Politeness principle in the translation of business letters

Abstract

As the primary form of business communication, business letters play an indispensable role in business activities and contribute considerably to the rapid development of international trade and business. Therefore, the translation of business letters seems critical to the successful communication. Business letters are very formal writing and they observe politeness principle strictly in order to maintain and enhance a good rapport with business partners. So the translation of them needs to consider both English and Chinese politeness principles, which are compared in this paper and politeness equivalence in translation is proposed. Some translating methods are suggested as well. © 2011 ACADEMY PUBLISHER Manufactured in Finland.