Introduction

 

 

Fuzzy and precise are the basic attributes of the human language. The language not only has the accuracy, also has its fuzziness, they are indispensable and both complement one another. Just like English linguist Jones said: "We all (including those pursuing precise and unmistakable persons) in speaking and writing use the terminology and the principle not precisely, indefinitely, with the difficulty to give their definition, this certainly does not hinder the extremely useful of the word we use, moreover it is essential, as the human has the general knowledge (direct feeling, intuition), usually people use the imprecise expression method and the terminology with the difficulty to give its definition, but they still mutually understood." ⑴

The business language is the human language used in the commercial situations, thus, it similarly has these attributes. One important characteristic of international commercial English is clarity, namely in the written commerce correspondence and the contract or carrying on commercial negotiations and so on we should avoid using the ambiguous or interpretation languages to avoid inconvenient and misunderstanding in the commercial activities. However, in the actual commercial intercommunications, the business language has its fuzziness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I. Fuzzy language

Language fuzziness actually reflects many transition phenomena existed in the objective reality. American philosopher Max Black said that, "The word fuzziness symbol is the limited scope which the word utilizes without clear boundary." ⑵ In other words, word fuzziness displays that it has the application-enclosed area, but this region boundary is not explicit. Lakoff explains hedges as " words and expressions made things fuzzy " are the most common, the most typical fuzzy language.⒀ As far as the substantiality concerned, the language itself is not quantification fuzzy set; it has the immateriality shape and the non-intuitionistic dim characteristics. The fuzzy language uses in the certain linguistic environment and the situation, it may play the unique role, the fuzzy language information on the surface seems fuzzy, but it substantially and relatively accurately expresses the complex emotion, the spoken motive or the latent consciousness; it relatively objectively rigorously expresses some kind of observation, the viewpoint, the forecast or the theory, thus it implicitly expresses the real thought and the innermost world, or it provides the logical, correct and reliable information.

Language fuzziness is different to the ambiguity (different meanings) or thickness of language, “ambiguity or ambivalence" refers to the language mark sequence of the identical form to express two or above different significances, the unconscious result produced in the language use process, it may be eliminated. “Thickness” refers to something originally should be said clearly has not been said clearly, often refers to the negative results produced by improperly using of the language, a phenomenon which must be avoided as far as possible.

"Fuzzy" refers to a kind of indefiniteness, which the central meaning of words and expressions in the language is clear about, but the scope boundary of the words and expressions is indefinite ⑶. This indefiniteness or fuzziness usually cannot or needlessly be removed through the context; it was determined by the fuzziness of the objective thing itself and the indefiniteness of people knowing about the objective world.

II. The basic characteristics of fuzzy language

Language fuzziness is represented in three stratification planes: the pronunciation, the glossary and the sentence. Many words and expressions of human language such as time, place, quantity, shape, the degree, the feeling and so on usually have factors: insufficiently clear about, unable to determine etc. and so to express these situations, the language unavoidably has the fuzzy color.

 

 

2.1 The indefiniteness of words and expressions referring to the scope and boundary

Russell, the English renowned philosopher once said, "A word has one, more or less fuzzy significance." ⑷ The American philosopher Blake in his book "Language And Philosophy" pointed out, "Words and expressions fuzziness displays that they have the enclosed area of application, but this region boundary is not explicit."Obviously, the fuzzy thing is fuzzy, lies in lacks itُ s the explicit boundary. The glossary fuzziness mostly expresses such category of glossary: time, space, quality, degree, color, etc. Its semantic fuzziness results from its frequent indefiniteness in the use of scope. Another kind of vocabulary expresses approximate concept such as approximately, as if, probably, nearly and so on, some scholar called them as "the fuzzy limit word" or " fuzzy tag". Glossary fuzziness also displays in the word reference, like “God", “Ghost "etc. These words reflected the things do not exist in the objective world, they have not actual reference, the people only imagine without foundation, and thus they also have fuzziness.

2.2 The indefiniteness for the conditions and possibilities of things

The law of excluded middle held that, two mutually contradictory concepts, cannot be simultaneously false, must be one true and one false, and cannot have the third possibility. Engels once wrote the article to criticize law of excluded middle, called materialist dialectics person " absolutely distinct and the fixed invariable boundary cannot be acknowledged in the world ", and held "the dialectics can make the difference of the fixed metaphysics mutually to transit", except that "either this or that", dialectics also acknowledged in the suitable place "both this and that", and caused the opposition for intermediary. The section of Engels’ speech has exactly promulgated "also this also that" fuzziness. For example, horse and donkey can have their descendant--- not a horse or donkey but the mule.

III. Reasons for fuzzy languages

    The coming into being of fuzzy language has two reasons: objective reason and subjective reason. For the first place, the objective things are inexhaustible but language is abstractive; for the second place, the limited human cognition, individual differences, etc.

3.1 Objective reason

The massive existence of fuzzy language has its objective, the objective things are concrete and inexhaustible, but the language is abstract and general, its unit cannot be infinitely increased. Hawks said that, " space time is a continual body in fact, it has not fixed or unchanged boundary or division, each language divides its time and space according to its own special structure ". Obviously, spatial and time existence is objective, shifting without person's will, regardless of how deepening of people's understanding, its fuzziness exists forever.

3.2 Subjective reasons

    There are many subjective reasons for fuzzy language. Language user's intercommunicative need, human limited cognition ability, individual differences, suspension meaning, etc. are the main aspects that we will discuss below.

3.2.1 Language user's intercommunicative need

Lewis proposed the differences between the fuzzy language and the non-fuzzy language lies in language and the language user′s relations but it does not lies in the relations between the language and the objective world, the people may usually and accurately carry on their language expression, even if sometimes this kind of expression encounters with some difficulties, people cannot care about it very much ⑸. For example, in the spoken language, the speaker has the scruples, fears looking for trouble, fears stimulating and injuring the other people; facing sensitive and subtle topic, in order to get rid of the difficult position or the pester; the uncertain reply to others' request and so on. If we make good use of the fuzzy expression, we can enable our own speech to have some kind of elastic pragmatics principle and politeness principle.

3.2.2 Human limited cognition ability

To the inconsistent of inexhaustible objective things as well as the concept and reference, the humanity can not but use the generalization method, expresses the maximum information content with the aid of the less languages unit. Therefore, when we take the language as the human communicative tools, language fuzziness is inevitable.

3.2.3 Individual differences of language intercommunication

In fact, the language intercommunication is the difference intercommunication. As the intercommunication main body, the language users, individual has the cognition differences; the individual respectively has the differences to the world understanding and in the cognitive ability; it is also various regarding the concept sensation and the experience to cause the essential cognition difference between the speaker (expressing party) and the listeners (understanding party). For example, for a similar concept, different speaker possibly has the different expression method, but the different individual possibly has the different understanding regarding the identical expression, thus the differences and the pragmatics fuzziness produced. Moreover, psychological, cultural differences as well as language changes and developments factors and so on produce the uncoordinated influence to each intercommunicative main body, which also cause the pragmatics fuzziness in intercommunication.

3.2.4 Suspense meaning placed by the language users

Suspense refers to the language information which the speaker transmits has the determination side, also has indefinite side, while the listener immediately increases the meaning and make supplement when s/he accepted the language information. This kind of significance causes the two to interact to each other, and that causes the listener’s various concrete understanding to be suspense significance, consequently, causes uncertain fuzzy language to transform into the different definiteness.

IV. Pragmatics functions in international commercial English fuzzy language

J. Channell pointed out that the fuzzy words and expressions are specially chosen for the language intercommunication, many motives are behind the use fuzzy language. The pragmatics functions about the fuzzy language, Channell summarizes ten points: to provide the just right information, to be unwilling to explain the details; to possess advising; interruptive transition of the word meaning; to be lack of the concrete information; the displacement; self protection; trenchancy and politeness; unofficial atmosphere; woman language⒁.

The American philosophers H.P. Grice pointed out in l967 in Harvard University′s series lectures, in the process of intercommunications, in order to guarantee the conversation smoothly to carry on, both sides of the speakers have to observe some basic principles, namely "the cooperation principle", and proposed the four subsidiary criteria of judgments or the concrete realization of cooperation principle, they are: quantity criterion, quality criterion, relation criterion and method criterion ⒂.His analysis conclusion is similarly suitable for special application language, according to the different situations in the international commercial intercommunications people can consciously use the fuzzy language to achieve some kind of pragmatics goal, either provide the just right information to enhance the language expression efficiency, either be unwilling to explain the details to keep the trade secret, either make up the concrete information to enhance the accuracy of the language expression, either express politeness to relax the awkward aspect, and so on. But Grice’s quality criterion request the information provided must be real, do not say the self-awareness false words, do not say the words without enough evidence. In the commercial English fuzzy language use has just followed this criterion.

4.1 Enhancing the pragmatics precision and its efficiency

Sperber & Wilson, in1986,proposed the pragmatics connection theory which took two big principles as the foundation: The cognition principle, namely the human cognition tends to produce the biggest connection; the intercommunication principle, namely discourse produces have the connection expectation⑹. The core of connection theory is the best connection, namely to achieve sufficient contextual efforts with no unjustifiable processing efforts in utterance interpretation.

As the indetermination of the objective itself, the information that the fuzzy language transmitted sometimes can be more accurate. This has manifested the dialectical unification of fuzzy and precise. Therefore in the specific social occasions, the fuzzy dictions can express the thoughts and feelings more accurately and can obtain the highly effective diplomatic effect than the precise dictions do.

Example 1: "China Daily" reported Premier Li Peng: "Chinese Premier Li Peng yesterday expressed the hope that entrepreneurs of the United States will continue efforts to help bring about an all-round improvement and development of Sino－US relations."⒃

What are the all-round improvement and development of Sino－US relations? As the diplomatic tactics needed, it is fuzzy, but the readers can accept it mentally and without suspecting the fact′s authenticity.

 Example 2:As far as we know，insurance companies accept goods packed in cartons to be insured against TPND．

 In this example, the supplier wants to provide the related cargo insurance information to the opposite party to make them feel relieved, but cannot definitely provide whether the information is accurate, the information source is reliably, therefore, fuzzy language "as far as we know" is used, it indicated this was only we understood, it didn’t represent the others’ opinions so as to avoid the information provided lacking of the proof, thus enhanced the accuracy of the expression.

The fuzzy language can increase the intercommunicative information content, transmit enough information with the fewer prices, make the high efficiency judgments and processing to the complex things. In the commercial activities, sometimes, it is not essential to be too precisely, the fuzzy language using can obtain the best connection. The commercial advertisement prominently has manifested this point---brief language expresses desired effect.

Example 1 One kind of cigarette ads in the US：Make it a mild smoke. Mild seven．Smooth，rich，rewarding．

Example 2: Romantic．Mysterious．Italian．

This advertisement only uses three fuzzy semantic adjective, actually it expresses the extremely deep connotation, can enable the person fully to transfer the related knowledge to launch the infinite imagination, thus achieves the best propaganda effect.

4.2 Strengthening pragmatics effect and the flexibility

In the process of diction intercommunication, because of the influence factors as the topic, the context and so on, the speaker uses fuzzy language to come to some effects with a few efforts

Example 1: It’s at the disposal of the board．We’ll give you our reply as soon as possible．

On the surface, it promises "as soon as possible", in fact, only it is the delaying tactics, what the board of directors’ opinion is, how to process finally, it can be settled down as it needed.

Example 2: Your balance of$835 is delinquent⒄．---- correction：Your balance of$835 is past due.

Some investigation discovered, businessmen more positive to the positive request, usually the appropriate and polite language may cause anticipated economic utility. "Delinquent" is in fact, the word with the negative significance, "past due" also has the negative significance, but somewhat persuasive and tactful.

   Example 3: The registered capital shall be generally represented in Renminbi, or may be in a foreign currency agreed upon by the parties to the joint venture.⑺

Here fuzzy expressions "generally, may" have manifested both parties of the contract nimble manner.

4.3 Manifesting politeness principle and relaxing the awkward situations  

The linguist Leech proposes "politeness principle". It contains six sub- criteria: appropriate criterion, tolerant criterion, commendation criterion, humble criterion, consistent criterion and sympathetic criterion ⒅.It provides the reasonable explanation for people to use the fuzzy language. It is key for people to treat each other with polite in business activities. The fuzzy language can make the expression more connotative, more relaxed and more polite. In international business negotiations, when we meet with opposite opinions or inconvenient spoken situations, if our language processing is inappropriate, we would fall into the deadlock.            

Example 1:

A： I'm afraid that the price you put forward just now is a little bit high．

B： Your product presentation makes me feel a little too--you know what l mean．

Both sides of negotiations didn’t bring out their own idea directly, but used fuzzy language "isn ' t up too much, you know what I mean" to make the language expression tactfully with connotation, made the reply rich elastic, made the awkward situation relaxed, thus carried the negotiations on smoothly.

Example 2: Could you lower your price a bit so that we can conclude the quick transaction?

Compare：Can you lower your price a bit so that we can conclude the quick transaction?

Example 3:We wanted to know whether you could effect shipment one month earlier．

Compare：We want to know whether you could effect shipment one month earlier．

In the face-to-face commercial discussion, indicated inquiry, request or different viewpoint expression with opposite party, if we use "Can you", "Will you", "I wonder", "I am sure", sometimes it appears stiffly, offensively, too firmly and absolutely in mood, if we use "Could you", "Would you", "I wanted ⋯", "I wondered ⋯", "I was sure ⋯" then adds some fuzzy words and expressions like "a bit", "earlier" and so on it appears persuasively, polite, temperate, appropriate, easily accepted by the opposite party.

4.4 Making the language visual and humorous to make the self-protection

In the certain context, the fuzzy language through its vivid and humorous characteristics increases the commercial article, the commercial advertisement or the commercial discussion elegant demeanor. Leech thought the pragmatics fuzzy, namely the indetermination of the conversation words, cannot cause the sub audition unclear, and then may satisfy the common interest of both intercommunicative sides. The two kind of or above explanations of the speakers aim to let the listeners to undertake consequence part of responsibilities, which these words caused to make the speakers have room for maneuver. ⒆ As Channell says, the fuzzy language used can protect oneself make blunders. (20) This function manifests in the different commercial situations. Take the commercial advertisement as the example, "Advertisement Law" requests the advertisement to compete impartially, fairly, reasonably, legally, therefore the advertisement terminology must really express the original appearance of the commodity to make the person clearly understand its characteristic and performance; in fact the fuzzy language exists massively in various advertisements.

Example 1:Seven-up is uncola．This commercial advertisement is a pun and fuzzy is expressive. Surface significance: Seven-up is not cola. Inner meaning: Seven-up does not contain the caffeine. From one to the other with humorous nature, it’s unconscious to achieve the goal of propaganda commodity in the mind of the people.

Example 2:Well，our business policy is very clear，and our enterprise credit is also known to all. ⑻

The other party inquired us the operational policy and the enterprise prestige, under that situation, our negotiation personnel think it was not suitable to reply directly, so we use fuzzy words and expressions "very clear, known to all", to make self- protection.

Again, let’s read the commercial contract. Frequently appears the fuzzy words and expressions in the contract context, such as "basically", "essential", "strictly", "suitably", "reasonable", "may", "be supposed" "to have" and so on ⑼.

Example 3: Each party agrees to protect the other’s Confidential Information at all times and the same manner as each protests the confidentiality of its own proprietary and confidential materials, but in no event with less than a reasonable standard of care. ⑽

Without a doubt, "reasonable" is a fuzzy word, actually, in the law term "standard of care" is also a fuzzy information, Black ' s Law Dictionary regarding this explanation: "In the law of negligence, the degree of care that a reasonable person should exercise” (21). Reasonable standard of care, this fuzzy measure has reasonably maintained litigant's benefit of the contract.

4.5 Strengthening the advising function of pragmatics and increasing language communication power

Sometimes, the communicator might retain the precise information or simply unknowns the precise information and uses the fuzzy language, the information like this has the persuasive power, but we should take Grice’s the quality criterion as the examination criterion, namely, do not say things you think they are wrong, do not say things you lack enough evidence. Once you violate this criterion, possibly march into the exaggeration or false zone. For instance, in the following advertisement:

. . . What’s more , you’ll save up to 65 % on stock and option commissions , compared to a full-cost broker. . . ⑾

You may strengthen the persuasive power with the data, because the data always leaves the person precise impression, even if it is fuzzy data "up to 65 %". This is in consistent with the advertisement goal, namely either advising or convincing the consumer to purchase the product or the service.  

The fuzzy language gives the person rich imagination because of its using scope frequently appearing the indetermination and thus makes the language vivid.

For example: Seriously smooth, mysteriously mellow, gloriously golden, who can resist the magic of Camus XO Cognac? ⑿

In the advertisement, several adjectives, the adverbs are used, it vividly described XO, made the person to think its charm and entices, and nobody could resist its temptation. But the adverbs "seriously, mysteriously, gloriously" and the adjectives "smooth, mellow, golden" and so on, their meanings is fuzzy, may leave the audiences freely galloped imagination.    

V. Fuzzy language rhetoric effects

The rhetoric is the discipline that researches the rule of enhancing the language expression effect. "Accurate, brilliant, vivid" are the basic request of traditional rhetoric. The people discovered, the realization of "accurate" goal, are not only depends on precisely, fuzzy also is the important factor that achieves "precise" goal. International commercial English uses the common principle and the knowledge of synthesis disciplines, such as economics, sociology, psychology, rhetoric, and aesthetics to form the unique rhetoric characteristic.

5.1 Humorous effects with humorous charming

Famous dictionary scientist Bradley pointed out that, "Few people are satisfied with always relating the matter clearly; the commonly used words as a result of familiarization with lose their strength, if we use a vivid to be lifelike or the weird laughable metaphor, the arid language with plain or straightforward manner can change into the language with abundant interest." (22)

Indeed, some slang is precisely through rhetoric technique as metaphor and so on, with some simple, vivid and funny concrete image, to show the meaning and transmit the feelings. Concrete things include animal, daily thing, human body, personal name, color, food and so on.

Example 1.But all this leaves the New Republic Inc．without a cash cow． (cash cow “large funds generously reimbursed”.)

Example 2.But Wall Street analysts agreed that CBS was unlikely to consider such action，since it amounts to green mail． (Green mail refers "an artifice of making a profit through blackmailing some company ")

Example 3.The radio I bought turned out to be a lemon．(Lemon refers to "the inferior "or "unuseful things ")

Example 4.You do not have your ticket punched for selling medicine． (The wording meaning of "have one’s ticket punched “is” the hole has been hit on ones own ticket ", the expanded meaning refers to "the legitimate qualifications or the right of doing something ").

Example 5.I wanted her to know that many managers nowadays play the army game not only with their business counterparts，but also with their girl employees． (The literal translation of "the army game" is "the army game". This phrase refers to "the fraud or a put-up job")

These metaphors are vivid, graceful with respectively different, full of humor and wit, achieve the humorous effect and make the serious tense commercial activity atmosphere enlivened to create the good commercial activity atmosphere.

5.2 Tactful and fair-sounding connotation effects

In language communication, connotation gives person the aesthetic and pleasant sensation. The precise language sometimes are too straight and easy to affront the other people, if we use the fuzzy language, we actually can avoid or reduce language thrill, it is easy to form the resonance of thought and sentiment to produce the good persuasive effect. Some scholars proposed that, in English language teaching, the pun, the metaphor, the homonym, the homograph and so on may be regarded as the fuzzy words. It is “one kind of the language fuzziness".

Example1.His father is an advertising science specialist. ("the advertisement scientific expert" refers to "the advertisement businessman" i.e. advertiser).

    More examples: street cleaner --sanitation engineer, dishwasher --bubble dancer, policeman --guardian of the law, bootblack --footwear maintenance engineer, farmer --agriculture science specialist

These tactful languages referred to the real work or the things through the fuzzy and exaggerating technique are vivid to enhance the professional rank, to avoid weakening one or others' self-confidence. It has met psychological needs of both sides.

5.3 Vivid and neat aesthetic sense effects

The fuzzy rhetoric can express the aesthetic object image carefully to stimulate the people to savor, to seek and to break a code, thus to make the business language vivid, brief and to the point, concise and comprehensive; to strengthen the mood and the communicate power; to build a kind of vivid beautiful drawing.

 

5.3.1 Parallel structure

Example: Advertising cannot make people buy against their wills. It cannot induce repeated purchases of inferior products. It cannot prolong the life of a product that has outlived its usefulness or which has been outmoded…

Inferior, outlived, outmoded and so on have the fuzzy significance; but the parallelism structure makes the language concise and comprehensive, increases rhythm feeling, and strengthens the English expressive force. Based on the parallel structure, the similar word order, the reader can grasp the information with full self-confidence fast and accurately.

5.3.2 Metaphor

Example: The building site was a beehive，with iron workers still at work on the tenth floor，plumbers installing fixtures on the floors just beneath them，electricians busy on the middle floors ，and carpenters putting the finishing touches on the first floor．

In the commercial English, the metaphor frequently makes the complex theory, the things concise, visualized, thus causes the business language to be bright, brief and to the point.

5.3.3 Simile

Example: Business is like a man rowing a boat upstream. He has on choice；he must go ahead or he will fall down．

Like is a fuzzy word, makes one have the imagination, Compare doing business to rowing a boat upstream. Just like the metaphor, simile makes the implicit business language vivid and easy to understand.

5.3.4 Repetition

Example: Similarly，atoms come and go in a molecule，but the molecule remains；molecules come and go in a cell，but the cell remains；cells come and go in a body，but the body remains ； persons come and go in an organization， but the organization remains．

 Similarly was a fuzzy word, the repetition both strengthened the mood and left the person the deepen impression to some idea to enhance business language expression force.

 Conclusions

The fuzzy language takes full use of the fuzziness of language itself to transmit information. Its indefiniteness through its objective, rigorous way is helpful to enhance communication effect. In the international commercial English teaching, we carry on the English fuzziness analysis, study its practical effect, grasp its expression way in different context, compare similarities and differences with Chinese language, it may make the language learners have a good command of the standard, true to life English, rise to the occasion in each kind of situations, speak correct, tactful, polite and appropriate English.

 In international commercial English reading, writing or the spoken language teaching, if we lead the students to analyze and utilize fuzzy language, we may enhance the efficiency of English study, it is helpful to us to express our thoughts correctly and clearly, to enhance the objectivity and reliability of the language, in turn, the international commercial English teaching also can promote the fuzzy language analysis and judgment, mutually promote the theory research and the practice enhancement of both subject.

 

 

Acknowledgments

My special thanks and gratitude are to my supervisor, LinJing-jing, who is the lecturer in the Foreign Languages Department, for her kindly assistance and valuable suggestions during the process of my thesis writing, for her continuous discussion and encouragement while preparing this thesis and for her reviewing and correcting this thesis manuscript. Her willingness to give her time so generously has been very much appreciated.  I would like to take this chance to express my sincere gratitude to Dr.XiaTing-de, the Professor of Dalian Marine University, for his comments during my thesis writing. I would like to express my gratitude extends to all the teachers who taught me during my undergraduate years for their kind encouragement and patient instructions. I would like to offer my particular thanks to my friends and family, for their encouragement and support during my study, especially to my wife for her support and effort ,and bearing me during the times while I was very busy, and for the completion of this thesis. Last but not the least, many thanks are to all people who I may forget to mention their names.

 

 

 

 

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