THE NATURE OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

BUSINESS ENGLISH is the kind of English used in conducting business or in buying and selling
activities. Its extensive use in commercial transactions leads to the accumulation of its own
business terms which the other fields of knowledge may sometimes borrow. This proves that
Business English is not exclusive or snobbishly aloof language. It exists as the same kind of
language used in other aspect of life. It is not any specialized or particular language intended
only for people involved in business.
Business English is INFORMATIVE, AFFECTIVE, ADAPTIVE,& DERIVATIVE.

INFORMATIVE
- It uses words that can always point to actual objects or events referred to. This is
possible through its use of simple and specific terms. That give a clear relation between
the word and its referent. A denotation that results in the creation of an extra or one
and only one meaning of the term. Getting of information will be very easy if the word
gives only one meaning rather than multiple meanings that cause ambiguous sentences.
However, the meaning of the word does not come only from its relation to the feelings
of the sender and receiver.

AFFECTIVE
- The use of negative, positive, prejudicial, and figurative language that connotes personal
meanings or expresses emotions. In its attempt to create beautiful feelings, its uses
positive, original, vivid, and concrete words instead of negative, cliché, stereotyped, and
abstract terms.

ADAPTIVE
- Is the You Attitude principle in business writing. The You Attitude means that the writer
has to adapt the language of this letter as well as the other aspects of it to the nature of
the reader – his intelligence, education, and other socio-cultural factors affecting the life
of the reader.
DERIVATIVE
- The structural makeup of the language. The simplicity, conciseness, wordiness, or
redundancy of the structures greatly affect the derivation of meanings. It is necessary
that the letter uses simple, concise, direct, and active structures to help the reader get
the meaning or message of the letter easily.

THE 8 C’s OF BUSINESS LETTER

The business letter is the most widely or commonly used form of external written
communication. With the various intentions a business correspondent has in business letter,
one finds difficulty in giving a precise definition of a business letter. There is no specific meaning
because it serves many purposes. It seeks to explain, to sell, to introduce, to apologize, to
invite, to refuse, to promise, to complain, and to organize. However, despite of uncertainty in
meaning. It is easier to give judgment on it. You can easily determine whether it is good or bad
letter or it has been written well or poorly. The yardstick you can use in judging the quality of a
letter is the 8C’s or eight characteristics of a business letter, namely CLEARNESS, COURTESY,
CHEERFULNESS, CONSIDERATION, CHARACTER, CONCISENESS, CORRECTNESS, and
CONCRETENESS. To be effective, every letter regardless of its purpose must have all these
qualities.

CLARITY
- What is the main idea of the letter? Does the letter clearly convey the message? These
are the questions you may ask to test the clearness of a business letter. If at the time of
writing your mind is cluttered or is not properly set on the act of writing, you can never
produce a clear letter because clear writing results from clear thinking. Unclear letters
create doubts or confusion in the mind of the reader, enough to delay him from acting
favorably on your letter. The use of precise, concrete, familiar words, and the
construction of effective sentences and paragraphs are the best ways of achieving clarity

CONCISENESS
- The meaningfulness of a letter depends greatly on the relationships of a words in the
letter. Hence, employing too many words to show structural relationship that determine
 meaning formation delays thinking and decision making. A concise message is complete
without being wordy. It saves time, effort, space on the part of the writer. Time is gold is
a favorite line of businessmen, thus, conciseness is very much needed in the busy world
of buyers and sellers. To achieve conciseness, you have to eliminate wordy expressions,
avoid unnecessary repetitions, and include only relevant matter.

CONSIDERATION
- The You-viewpoint, which means looking at the situation from the standpoint of the
reader, is what consideration means. It makes you adopt an attitude of mind that
focuses on the reader’s abilities, interests, likes, and dislikes – an approach that
emphasizes the You as it deemphasizes the I and We. What are highlighted in the letter
are those about the reader – the benefits and the advantages he can get by entering
into a business transaction. This thoughtful consideration serving as the foundation of
goodwill and the means of influencing people is called empathy, human touch, and
understanding of human nature.

COURTESY
- Is an attitude of the mind that cultivates goodwill and friendliness. It requires the use of
polite expressions, such as please, thank you, kindly, would you, could you, that shows
the writer’s sincerity, tactfulness, thoughtfulness, gratefulness, and respect towards the
reader.

CONCRETENESS
- The only way by which you can create a clear and convincing picture of what you are
selling through a letter is the use of descriptive or mental pictures about the product.
Through words the reader can form images. Hence, rich imagination results from rich
sensory experiences and words create beautiful images. These are those that appeal to
the reader’s senses. General, vague, and abstract terms that exist only in the mind do
not activate the senses. To produce an alive, active, and real letter capable of eliciting
instant decisions from the reader, use concrete, vivid, specific, and other image-
building words.

CHEERFULNESS
 - A letter with a positive expressions will elicit favorable responses from the reader. Its
easier to motivate the reader to act on the message of the letter if the words are
capable of cheering up and showing willingness to serve.

CORRECTNESS
- This refers to the right level of the language – formal or informal – the accuracy of the
figures, facts, grammar, spelling, punctuation marks and the layout of the letter.

CHARACTER
- A letter written through the writer’s own style of expression, not by his act of
borrowing, reflects the writer’s strength and confidence.

THE 8 PARTS OF BUSINESS LETTER

The normal business letter has eight parts. In the order of their appearance from top to bottom,
these are Letterhead, Date line, Inside Address, Salutation, Body, Closing or complimentary
close, Signature Line, and Notations.
1. LETTERHEAD – is found at the uppermost part of the letter. This part of the letter gives the
following principal information: full name, full address, telephone number, and the nature of
the business of the company sending the letter. The secondary information are: names of one
or more officers, telex number, logo and corporate subsidiaries.
2. DATE LINE – is typed two or four spaces below the letterhead. There are two ways of writing
the date, the American way ( May 2, 1999) and the British way (2 May 1999).
3. INSIDE ADDRESS – this third part of the letter is written four to eight spaces between the
Date Line on the left margin. The address of the recipient is written here.
4. SALUTATION – written in the left margin, two to four spaces bellow the Inside address. In
most business letters, the Salutation is followed by a colon (:); in informal or friendly letter, by a
comma (,). Use of correct title is important.
5. BODY – begins two spaces below the salutation, double spacing. It is in this part where you
may convey all the messages you want your reader to understand.
6. CLOSING or COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE – it is typed 2 to 4 spaces below the body. Only the
first word shoul be capitalized
7. SIGNATURE LINE – the typewritten signature is typed four spaces below the complementary
close.
8. NOTATIONS – these are the initials of the writer or dictator and the typist or transcribers.
Usually the senders initial are capitalized and the typist are in lower case.
LANGUAGE FOCUS: Use of punctuation marks:
Period, Commas, Colon, & Capital letters

Punctuation: Period (.)

We use period to mark the end of a sentence:
We went to France last summer. 
We were really surprised that it was so easy to travel on the motorways.

In addition to closing sentences, we also use period in initials for personal names:
G. W. Dwyer
David A. Johnston, Accountant
Full stops are also used after abbreviations, although this practice is becoming less common:

Arr. (arrival
etc. (etcetera)
)

Dr. (doctor) Prof. (professor)

Punctuation: commas (,)

We use commas to separate a list of similar words or phrases.
it’s important to write in clear, simple, accurate words.
They were more friendly, more talkative, more open than last time we met them.

Punctuation: colons (:) and semi-colons (;)

We use colons to introduce lists:
There are three main reasons for the success of the government: economic, social and political.
We also use colons to indicate a subtitle or to indicate a subdivision of a topic:
Life in Provence: A Personal View
We often use colons to introduce direct speech:
Then he said: ‘I really cannot help you in any way.’
We commonly use a colon between sentences when the second sentence explains or justifies
the first sentence:
Try to keep your flat clean and tidy: it will sell more easily.
We use semi-colons instead of full stops to separate two main clauses. In such cases, the
clauses are related in meaning but are separated grammatically:
Spanish is spoken throughout South America; in Brazil the main language is Portuguese.

Punctuation: capital letters (B, D)

We use capital letters to mark the beginning of a sentence.
We went to France last summer. We were really surprised that it was so easy to travel on the
motorways.
The Football World Cup takes place every four years. The next World Cup will be held in South
Africa. In 2006 it was held in Germany.

We also use capital letters at the beginning of proper nouns. Proper nouns include personal
names (including titles before names), nationalities and languages, days of the week and
months of the year, public holidays as well as geographical places:
Dr David James is the consultant at Leeds City Hospital.
They are planning a long holiday in New Zealand.
Can she speak Japanese?
The next meeting of the group will take place on Thursday.
What plans do you have for Chinese New Year?
We use capital letters for the titles of books, magazines and newspapers, plays and music:
‘Oliver’ is a musical based on the novel ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens.
The Straits Times is a daily English language newspaper in Singapore.
 Golden Heritage Polytechnic College
Vamenta boulevard, Carmen, Cagayan de Oro City

BUSINESS ENGLISH
CORRESPONDENCE
ENGLISH 4
(SEMI FINAL COVERAGE)

Submitted by:
ESPINA, CATHYRINA NIÑA L.
BSOA-3B
Submitted to:

Ms. Illuminada Manginsay

Instructor
 A.
Lessons
learned about
business
letter-writing
 B.
Academic
Reports