Are simple business request letters really simple? A comparison of Chinese and English business request letters

A cross-cultural study of Chinese & English business request letters & of English letters written by native English speakers & Chinese nonnative speakers is aimed at examining the rhetorical differences between them. By using J. Swales's (1981) move structure analysis & William C. Mann & Sandra A. Thompson's (1988) rhetorical structure theory, the comparison between Chinese & English business request letters reveals that they have a rather different rhetorical structure although they share the same communicative purpose of expressing a wish for something. This is attributed to two factors: (1) the inherently different discoursal patterns of the two languages & (2) the different readers' & writers' expectations regarding making a request in the two cultures. In the Chinese letters, a deference face system is predominant, including features such as the inductive introduction of requests (justification + request), an absence of face-threatening moves, & a greater proportion of & flexibility in the use of rapport-building strategies throughout the whole text. In the English letters, a solidarity face system is employed in making business requests, with features such as the deductive introduction of the request, greater emphasis on the ideational content, & frequent occurrence of face-threatening moves. The English request letters by Chinese writers show patterns similar to those found in the Chinese request letters. Move structure analysis & rhetorical structure theory are compared for their relative strengths & weaknesses for textual analysis. 5 Tables, 12 Figures, 34 References. Adapted from the source document