Lexico-semantic characteristics of business letter
correspondence
Курсовая работа
Сдала студентка
гр. РП -41 Юрченко М. В.
ANNOTATION
The subject matter of the course paper is the role of
lexics and semantics in the case of business letter correspondence. The
question of the history of official communication, the main stages of business
transactions, the role of person’s feeling for the proper use of phrases as
well as his knowledge of grammar are highlighted. Moreover, those phrases which
are more often used in business letters are examined from the point of view of
their appropriateness in different situations. The practical part contains
several examples of business letters; the occasions on which they were written
and some of their characteristics are observed.
INTRODUCTION
Letter writing - is an essential part of
communication, an intimate part of
experience. Each letter-writer has a characteristic way
of writing, his style of writing, his way of expressing thoughts,
facts, etc. but
it must be emphasised that the routine of the
official or semi-official business letters
requires certain accepted idioms, phrases, patterns, and grammar which are found in
general use today. Therefore certain skills
must be acquired by
practice, and details of writing must
be carefully and thoroughly learnt.
A cheque, a
contract or any other business paper sent by mail should always be accompanied
by a letter. The letter says what is
being sent so that the recipient should know exactly
what you intended to send. It is a
typical business letter which some people call "routine".
The letter may be short or long, it may contain some very important and
much less important information - every
letter requires careful
planning and thoughtful writing.
In recent
years English has become a
universal business language. As such,
it is potentially an instrument
of order and clarity. But
words and phrases have
unexpected ways of creating binding commitments.
Letter-writing, certainly, is not the
same as casual conversation, it
bears only the
same power of
thoughts, reflections, and observations as in conversational talk, but the form may be quite different. What
makes the letter
so attractive and pleasing is
not always the
massage of the letter, it is
often the manner and style in which
the massage is written.
E.g.: "I wish to express to you my sincere
appreciation for your note of congratulation."
or
"I
am sincerely happy that you were
elected President of Biological Society."
As you
see such formulations show the attitude of the writer, his respect and sincerity.
The language of business, professional and semi-official letters is formal, courteous,
tactful, concise, expressive, and to the point. A neatly arranged letter
will certainly make a better impression on the reader, thus good letters make
good business partners.
In the case of "scientific correspondence"
the majority of letters bear
mostly a semi-official character and are concerned with different situations
associated with scientific activities concentrated around the organisation of scientific meetings (congresses, symposia,
workshops, etc.), the arrangement of visit, invitation,
publication, the exchange of scientific literature, information, etc. Letters of this kind have a tone
of friendliness, naturalism.
Modern English letters should
not be exaggerated, overburdened,
outmoded with time-worn expressions.
The key note
is simplicity. Modern letters
tend towards using the language of conversational style.
Writing is
not only a
means of communication and contract, but also a record of affairs, information, events, etc. So it is
necessary to feel the spirit and trend of the style in order to write a
perfect letter.
Business-letter or
contract law is a complex and
vastly documented subject, only a
lawyer can deal with it
on a serious level. A number of basic principles, however, can be outlined sufficiently to
mark of encounters that require the use of specialised English.
Doing business means
working out agreements with other people, sometimes through
elaborate contracts and sometimes through nothing but
little standard forms, through exchanges of letters and
conversations at lunch.
Nowadays more and more agreements are made
in English, for English is
the nearest thing
we have to a universal business language. Joint ventures, bank loans, and trademark licenses frequently are
spelled out in
this language even though it is
not native to at least one of
the contracting parties.
As a beginning I am going to look at
the subject of writing of business letters
generally. In the
main there are three stages transactions involving business contracts:
first, negotiation of terms, second,
drafting documents reflecting these terms, and third, litigation to
enforce or to avoid executing of
these terms. To my mind, a fourth might be added, the administration of
contracts.
I am going to
look through the first two since the third and the fourth are related only to
the field of law. A typical first stage of contract is two or more people
having drink and talking about future dealing.
A second phase might be letters written in order to work out an
agreement.
In these two early stages it will be helpful
to know something about rules of
contract. But what rules? Different nations borrow or create different
legal systems, and even within a single country the rules may vary according to
region or the kind of transaction involved.
It is worth knowing that the distinctions in legal
system of England are mainly historical.
The history
of writing business letters is undoubtedly connected
with the history of development of
legal language. English is in
fact a latecomer as a legal language.
Even after the Norman Conquest court
pleadings in England
were in French, and before that
lawyers used Latin. Perhaps, some of our difficulties arise due
to the fact that English
was unacceptable in its childhood.
Contract in
English suggest Anglo-American contract rules. The
main point is always to be aware that there are
differences: the way they may be
resolved usually is a problem for lawyers. With contracts the applicable law may be the
law of the place where the contract is made; in other cases it may be the law
of the place where the contract is to be performed. It is specified in
preliminary negotiations which system
of law is to apply.
Diversity is characteristic feature of English; here
is a wide range of alternatives to
choose from in saying things, although the conciseness is sometimes lacking. Consequently, the use of
English is a creative
challenge. Almost too many
riches are available for
selection, that leads
occasionally to masterpieces
but more frequently to mistakes.
English is less refined in its distinctions than French, for example, and this makes it harder to be
clear.
That does not mean that English is imprecise
for all things are
relative. If we compare English with
Japanese, we will see that
the latter possesses
enormous degree of politeness to reflect the respectiveness of speaker and listener as well as of addresser and
addressee.
Here I cannot
help mentioning the fact that as contracts are so unclear in what every side
intends to do, a
contract can sometimes put a company out of business.
Thus everybody who is involved in any kind
of business should study thoroughly the complex science
of writing business letters and
contracts.
Business letters
throught lexics
From the lexicological point of view isolated words
and phrases mean very
little. In context they mean a great
deal, and in the special context of
contractual undertakings they mean everything. Contract
English is a prose organised according to plan.
And it
includes, without
limitation, the right but not the
obligation to select words from a wide variety
of verbal implements and write
clearly, accurately, and/or with style.
Two phases of writing contracts exist: in the
first, we react to proposed
contracts drafted by somebody else, and
in the second, which presents greater
challenge, we compose our own.
A good contract reads like a classic story. It narrates, in orderly sequence, that one part should do this and another
should do that, and perhaps if
certain events occur,
the outcome will be changed. All of the rate cards charts, and other
reference material ought to be ticked off one
after another according to the sense of it. Tables and figures, code
words and mystical references are
almost insulting unless
organised and defined. Without
organisation they baffle, without definition they entrap.
In strong stance one can send back the offending
document and request a substitute document in
comprehensible English.
Otherwise a series of questions may be put by letter, and the replies often will have contractual force if the document
is later contested.
A sampling of contract phrases
My observations about English so far have been general
in nature. Now it appears logical to
examine the examples
of favourite contract
phrases, which will help ease the way to fuller examination
of entire negotiations and contracts. a full glossary is beyond reach but in
what follows there is a listing of words and phrases that turn up in great
many documents, with comments on
each one. The words and phrases are presented in plausible contract sequence,
not alphabetically.
"Whereas" Everyman's idea of how a contract
begins. Some lawyers dislike
"Whereas" and use recitation clauses so marked to distinguish them
from the text in the contract. There
the real issue lies; one must be
careful about mixing up recitals of history with what is actually being agreed
on. For example, it would be folly to
write: "Whereas A admits owing B $10,000..." because the admission
may later haunt
one, especially if drafts are
never signed and the debt be disputed.
Rather less damaging would be:
"Whereas the
parties have engaged in a
series of transactions resulting in dispute
over accounting between them..."
On the whole "Whereas" is acceptable, but
what follows it needs particular care.
"It is understood and agreed" On the one
hand, it usually adds nothing, because every clause in the contract is
"understood and agreed" or it would not be written into it. On the
other hand, what it adds is an
implication that other clauses are not backed up by this phrase: by including
the one you exclude the other. «It is understood and agreed» ought to be
banished.
"Hereinafter" A decent enough little word
doing the job of six ("Referred to later in this document").
"Hereinafter" frequently sets
up abbreviated names for the contract parties.
For example:
"Knightsbridge International Drapes and Fishmonger, Ltd
(hereinafter "Knightsbridge").
"Including Without Limitation" It is useful
and at times essential phrase. Earlier
I've noted that mentioning certain things may exclude others by
implication. Thus,
"You may
assign your exclusive British
and Commonwealth rights"
suggests that you may not assign other rights assuming
you have any. Such pitfalls may be avoided by phrasing such as:
"You may
assign any and
all your rights
including without limitation your exclusive British and Commonwealth
rights".
But why specify any rights if all of them are
included? Psychology is the main
reason; people want specific
things underscored in the contracts, and
"Including Without
Limitation" indulges this prediction.
"Assignees and
Licensees" These are
important words which
acceptability depends on one's point of view
"Knightsbridge, its assignees and licensees..."
suggests that Knightsbridge may hand you over to
somebody else after contracts are signed.
If you yourself happen to be Knightsbridge, you will want that particular right and should
use the phrase.
"Without Prejudice" It is a classic. The
British use this phrase all by itself,
leaving the reader intrigued.
"Without Prejudice" to
what exactly? Americans
spell it out
more elaborately, but if you
stick to American
way, remember "Including
Without Limitation", or you
may accidentally exclude something by
implication. Legal rights, for example, are not the same thing as
remedies the law offers to
enforce them. Thus the American
might write:
"Without prejudice to any of my existing or
future rights or remedies..."
And this leads to another phrase.
"And/or" It
is an essential barbarism. In
the preceding example I've used the disjunctive "rights or remedies". This is not always good enough, and one may run into trouble with
"Knightsbridge or Tefal or either of them
shall..."
What about both together? "Knightsbridge and Tefal", perhaps, followed by
"or either". Occasionally the
alternatives become overwhelming,
thus and/or is convenient and
generally accepted, although
more detail is better.
"Shall" If one says "Knightsbridge and/or
Tefal shall have..." or "will have...",
legally it should
make no difference in the case
you are consent in using one or
the other. "Shall",
however, is stronger than
"will". Going from one to another might suggest that one
obligation is stronger somehow than
another. Perhaps, one's position may determine the choice.
"You shall", however is bad form.
"Understanding" It is a
dangerous word. If you mean agreement you ought to say
so. If you view of
affairs that there is no agreement,
"understanding" as a noun suggests the opposite or comes close
to it. .it stands, in fact, as a monument to unsatisfactory
compromise. The softness of
the word conjures up pleasing
images. "In accordance with our understanding..."
can be interpreted in a number of ways.
"Effect" Here is a little
word which uses
are insufficiently praised.
Such a phrase
as "We will produce..." is inaccurate, because the work
will be subcontracted and the
promise-maker technically defaults. Somebody else does the producing.
Why not say "We will produce or cause to be produced..."? This is in fact often said, but it jars the ear. Accordingly "We will
effect production..." highlights
the point with greater skill.
"Idea" This word is bad for your own side
but helpful against others. Ideas as such are not generally
protected by law. If you submit
something to a
company with any hope of reward you must find better phrasing than
"my idea". Perhaps, "my
format" or possibly
"my property" is more
appropriate. Naturally, if you can develop
an idea into
a format or protectable property, the
more ambitious phrasing
will be better justified.
"As between us" It is useful, because people are always forgetting or
neglecting to mention
that a great many interests may be
involved in what
appears to be
simple dialogue. "I reserve control over..." and "You
have the final power of decision over..." sound like division
of something into spheres, but
frequently "I" am in
turn controlled by my investors and "You" - by a foreign parent
company, making the language of
division inaccurate. Neither of us really controls anything, at least ultimately.
Thus it will
be useful to say, "As between us, I control..."
and so on.
"Spanning" Time periods are awkward
things: "...for a period
commencing August,1 and expiring November,15..." is clumsy; "...from August,1 to November,15..." is skeletal
when informing how long a contract obligation endures.
But
during particular time periods
one may be reporting for
work, for example, three days out of
every five, or doing something else that is within but not completely parallel
to the entire time period involved.
A happy solution is the word "Spanning". It
goes this way:
"Throughout the period spanning August,1 -
November,15 inclusive you will render services
as a consultant three days out of every five."
It will
be useful to put
"inclusive" at the end for without it you may lose the date,
concluding the period being spanned.
"Negotiate in Good Faith" The
negotiators have worked until late at night, all points but one have been worked out, the
contract will never be signed without resolution of some particular
impasse. What is there to do?
Agree to "Negotiate in Good Faith" on the
disputed point at later time. This
is done frequently, but make no mistake about the outcome. The open
point remains open. If it happens to be
vital you may have no
contract at all. "Negotiate
in Good Faith" is one of those evasions that must be used sparingly. At
the right time it prevents collapse, at the wrong time it promotes it.
"Confirm" It suggests, of course, that
something has been agreed upon before. You are writing now only to make a
record of it. "I write to confirm that you admit substantial default in delivery" Frequently we encounter it
in ordinary correspondence: "Confirming your order", "Confirming
the main points of our agreement", and so on.
"Furnish" It is a handy word which usefulness
lies in the avoidance of worse alternatives. Suppose you transact
to deliver a variety of elements as a
package.
"Deliver"
leaves out, even though it
may well be implied,
the preliminary purchase or engagement of these elements, and at the
other end it goes very far in
suggesting responsibility for getting the package unscathed to where it
belongs.
Alternatives also
may go wrong, slightly, each with its own implications.
"Assign" involves legal title; "give" is lame
and probably untrue; "transmit" means send.
Thus each word
misses some important - detail or implies unnecessary things.
"Furnish"
is sometimes useful when more
popular words fall short or go too far. It has a good professional ring to it
as well:
"I agree to furnish all of the elements listed on
Exhibit A annexed hereto and made part hereof by incorporation."
Who is
responsible for non-delivery and related questions can be dealt
with in separate
clauses.
"Furnish"
avoids jumping the gun. It keeps away from what ought to be treated
independently but fills up enough space
to stand firm.
The word is good value.
"Right but Not
Obligation" One of
the most splendid phrases available. Sometimes
the grant of particular rights
carries with it by implication a duty to exploit them. Authors, for example, often feel betrayed by their publishes, who
have various rights "but do nothing about them." Royalties decrease as
a result; and this situation, whether or not it reflects real criminality, is repeated in variety of
industries and court cases.
Accordingly it well suits the grantee of
rights to make clear at the very
beginning that he may abandon them. This possibility is more appropriately
dealt with in separate clauses reciting
the consequences. Still, contracts have been known to contain inconsistent provisions,
and preliminary correspondence
may not even reach the subject of
rights. A quick phrase helps keep you out of trouble: "The Right but Not Obligation". Thus,
"We shall have the Right but
Not Obligation to
grant sublicenses in Austria"("But if we fail, we fail").
Even this magic phrase has its limitations because
good faith may require having a real go to exploiting the rights in
question. Nevertheless "Right but Not Obligation" is useful, so much
so as
to become incantation
and be said whenever
circumstances allow it. I the other side challenges
these words, it will be better
to know this
at once and
work out alternatives or finish
up the negotiations completely.
"Exclusive" It’s importance in contract
English is vast, and its omission creates difficulties in
good many informal drafts. Exclusivity as a contract
term means that somebody is -barred
from dealing with others in a specified area. Typically an employment may be
exclusive in that the employee may not work for any one else, or a license may be exclusive in the sense
that no competing licenses will be
issued.
Antitrust problems cluster around exclusive arrangements but they are not all
automatically outlawed.
It follows that one ought to specify whether or not
exclusivity is part
of many transactions. If
not, the phrase "nonexclusive" does
well enough. On the other hand,
if a consultant is to be engaged solely by one company, or a distributorship awarded to nobody else
except X, then
"exclusive" is a
word that deserves recitation.
"Exclusive Right but Not Obligation" is an example that combines two
phrases discussed here.
The linking of
concepts is a step in
building a vocabulary
of contract English.
"Solely on
condition that" One of the few phrases that can be considered
better than its short counterparts. Why not just "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.
.
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,
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.
Список
литературы
1.WINCOR, RICHARD Contracts in plain English
2.БАСС Э.М.
Научная и деловая корреспонденция
3.GOWERS, ERNEST The complete plain words
4.Громова Н.М.
Основы деловой переписки
5.Naterop Business Letters for All.