this is a kind of
semi-official letters. The first kind of letters may in turn be
subdivided into such groups as: inquiries, offers, orders, and so on. I
am going to examine this group more carefully looking at the
correspondence of Chicago businessmen and English manufactures.
.
Example 1.
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602
Messrs GRANT & CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London WIC 37D
England October 21, 1993
Gentlemen:
We saw your women's dresses and suits at the London Fashion Show held
in New York on October 17. The lines you showed for teenagers, the
"Swinger" dresses and trouser suits would be most suitable for our
market.
Would you kindly send us your quotation for spring and summer clothing
that you could supply to us by the end of January next. We would
require 2,000 dresses and suits in each of the sizes 10-14, and 500 in
sizes 8 and 16. Please quote c.i.f. Chicago prices. Payment is normally
made by letter of credit.
Thank you for an early reply.
Very truly yours,
P.Wilson.Jr
Buyer
.
This is undoubtedly an import inquiry letter. In the first part of a
letter there is a kind of introduction as a prospective customer
approaches supplier for the first time ,and it is from this part that
we found out that the correspondents are engaged in textile industry.
The second part expresses request for detailed information about
the goods in question, their prices and terms of possible transaction.
In this example we come across the abbreviation concerning the
terms of delivery, that is commonly accepted in the business world. It
is interesting to know what this kind of abbreviations means:
c.i.f. - cost, insurance, freight.
If consignment is to be delivered according to c.i.f., then the
supplier insures the goods and pays for the whole delivery.
f.o.b. - free on board.
If consignment is to be delivered according to f.o.b., then the
supplier pays for transportation to port, steamer or air shipment and
dispatch; and the customer pays for onward transportation and
insurance.
f.o.r. - free on rail.
It is the same as f.o.b., but for railway transportation.
c & f - cost and freight.
If consignment is to be delivered according to c & f, then the
supplier pays for the whole delivery and the customer - for insurance.
It is worth mentioning here that the whole letter is written in a
highly polite way, nevertheless it is quite precise and sticks to the
point.
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Example2
GRANT &CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London W1C 37D
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602 30th October, 1996
Dear Sirs,
We are pleased to make you an offer regarding our ‘Swinger’ dresses and
trouser suits in the size you require. Nearly all the models you saw at our
fashion show are obtainable, except trouser suits in pink, of which the
smaller sizes have been sold out. This line is being manufactured
continuously, but will only be available again in February, so could be
delivered to you in March.
All other models can be supplied by the middle of January 1997, subject to
our receiving your form order by 15th of November. Our c.i.f. prices are
understood to be for sealand transport to Chicago. If you would prefer the
goods to be sent by air freight, this will be charged extra at cost
Trouser suits sizes 8-16 in white, yellow, red, turquoise, navy blue, black
Sizes 12,14 also in pink per 100 $2,650.00
Swinger dresses sizes 8-16
in white, yellow, red, turquoise, black per 100 $1,845.00
You will be receiving price-list, cutting of our materials and a colour
chart. These were airmailed to you this morning.
Yours faithfully,
F.T.Burke
Export Department
As you can clearly see it we face the second phase of business
correspondence - the answering letter. It is very important, because it
adjusts the relationships between two partners. It does not only
characterise the company, but also advertises it. The purpose of the
letter is to persuade the partner that you are the best in business.
This letter contains the quotation in reply to an inquiry. In lots
of similar letters the quotations are simply prices and another information
asked for. But this sample is quite the opposite: it shows the
customer that he met the sales-cautious businessman, who uses every
opportunity to stimulate his correspondents interest in his goods
by including the sales message. And the assurance that the customer
will receive personal attention is read between the lines. In order to
draw the attention of the customer to the products in question the
supplier offers "cuttings of our materials and a colour chart". On the
whole a firm offer is subject to certain conditions, a deadline for
the receipt of orders, or a special price for certain quantities.
Example 3.
A business transaction often starts with an inquiry which may later be
followed by an order.
Both inquiry and order are meant to arose and stimulate business activity
on the part of recipient. They are typically asking letters. Orders
convey the writer's intention to do business with his correspondent,
usually to buy some goods from them.
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602
GRANT &CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London W1C 37D November 4, 1996
Gentlemen:
Thank you for your quotation of October 30. We have pleasure in placing an
order with you for
1,900 ‘Swinger’ dresses at Price: $38,745
in the colours and sizes specified below:
|Quantity |Size |Colour |
|50 |8,16 |white |
|100 |10,12,14 |white |
|50 |8,16 |turquoise |
|100 |10,12,14 |turquoise |
|50 |8,16 |red |
|100 |10,12,14 |red |
|50 |16 |yellow |
|100 |10,12,14 |yellow |
|50 |16 |black |
|100 |10,12,14 |black |
Delivery: air freight, c.i.f., Chicago
We shall open a letter of credit with your bank as soon as we receive your
order acknowledgement. Please arrange for immediate collection and
transport since we need the dresses for Christmas.
Very truly yours,
P. Wilson
Buyer
It is indisputably an import order, and as we can notice placing orders is
simple from the point of view of letter writing. The fact is that
usually the purchasing department or the buyer fills in an order form.
But in this case the correspondent prefers to write a letter in order
to make certain points quite clear. There are special import
regulations which are touched upon in the last paragraph: it is necessary
to complete formalities and to stress delivery instructions.
It should be mentioned here that the supplier must send order
acknowledgement as an answer to order promptly to thank his customer for
the order and to confirm it.
If some conditions have changed, the customer must be notified. In
the case the goods ordered are no longer available, a substitute may
be offered.
Example 4.
What follows the order acknowledgement is the advice of dispatch.
GRANT &CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London W1C 37D
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602 20thNovember,1996
Dear Sirs:
We have pleasure in notifying you that your credit was confirmed by our
bank yesterday, 19th November. We have had the 1900 ‘Swinger’ dresses
collected today for transport by British Airways to Chicago on 25th
November.
Enclosed is our invoice for the goods in question plus the extra charges
for air freight, packing list to facilitate customs clearance at your end,
certificate of origin, air waybill and insurance policy.
Hoping that this initial order will lead to further business, we are
Yours faithfully
F.T.Burke
Export department
The first thing to be done before writing such a letter is to examine
carefully whether the partners account is valid or not. So in the first
paragraph we come across phrase "your credit was confirmed by our bank
yesterday". Air shipment for "Swinger" dresses is also mentioned here.
The next paragraph deals with the documents which are necessary while
importing goods: Invoice packing lists, certificate of origin, air
waybill and insurance policy. As it is the initial order by MATTHEWS &
WILSON, the GRANT & CLARKSON hopes to encourage them to place further
orders, so their last phrase sounds very polite.
Example 5
No matter how efficient a business firm tries to be, mistakes will
happen. There might be a misunderstanding about the goods to be
supplied; sometimes the consignment is dispatched too late or delays
are caused in transit; defect is discovered when the equipment is put into
operation and so on.
Therefore a letter with the complaint expressed is sent.
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602 November 22, 1996
GRANT &CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London W1C 37D
Gentlemen:
Thank you for your delivery of ‘Swinger’ dresses which were ordered on
November 4. However we wish to draw your attention to two matters.
Of the red dresses supplied one lot of 100(size 12) included clothes of a
lighter red than the other sizes. Since we deliver a collection of various
sizes to each store, it would be obvious to customers that the clothes are
dissimilar. In addition the red belt supplied does not match these dresses.
We are returning two of these by separate mail, and would ask you to
replace the whole lot by 100 dresses size 12 in the correct colour.
As far as your charges for air freight are concerned, we agree to pay the
extra costs which you invoiced. However your costs for packing and
insurance must have been lower for air cargo, and we request you to take
this fact into consideration and to make an adjustment to the invoice
amount. Would you please send us a rectified invoice, reduced accordingly.
We look forward to your dealing with these questions without delay.
Very truly yours.
Wilson.
If this kind of letter is sent the customer is understandably
annoyed, nevertheless there is no reason to write an angry letter of
complaint. In the EXAMPLE 5 there are two complaints: the first is about
the "Swinger" dresses colour and the second - about the fact that air
freight seems too expensive to MATTHEW & WILSON.
From this letter we see that the results are better for the correspondent
takes the trouble to explain his complaint clearly and proposes ways in
which matters can be put right.
Example 6.
Letters that are written in response to claims may be called
adjustments. These letters are among the most difficult to write as they
require under all circumstances patience, tact, and diplomacy. You will
not lose your customer if you react at his claim promptly.
GRANT &CLARKSON
148 Mortimer Street
London W1C 37D
MATTHEWS & WILSON
Ladies' Clothing
421 Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III.60602 2nd December, 1996
Dear Sirs:
The colour of the dresses about which you complain is indeed lighter than
it should be. Apparently this was overlooked by controller responsible.
Please accept our apologies for the oversight.
We are sending you a new lot by air this week, and would ask you to return
the faulty clothes at your convenience, carriage forward. Alternatively you
may keep this lot for sale as seconds at a reduced price of &1,120.
You are perfectly correct in saying that packing and insurance costs are
normally less for cargo sent by air. May we remind you, however, in this
case your request to send the goods by air was made at very short notice.
It was not possible for us to use the lighter air freight packing
materials, as most of the dresses were ready for shipment by sea freight
(please see our letter of 9th November). Furthermore, our insurance is on
an open policy at a flat rate, and depends on the value of the goods, not
the method of transport. For these reasons our invoice No.14596 dated 15th
November 1996 is still valid, and we look forward to receiving your
remittance when due.
Yours faithfully
Burke
The suppliers show their understanding of situation and express their
willingness to adjust it. They say exactly what steps they are going to
take, because a disappointed customer cannot be put off with mere
apologies - he is entitled to know how the mistake will be remedied. The
supplies convince their partners that they are really interested in
maintaining good will. They try to avoid negative statements, and what
even worse, accusations; they never forget that it is their
customer who keeps them in business.
Even when they write their customers about rejecting their claim on
air freight, they try to give logical reasons for the refusal.
CONCLUSION
The conclusion that therefore suggests itself is that writing of
business letters is highly complicated science. It is not enough for a
good business letter writing to know lexics and grammar, but you should
comprehend the whole range of such things as: occasions on which the
particular letter is written, the style of letter, useful expressions, and
accepted idioms.
There are certain rules which not everybody could learn since they have
to be felt by correspondents. Letter writing requires long practice and
experience. Those who write letters should always remember, that what
makes the letter attractive and therefore promotes one's business is
not always the message of the letter, but it is the manner and style in
which the message is written.
The "golden rule" that must be followed by every business correspondent is
that the official letter should be formal, courteous, tactful, concise,
expressive, and to the point
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