a study on some difficulties of translating business corespondence

A study on some difficulties of translating business corespondence
Contents
Page
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Statement of Authorship
Abstract 4
Statement of Authorship 5
Chapter I Introduction 6
1.1. Background to the Study 6
1.2. Organization of the study 7
Chapter II Literature Review 8
2.1. Introduction 8
2.2. Basic theory about business letters 8
2.2.1. The importance of business letters in doing business 9
2.2.2. Definition of a business letter 10
2.2.3. Kinds of business letters 10
2.2.3.1. Social business letters 10
2.2.3.2. Inquiries 13
2.2.3.3. Quotations and offers 13
2.2.3.4. Orders 13
2.2.3.5. Claims 13
2.2.3.6. Letters of Application 14
2.3. Features of a good business letters 14
2.3.1. Giving the letters a professional look 15
2.3.1.1. Paper 16
2.3.1.2. Envelope 16
2.3.1.3. Margins 16
2.3.1.4. Spacing 16
2.3.2. Parts of a business letter 16
2.3.2.1. Letterhead 16

2.3.2.2. Dateline 17
2.3.2.3. Inside address 17
2.3.2.4. Order of inside address 18
2.3.2.5. Punctuation of address 18
2.3.2.6. Salutation 19
2.3.2.7. Content 19
2.3.2.8. Complimentary close 20
2.3.2.9. Signature block 20
2.3.3. Other parts 20
2.3.3.1. Attention line 20
2.3.3.2. References 20
2.3.3.3. P.p 21
2.3.3.4. Enclosures 21
2.3.4. Styles of business letter 21
2.3.4.1. Indented style 21
2.3.4.2. Common expression 21
2.3.5. Useful hints for business letter writing 22
2.3.5.1. Outlining a business letter 22
2.3.5.2. Composing the content 23
2.4. Summary 23
Chapter III Methods and Procedures 24
3.1. Introduction 24
3.2. Subjects 24
3.3. Instrumentation 24
3.4. Procedures 25
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3.4.1. Using correct grammar 26
3.4.2. Power of Lexis 26
3.4.3. Terminology in business correspondence 27

3.4.4. Conveying the writing style 27
Chapter IV Results and Discussion 28
4.1. Introduction 28
4.2. The Findings 28
4.3. Discussion 29
4.3.1. Some difficulties and common mistakes in using correct grammar 29
4.3.2. Power of lexis and Terminology, set expression and using words in
translating business correspondence 33
4.3.2.1. Lexis and Terminology 33
4.3.2.2. Mistakes and difficulties in set expression and using words 39
4.3.2.3. Mistakes and difficulties in using words 42
4.3.3. Difficulties in conveying the original writing styles 48
4.3.3.1. Problems in tone 49
Dear Mr. Jutaporn, 49
Dear Mrs. Jutaporn, 50
4.3.3.2. Using inflated language 50
4.3.3.3. Using negative ideas 51
4.3.3.4. Using impersonal style 52
4.4. Summary 53
Chapter V: Implications, Suggestions 54
and Conclusion 54
5.1. Implications 54
5.1.1. Using correct language 54
5.1.2. Solution to conveying the original writing styles 56
5.2. Suggestions for future research 60
5.3. Conclusion 60
Appendices 63
Letter 1 65
Letter 2 65
Letter 3 66

Letter 4 66
Letter 5 66
Letter 6 67
Letter 7 67
Letter 8 68
Letter 9 69
Letter 10 69
Letter 11 70
Letter 12 71
Letter 13 72
Letter 14 72
Letter 15 73
Letter 16 73
Sample Translation 73
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Acknowledgements
The graduation paper named ”A study on some difficulties in translating
business correspondence” is the biggest scientific research for me during the last
four years. In order to finish it, besides my own efforts, I have a lot of help,
guidance and encouragement from my teachers, my family and my friends.
First, I would like to express all of my in-depth gratitude to my supervisor,
Mr. Hoang Van Hoat, M.A, Lecturer at the English Department for his valuable
instructions and suggestions, careful corrections during the development of my
graduation paper.
Second, I also would like to thank all the teachers of the translation and
intepreting devision, who have taught me during the past time.
I would like to express my thanks to Mr. Nguyen Viet Thang, his
lectures have great impact on me and help me so much in finishing this
dissertation.

Last but not least, we would also like to give my thank to friends for their
constructive opinions so that I could finish this paper in time.
Nguyen Thuy Van - FA10_99 - HUFS

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A study on some difficulties of translating business corespondence
Abstract
This dissertation is divided into 5 chapters. The first part – Introduction refers
to the background to the study, organisation of the study. Chapter two –Literature
review refers to basic theory about business letters: The importance of business letters
in business communication, definition of a business letter; kinds of business letters
and some features of a good business letter and definition which some then be adapted
to translate Business correspondence mentioned in this dissertation. Also, this chapter
is hoped to bring about an overview of Business correspondence. What is a Business
correspondence and its characteristics are mentioned here so that you will have
concrete understanding about a business correspondence. This makes you to find
easier when reading the chapter three.
As the main purpose of this dissertation is to point out some difficulties in
translating Business correspondence, some regular concrete difficulties and their
samples are specially mentioned here. Moreover, popular expressions equivalent
translations, economic terms and international abbreviations are also referred to so
that it is hoped to find out the way to overcome such metioned difficulties.
Chapter Five – Implications, suggestions, and conclusion are some help for
anyone who are interested in this field. The Conclusion will summarize all the
dissertation and some of my personal experience drawn from this dissertation.
It is desired that further research is necessary to find out best methods of
translating of Business correspondence. Yet, it is hoped that this dissertation could
only provide basic ideas of a Business correspondence and difficulties to avoid.
During the dissertation, shortcomings and mistakes are unavoidable. Any correction
and suggestion for further understanding from my teachers, my friends and my

readers, therefore, will be highly appreciated.
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Statement of Authorship
I hereby certify my authority of the thesis sunmitted today entitled:

A study on difficulties in translating of business correspondence
In terms of the statement of requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

Signed…………………………
Nguyen Thuy Van
June, 2003
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Chapter I Introduction
1.1. Background to the Study
If you know English, you can travel everywhere in the world. In fact, that is
completely reasonable because there are over 300 million people speaking English as
their first language, and the same people speak it as a second language. However, no
one can know for sure how many people speak it as a foreign language. English is the
language taught at lots of universities all over the world, the language of international
communication, science, aviation. In particular, it is used as the language of
international business.
Nowadays, due to the internationalization trend of the world economy,
companies not only trade in their countries but also expand their commerce to other
countries. In order to keep in touch with their partners, the best way is to write
business letters. Actually, each country has its language, and English is the mother
tongue in many countries. Therefore, they usually use English in their letters.
During the previous four years, my friends and I have had chances to study
English thoroughly in terms of language practice (i.e. listening, speaking, etc.) as well

as language theory (i.e. grammar, lexicology, discourse analysis and so on). I would
say that English for Business is the subject we are interested in most since it teaches us
some essential jobs such as writing memos, lists, reports, especially letters that are
very helpful if we work for an import - export company in the future.
Nevertheless, writing a business letter in English well is not easy. Realizing
the importance of business letters and the difficulties writers usually meet, I have
decided to choose business letters for graduation paper whose title is some difficulties
in translating business correspondence. When doing my research, I would try my
best suggestions for the fourth-year students and younger students in order that they
would be able to write an effective business letter at work.
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1.2. Organization of the study
The basic structural format of the research study is organized into five chapters,
a list of references, and appendices.
Chapter I includes the background to the study and the organization of the
study. Chapter II presents a review of the related literature. Chapter III details the
methods and procedures used to conduct the study and to collect the data. Results and
discussion appeared in chapter IV. Chapter V includes implications resulting from the
study, suggestion for further research, and conclusion.
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Chapter II Literature Review
2.1. Introduction
People must work to exist and develop. Each person is only able to produce
one or some certain products. However, because of their demand for living, they need
many kinds of products. That is the reason why producers have to exchange their
products with each other. Manufacturing products for sale is called commodity
economy. The commodity economy has promoted the development of labor force and
pushed social labor capacity. In addition, it helps form economy relations, mutual

dependence between producers and establishes domestic and international market.
Certainly, to serve commercial activities, producers as well as traders need to
keep in touch with each other. There are some ways to do that such as making a phone
call, sending a telegram or telex, and meeting face to face, writing business letters. In
face, many people find it difficult to meet or talk with customers, clients, suppliers or
even their employee’s just three floors or one building away. They cannot express
their opinion directly, especially tactful matters. Sometimes their bad behavior can
cause troubles. Meanwhile, a business letter is a well - laid out document including
every necessary information with a formal, polite language, which has been edited
carefully before being sent. Moreover, although we use telephone, telex or have
personal visits, they must be confirmed with a permanent record of what was said, to
whom, by whom, and on what date. All of this can make the letter a powerful medium
of communication.
2.2. Basic theory about business letters
Business letter is a new field to me, but it is important for my future job.
Therefore, I need to study it carefully in an attempt to master some points. These
include basic theory about business letters, features of business letters including
layout, content, language, grammar. Besides, I also want to point out some difficulties
and common mistakes which writers usually cope with and then give suggestions to
overcome difficulties and mistakes. In general, my aim of study is to provide some
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recommendations to avoid common mistakes and overcome some difficulties in
translating business correspondence.
I have read books on business such as The McGraw-Hill handbook of Business
Letters by Poe (1993, p.54), How to Write Effective Business Letters by Coles (1993,
p.69); grammar books like A University Grammar of English by Quirk & Green Baum
(1996, p.110) and many other books relating to what I have mentioned in my paper. I
have also collected a lot of business letters written by my friends and business letters
in Vietnamese. All are the precious documents for my study.

In commercial activities, people can communicate by meeting face-to-face,
making phone calls or writing business letters. Of the three ways, the last seems to be
the most effective because it is a record of what was said, to whom, by whom and on
what date.
There are two kinds of letters including informal and formal letters. Informal
style is for personal letters; formal style is for business letters. Accordingly, within the
restriction of my graduation paper, I choose business letters with formal style as the
subject.
2.2.1. The importance of business letters in doing business
Mill (1993, p.1) states that business letters are little ambassadors that go through
every conner of the present day commercial world. They constitute the biggest source
of active liaison that is necessary for producing business. In the very strict commercial
world that often called “battle field” businesspersons must use many remedies to win
the results while dealing. The remedies may vary due to the fields, the situations, and
even the persons who apply them. They may be difficult or easy, take long or short
time, require training process or not, and be expensive or cheap. There is a very
effective way used by most companies and firms and can never be replaced, that is
writing letter. Realistically, the dollars spent to compose and put a letter in the mail is
fewer than any others are, so does the time. On the contrary, it brings bigger
consideration fruits. So what a business letter can do is to sell the goods, create new
customers, bring back the lost ones, bring good sales-representatives, give an
incentive to the dealers, bring back confidence among suppliers, instill confidence of
buyers, collect bad debts, settle disputes, bring more finance, open new markets, save
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time, dates with a VIP, build a favorable image for companies, and build the nation. It
is right to say that the success of any modern business, largely, depends on the proper
use of business letters.

2.2.2. Definition of a business letter.

No one can deny the fact that business letters are becoming more and more
important in commercial world. Therefore, many economists, specialists in trade field
have studied hard so that they can provide readers all over the world with the
background of business letters as well as the ways to write them best.
In The Language of Business Correspondence in English, Nguyen Trong Dan
(1997, p.9) said: “The business letter is the principal means used by a business firm to
keep in touch with customers; very often it is the only one and customers form their
impression of the firm from the tone and quality of the letters it sends out”.
Business letters may be addressed to a specific individual, but it is likely that many
people within the company and possibly outside the company will read the letter.
Business letters are written on standard - size paper with a matching envelope, they
are typed or printed, and formatted and folded in a convenient way. Most importantly,
the content of a business letter is not about personal matters. It conveys an important,
necessary exchange of information between people in business. (Notes, 1997)
2.2.3. Kinds of business letters
2.2.3.1. Social business letters
This kind of business letter is used at festival time and on such an occasion as
the award of any honour, a promotion, a wedding or a death etc. The aim of the
businesspersons is to send their invitations, good wishes, congratulations, sympathy,
condolences or thanks.
Social business letters do not push up their business immediately but they are
able to build goodwill, which is regarded as an intangible asset in computing the
worth of a business. That goodwill will clients’ belief as well as promote commercial
activities of a firm.
There are four kinds of social business letters.
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a. Letter of invitations
While such events as openings, previews, and demonstrations may be
advertised in newspapers or on handbills, guests may be more carefully selected if

invitations are sent by letter.
Formal events, such as a reception, open house, or formal social gathering,
require formal invitations. These invitations can be engraved or printed, or they can
be handwritten on note-size stationery.
A general invitation should be cordial and sincere; a formal invitation should be less
personal, written in the third person. Either kind of invitation, however, must do three
things:
1) Invite the reader to the gathering
2) Give the date, time, and place of the gathering
3) Offer a reason for the gathering
Invitations are sometimes issued in the indirect form. The writer and the
person invited are both referred to in the third person throughout.
(See sample letter 1 in Appendices)
b. Letter of congratulations
A letter of congratulations builds goodwill by stroking the reader’s ego:
everyone likes to have accomplishments acknowledged.
The occasions for congratulatory messages are numerous: promotions,
appointments, and elections; achievements, awards, and honors; marriages and births;
anniversaries and retirements.
Whether written to a close friend or a distant business associate, any letter of
congratulations must be sincere and enthusiastic. It may be short, but it should contain
personal remark or references.
A letter of congratulations should contain three essential ingredients; it should:
1) Begin with the expression of congratulation;
2) Mention the reason for the congratulation with a personal or informal tone;
3) End with an expression of goodwill (such as praise of confidence never say
“good luck”, which implies chance rather than achievement).
(See sample letter 2 in Appendices)
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c. Letter of thanks
In business, as in the rest of life, it is important to say “thank you”. We have
already seen that letters of appreciation should be sent to new customers upon the
opening of an account or the making of a first purchase. But many other occasions call
for a “thank you” as well; a note of appreciation should always be sent after receiving:
1) gift
2) 2) favors
3) courtesies
4) hospitality
5) donations
A not of thanks should also sent in response to a letter of congratulations.
A thank-you note may be brief, but it must be prompt, for it must, like all social
business letters, sound sincere.
A proper letter of appreciation will contain three key elements: it will:
1) Begin by saying “thank you”
2) Make a sincere personal comment
3) End with a positive and genuine statement
(See sample letter 3 in Appendices)
d. Letter of sympathy
When an acquaintance experiences the death of a loved one, it is proper,
although difficult, to send a message of condolence.
Many people in Western countries opt for commercially printed sympathy cards,
but a specially written note is more personal and genuine.
A message of condolence lets your reader know that you are aware of his personal
grief and wish to lend sympathy and support. The message, therefore, should be
simple, honest, and direct, and it should express sorrow with dignity and respect.
The message of condolence should begin by referring to the situation and the people
involved. This should be bland statement that avoids unpleasant reminders. The note
may use the word death but should not describe the death.
The rest of the note should be brief: an encouraging reference to the future or,

if appropriate, a gesture of goodwill.
Write your letter immediately when you learn the news. Say that you sincerely
feel and express your sympathy in simple words that are warm and convincing.(See
sample letter 4 in Appendices)
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2.2.3.2. Inquiries
If your job is a businessperson, request letters are always necessary because of
your need for information or special favors, services or products. You write an inquiry
since you need to get information of prices or technical data; to receive printed matter
(such as booklets, catalogues etc.) or sample products; to order merchandise; to make
reservations at hotel, restaurants, theaters and so on.
Your inquiries should be specific, brief and reasonable and provide complete,
accurate information so that your requests can be acted promptly. (See sample letter 5
in Appendices)
2.2.3.3. Quotations and offers
a. Quotations
After receiving enquiries for prices, you usually send quotations in which there
is an expression of thank for the enquiry; details of prices, discounts and terms of
payment; a statement of clear indication of what the prices cover (e.g. packing, F.O.B.
etc.); an undertaking as to date of delivery; the period for which the quotation is valid;
an expression of hope that the quotation will be accepted.(See sample letter 6 in
Appendices)
b. Offers
An offer tells your customer whether you can provide the goods or services he
has asked about. It should convey the name of the goods, quality and specification,
quality, price, packing and marking, delivery time, items of payment.(See sample
letter 7 in Appendices)
2.2.3.4. Orders
When you accept a quotation or an order, you need to make orders. The orders

must be complete and accurate in information as incomplete orders can lead to
delayed deliveries, and inaccurate facts can result in the wrong delivery from the
seller. Every order should full details of description, quantities, prices and catalogue
number; your requirement as to delivery place and date, mode of transport; the terms
of payment agreed in preliminary negotiations.(See sample letter 8 in Appendices)
2.2.3.5. Claims
Sometimes the exchange of money, merchandise, or service will not occur as
expected. In that case, the customer needs to inform the company or the organization
of the problem by letter, which is called a complaint. The letter should be as follows:
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+ Begin by regretting the need to complain.
+ Mention the number, the date of the order, the date of the delivery and the
goods complained about.
+ State your reasons for being dissatisfied and ask for an explanation.
+ Refer to the inconvenience caused.
+ Suggest how the matter should be put right.
+ Complaint of inferior quality
(See sample letter 9 in Appendices).
2.2.3.6. Letters of Application
A letter of application is a sales letter in which you are both salesperson and
product. Your purpose is to attract an employer’s attention and convince him/ her to
give you an interview. Therefore, in the letter you should show what you could offer
the employer instead of presenting what you want from the job. Your skills,
personality, qualifications, experience; ambition and enthusiasm should be mentioned.
An application for the post of junior clerk (See sample letter 10 in Appendices).
2.3. Features of a good business letters
Business letter play an important part in commercial activities, and a good
business letter is always necessary. However, many people raise a question what a
good business letter is. “A good business letter is one that obtains the results the letter

hoped for”. (Poe, 1994, p.4). The definition of a good business letter seems simple
and easy to do. Please be careful! You can find it difficult to write a good business
letter because that letter must gain the following standards:
- Using the correct layout.
- Containing necessary information.
- Having no repetition or wordiness.
- Using a formal and polite language.
- Using correctly grammar, punctuation and spelling.(See sample letter 11 in
Appendices).
This letter of application is a good business letter. First, it is laid out correctly.
Second, it has no repetition or wordiness, and its contents presents the good
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qualifications of the candidate, which are suitable for the position of Regional
Manager. Finally, no grammar or punctuation errors can be found.
People learn to write just as they learn how to read, to type and to use computers.
However, just like learning to type, learning to write takes work and practice, Gerfner,
(1991, p.11) confirms:
“One gets better at it the more one write. In addition, at the
progress you get business results that save money, make
money, and help you build your organization to peak
performance. These results may range from the very simple as
a letter that wins as appointment with an important person,
instructions on a major project, which are clearly understood.
They can also collect bad debts, or win back a lost customer,
all the way up to writing a winning proposal for a contract, or
getting the financing you want”.
A letter may be thought of as a substitute for a personal visit. Just about
everybody finds it impossible to meet and talk with every person with whom he/ she
wants to communicate, other friends or relatives in a distant town, fellow employees

just three floors or one building away, or clients and suppliers scattered everywhere.
This fact alone makes the letter a powerful medium of communication in all
occupations.
Being able to write effective business letters enhances your value to your
company, which means faster progess up the promotion ladder, makes new friends
and keep old ones for the company, thereby increasing sales and profits, saves a great
deal of time and effort that saves money.
The emphasis of this paper is on the positive task of how to write an effective
business letter. It covers all parts of the letter from “letter head” to “printed name”
under the signature. The results of this paper are kept nearby to help improve one’s
business letter writing ability.
2.3.1. Giving the letters a professional look
A business letter not only conveys the message that you want to inform your
partner itself, but also stands for your company as a representative. It will tell the
partner about your company, about your attitude. The person who receives the letter
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will highly appreciate your company with a professional looking letter that leads to an
easy-going decision in doing business. The following factors that form the appearance
of your letter as paper, envelope, margins, spacing, have something to say about your
company. A weakness in any of these elements can detract from the effectiveness of
your message, even though it is expertly written.
2.3.1.1. Paper
The quality of the paper reflects the quality of the company and conveys the
importance of the message. It should be plain and unreeled. The most popular color is
white; there are also some firm prefers to use light grey, brown, or blue paper. The
size of the paper is normally 21, 5 x 28 (8, 5 x 11 inches).
2.3.1.2. Envelope
The color, texture, and weight of the envelope should always match the paper
that is normally folded in thirds (bottom up, top over). If the number of papers or

enclosures make normal folding difficult, it is better to use a large one that
accommodate the paper without folding.
2.3.1.3. Margins
There should be at least a one-inch margin at both left and right sides of the
letter. If the content message is short, you can increase the side’s margin to 2 inches or
more. The margins at the top and bottom of the paper are usually at least one and one
half times that so the side margins.
2.3.1.4. Spacing
Most spaces in business letters are single. However, there is one blank line
between the sender’s address and the date line, between the date line and the
recipient’s address, between the recipient’s address and the salutation, between the
salutation and the message, between the paragraphs of the message. The
complimentary close is two spaces below the last lint of the message. Four spaces are
left for the signature.
2.3.2. Parts of a business letter
2.3.2.1. Letterhead
Most large firms have a custom-printed letterhead on the paper. The letterhead
includes name, address, telephone number, and the logo of the company sending the
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letter. An attractive letterhead makes a considerable contribution to the effectiveness
of the letter for its attractiveness that wins the goodwill of the reader.
2.3.2.2. Dateline
The dateline is written below the letterhead or the sender’s address and
separated by a space. The month in the date should not be written in numbers because
they can cause a confusal; for example 11. 6. 2002 means 11
th
June 2002 in the UK
but 6
th

November 2002 in USA, and the month should also not be abbreviated, as it
simply looks untidy. It takes a moment to write the date in full form, but it can take a
lot longer to find a misfield letter that was put in the wrong file because the date was
confusing. “The abbreviations “th”, “nd”, and “st” can be left out and the date
appears 11 June or June 11 instead of 11
th
June. These are the meter of preference,
but whichever you choose you should keep consistent throughout your letter” (Ashley,
1992, p.14).
The date tells you when the letter was written and in some case, this can be your
useful reference.
2.3.2.3. Inside address
Sender’s address
If you compose your letter on a plain sheet of paper (without a letterhead), the
sender’s address is required. The sender’s address is written of the top right hand side
of the page and it does not include the sender’s name before the address because his/
her name is signed at the end of the letter.
Recipient’s address
The recipient’s address is written below the dateline and on the opposite side
of the sender’s.
If you know the surname and the position of the person you are writing to, you
write it on the first line of the address, preceded by a courtesy title and either the
person initial(s) or his/ her first name e.g. Mr. J. Smith, or Mr. John Smith.
Courtesy titles used in the address include:
- Mr. (with or without a full stop, pronounced/ mist /) is usual courtesy title for a
man.
- Mrs. (with or without a full stop, pronounced/ misses/) is used for a married
woman.
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- Miss (with or without a full stop, pronounced/ miss/) is used for an unmarried
woman.
- Ms (with or without a full stop, pronounced/ miss/ or /m s/) is used for both
married and unmarried woman. Many women prefer to be addressed by this
title, and it is a useful form of address when you are not sure of the recipient’s
marital status.
There are also other titles that occasionally used:
- Messrs for two or more men.
- Dr and Prof are academic or medical titles.
- Cap, Maj, Col, or Gen is military titles.
The second line is for his/ her position in the company.
If you do not know the person, you are writing to, you may address it to his/
her position only in the company.
If you do not know the name or the position, your letter may be addressed to a
particular department of the company.
In case you know nothing about the company and do not want to make any
assumption about the person or department your letter should go to, you can address it
to the company itself.
2.3.2.4. Order of inside address
The addresses require a fix order in writing so they do not make the reader
confused. The recipient’s address begins with the recipient’s name on the first line and
his/ her position on the second line.
After these, the order is the same foot both sender and recipient’s addresses
and it are recommended as follows:
- Name of the house or building
- Number of building and name of the street, road, avenue, etc.
- Name of town, city, and postcode.
- Name of country.
2.3.2.5. Punctuation of address
There are two types of punctuation, close punctuation and open punctuation. If

the close one is used, a comma follows each line of the address, except for the last
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line. However, most firms now use the open punctuation, i.e. without any comma for
the convenience of using computer.
2.3.2.6. Salutation
The salutation opens your letter, so it can never be omitted.
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to you can use:
- Dear Sir for a letter written to a man.
- Dear Sirs for a letter written to a company.
- Dear Madam is used to address both single and married woman.
- Dear Sir or Madam is used to address a person of whom you know neither the
name nor sex.
If you know the name of the person, the salutation takes the form of “Dear”
followed by courtesy title and the person’s initial or his / her first name e.g. Mr. J.
Smith or Mr. John Smith.
2.3.2.7. Content
This is the most important part of the letter because it brings the reader all the
information you intend to make.
Opening paragraph
Opening paragraph sets the tone and gives the reader the first impression of
you and your company. In this paragraph, you will thank your correspondence for his/
her letter, introduce yourself and your company, state the subject or set out the
purpose pf the letter, etc.
Main paragraphs
There is probably more than one main paragraph. It depends on the subject of
the letter. A simple subject needs one paragraph e.g. thanking a customer for a cheque,
or a complicated one, e.g. explaining how a group of insurance policy works. The
main paragraph concerns the points that need to be made as answers you wish to give
or questions you want to ask. This cans cary widely with the type of letter that you are

writing. In the paragraph, the points must make clear and in a logical sequence.
Concluding paragraph
When closing the letter, you should thank the person for his/ her writing if
your letter is a reply and if you have not done so at the beginning. Encourage further
inquiries or correspondence and mention that you look forward to hearing from your
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correspondence soon. You also may wish to restate, very briefly, one or two of the
most important points that you have made in the main paragraph of your letter.
2.3.2.8. Complimentary close
This part ends the letter in a polite, formal way. The popular form is “Your
faithfully” for the letter begins with “Dear Sir; Dear Dies; Dear Madam; or Dear Sir
or Madam” and “Your Sincerely” for the letter begins with a personal name as “Dear
Mr. J. Smith; Dear Mrs. C. Turner; Mss. K. Bangor; or Ms. G. Crawford”.
2.3.2.9. Signature block
The signature includes three items:
The signature is hand-written just below the complimentary close. The writer’s
typed name and position in the company follow it. The name can be typed with the
initial(s) or the given name (D. Jenkins or David Jenkins) and accompanied with a
courtesy title (Ms, Mrs, Miss, and Ms). If you do not give the title, your
correspondence will not be able to identify your sex and may give you a wrong title
when replying. It is, therefore, safer to type your title. In fact, including the title in the
signature block is more common among women than among men. It is partly because
many women like to make it clear either they are married (Mrs.) or unmarried (Mss.),
or that their marital status is not relevant (Ms.); and because there is still a tendency to
believe that important positions in a company can only be held by men.
2.3.3. Other parts
A business letter may contain other parts. However, these parts optional, they
also contribute remarkably to the effectiveness of the letter and can be shown as
follow:

2.3.3.1. Attention line
This is an alternative to the recipient’s name and position in the address. When
your letter is addressed to a company or an organization, as a whole, but you want it to
be handled by a specific individual at the company or within the organization, you use
the attention line. It should be underlined and written just below the recipient’s
address.
2.3.3.2. References
This item is divided into “Your ref” (Your reference), which is written before,
to indicate what the letter refers to and “Our ref” (Our reference) to indicate the
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person who creates the letter and his/ her typist by giving their initial letters of their
names separated by a slash.
2.3.3.3. P.p
This term stands for “per pro” and means “for and on behalf of”. Secretaries
use “p.p” when signing letters on behalf of their bosses. “P.p.” is placed before the
boss’s name and separated by a dot.
2.3.3.4. Enclosures
If there are any enclosures, e.g. leaflets, brochures, orders… with the letter the
item “Enc.” or “Encl.” will be written at the bottom of the letter and followed by a list
of mentioned documents.
2.3.4. Styles of business letter
When tearing off the envelope, the reader is impressed by the structure of your
letter first. There are two basic styles of business letter, which are called indented style
and blocked style, and whichever style you choose is a matter of preference. It may
depend on the decision of your firm and your correspondent’s firm if you want to
please him with his familiar style. However, it is the fact that, most firms and
companies prefer using the blocked style.
2.3.4.1. Indented style
When performing your letter on this style, you must indent the beginning of

each paragraph from three to five spaces and the signature block is on the same side
with the recipient’s address and the dateline.
2.3.4.2. Common expression
For the special features of business letter, we often see similar expression in
the opening and concluding paragraphs in different letters. These expressions help the
writers open their letters smoothly so they can keep continuous the rest easier, and end
the letter in an impressive way.
Opening paragraph
- Thank you for your letter (Date) concerning about;
- As requested in your letter of (Date) we are sending you;
- We are happy to supply you with;
- We are very concerned to hear that;
- I would like to know more about;
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- I would be grateful if you could send me;
- We are writing to you concerning;
- Could you please give us a quotation for;
Concluding paragraph
- If there is any thing else we can do, please;
- If you are interested I suggest we could;
- Thank you for taking the time to write;
- Thank you for giving us the chance to explain;
- Thank you for your patience during the delay;
- We appreciate all the help you have given us;
- I look forward to hearing from you.
- I hope to hear from you soon.
- Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
- Assuring you of our best service at all time.
2.3.5. Useful hints for business letter writing

It is a matter of certain that, to have the present appearance business letters
have been changed and improved many times for conveniences of both reader and
writer. Some one who may be very good at English but has never taken a Business
English and has no knowledge or experience in the commercial world can never write
a good business letter. Business letter writing requires certain qualifications. He/ she
must know the form and the features of content of business letters. There are two main
points in writing.
2.3.5.1. Outlining a business letter
Choosing the style of the letter is the first step. You may be required to write in
the style used within your firm or the one that pleases your partner. The next step is
writing addresses. The two addresses must be written in as much detail as possible and
in the correct order. Make sure you use the right recipient; s title in both address and
salutation. Do not abbreviate the date and it is necessary to refer back to the salutation
to choose the correct complementation close. If your letter includes reference, make
sure they are correct. Finally, check the signature block to see whether it tells the
reader about your name, sex, and position clearly.
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2.3.5.2. Composing the content
Your letter should have the right length. There is a question “What is the right
length?” The answer is “as long as necessary” because this depends on the subject and
the situation of the letter (see 2.5.2) you write it. The information should be put in a
logical sequence but organizing your letter before writing. Note everything you want
to inform, and then decide the most appropriate ones in a logical sequence. The
language you use should be simple. The simplicity gives the reader a comfortable
feeling and this may win his/ her attention to your expectation. However, it should be
courteous. A too simple letter may sound rude. Be careful when you use abbreviation,
figures and prepositions. These factors might affect the accuracy of your letter.
2.4. Summary
In this chapter, the writer has mentioned the definitions of a business letter

made by different author so far, the classification as well as the importance of
business letters in the developing world. The overview of literature and the essentials
in writing business letters in the next chapter will serve as a background to writing a
formal letter successfully.
This chapter gives the details of a business letter and the way to perform them
from the letterhead to the signature block as well as the most popular styles of
business letters. It also provides a number of common abbreviations, commercial
terms, and expressions in writing a good business letter.
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Chapter III Methods and Procedures
3.1. Introduction
In the last chapter, I have taken the very first theoretical background items into
account, which may serve as the most important things for any business
correspondence. However, it is impossible for a translator to perfect his/ her work
without practices. Under the light of this statement, the survey questionnaire is
designed in an effort to get information and viewpoints about the difficulties and
necessities of the items occurred in the translation process. Besides, the certain most
possible supposed solutions to each difficulty would be extracted as well. Lastly, this
survey questionnaire will directly help support my graduation paper, namely “A study
on the difficulties in translating business correspondence”.
3.2. Subjects
There are 48 respondents taking part in this study. They include 15
professional translators, 25 non-professionals, and the rest (8 people) fall to the
students who are studying in the field of Hanoi University of foreign studies, the
Division of the Translation and Interpreting.
With an aim of making the survey qualitative rather than quantitative, I have
mainly attributed the questionnaire to the first two groups, which accounts for 83.33%
of the total number of respondents. In which, 29 of them are males, and the females
who are mostly working full time in the translation companies, relevant foreign-

owned companies.
3.3. Instrumentation
The survey is made up based on my own ideas, teacher’s guides and
professional translators’ hints. Some seven questions involving the general
information and specific difficulties as well as supposed solutions to each are raised
and divided into three major components.
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The first component is aimed at finding out the comprehending information
about the respondents by dealing with some main questions. The major contents of
this part are to mention the translator’s gender (male or female); ages (between 20 and
30, 30 and 40, over 40); working status (professional, non – professional and field –
students); duration of working in the field (under 2 years, from 2 to 5 years, from 6 to
10 years and over 10 years); current work (full time or part time); frequency of
working in the field (frequently, not frequently); comparison between translation from
English into Vietnamese and from Vietnamese into English (difficult level – which one
is more difficult); habits when translating business correspondence; importance of
clarifying the Source Language; Characteristics of business language.
In the second part, the levels of difficulties expectedly mentioned in translation
of the business correspondence range from the very difficult, difficult, rather difficult,
not sure and not difficult at all. To have a more thorough understanding about this
part, each item later in this chapter will be explained.
Lastly, the survey questionnaire is devoted to an open question that expects the
respondent to map out the most possible solution to each difficult item. This is also a
rather important part since it could help the paper more objective and diversified in the
source knowledge.
3.4. Procedures
In order to complete my graduation paper, I have used some of the following
methods.
I go to the library to look for books relating to business letters, language in

business letters and essential grammar books. After that, I paraphrase or summarize
what I have read about my subject.
Firstly, I collect business letters in English written by my friends and others to
search for mistakes in terms of layout, language, grammar and give corrections.
Secondly, I always ask my supervisor for advice and discuss what I find
difficult with my friends.
At last, after designing the survey, fifty-five people (55) were asked to fill my
given questions. Because this is a field-survey that needs careful scrutiny, a conferring
period was obviously given. This process lasted for 5 days, and I received 48 feedback
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