Rhetorical and pragmalinguistic features of business correspondence

Аliya Aimoldina, Sholpan K. Zharkynbekova

2013

Data confidence 70 medium

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Abstract

This paper explores the rhetorical and pragmalinguistic features of sales letters written in English by Kazakhstani business professionals and their native Englishspeaking international business partners based in the USA and the UK. The analysis focuses on 115 authentic texts, consisting of 65 non-native English speakers’ and 50 native speakers’ letters collected from international, national, and foreign companies in Kazakhstan. The research findings indicate that the analyzed sales letters not only reflect language variations, but also contain a number of culturally specific features which make them valuable ‘indicators’ of the writers’ cultural and social backgrounds. The most remarkable aspect is the imbalance between the Kazakhstani business professionals’ intention to maintain long-term business partnerships by adding a special introductory move and their inability to choose communication strategies adequate to native English-speakers’ writing style.