中文摘要：商务英语信函在国际商务活动中一直起着非常重要的作用。随着传真和互联网技术的普及，以前通过传统邮件、电报进行的商务交流正日益被传真和电子邮件所取代，因此商务英语信函正经历着一次复兴。 

首先，商务英语信函具有独特的词汇特征。由于商务英语信函涉及的专业领域很广，相关的专业词汇或术语不可避免地频繁出现。除此之外，当今的商务英语信函更倾向使用通俗易懂的词汇和一些缩略语。同时，具有积极意义的词汇出现的频率也大大高于消极意义的词汇。其次，在句法方面，用以陈述事实和表达观点的陈述句占据主要的地位，而着重表现个人强烈情感的感叹句则很少出现。最后，本文还探讨了商务英语信函的篇章特点，主要包括使用简明扼要的主题栏以引起读者的注意，使用短小的段落，并注意段落之间的衔接和连贯。称呼语大多釆用半正式的形式，以便与对方建立亲切友好的关系。

真诚希望本人的努力能对那些同样对商务英语信函感兴趣的人有所启示，并希望共同探讨商务英语信函的语言特征及写作技巧问题。

关键词：商务英语信函；词汇特征；句法特征；篇章特征

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

I Introduction-1

II The Survey of Business English Letters-2

2.1 The Definition of Business Letters-2

2.2 The Classifications of Business Letters-2

2.3 The Elements of Business Letters-3

2.4 The Layout of Business Letters-4

2.5 The Opening and Closing Sentences Commonly Used in Business Letters-4

2.6 The Functions of Business Letters-5

III The Features of Business Letters-6

3.1 The Lexical Features of Business Letters-6

3.1.1 The Choice of Common or Familiar Words-6

3.1.2 The Proper Use of Technical Terms or Specialized Vocabulary-6

3.1.3 The Frequent Use of Abbreviations-7

3.1.4 The Preference of Positive Words and Negative Words-9

3.2 The Syntactic Features of Business Letters-10

3.2.1 The Use of Declarative Sentences and Imperative Sentences-10

3.2.2 The Use of Simple Sentences and Complex Sentences-10

3.2.3 The Use of Incomplete Sentences-11

3.3 The Textual Features of Business Letters-12

3.3.1 The Simple and Straight Forward Subject Headings-12

3.3.2 The Semi-formal Salutation-13

3.3.3 The Paragraph Organization-13

3.3.4 The Cohesive Properties-14

3.3.5 The Use of Lists and Tables-15

Conclusion-16

References-18

Acknowledgement-19