Abstract:Implicit negation, also called meaning negation, is a special expression of negation in English. Its main character is “sentences that use a positive form but they are negative in meaning.” In some certain environment, implicit negation can express stronger than those sentences which have negative words, while sometimes more polite, more elegant. 

 As the development of globalization in economic, cross-cultural communication among different countries is being frequent accordingly and Business English plays a significant role as a tool of communication. At present, Business English is a special kind of English in international business activities. It involves a wide range and has particular forms and linguistic phenomenon. Many studies have been made to Business English, but few on negation in Business English. Let alone the implicit negation.

The paper consists of five chapters. Chapter One is the background information part. In Chapter Two, previous studies and related theories are reviewed. Chapter Three explains the expressive ways of implicit negation and the specific speech act from following aspects: vocabulary devices, syntactic devices, rhetorical devices and some special sentence structures. Chapter Four discusses the usage of implicit negation under the atmosphere of Business English. In the last chapter, a final conclusion is made.

Keywords:  negation  implicit negation  Business English

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Background Information-1

1.2 The Framework of the Paper-1

Chapter Two Literature Review-2

2.1 Negation-2

2.1.1 Classification of Negation-2

2.1.2 Negation at Different Levels-2

2.2 Previous Studies on Negation-3

2.3 Implicit Negation-3

2.4 Previous Studies on Implicit Negation-4

Chapter Three Expressive Ways of Implicit Negation and the Specific Speech Act-5

3.1 Vocabulary Devices with Implied Negative Meaning-5

3.1.1 Verb & Verbal Phrase-5

3.1.2 Noun & Noun Phrase-5

3.1.3 Adjective & Adjective Phrase-6

3.1.4 Adverb & Adverb Phrase-6

3.1.5 Preposition & Preposition Phrase-6

3.1.6 Conjunction & Conjunction Phrase-7

3.2 Syntactic Devices with Implied Negative Meaning-7

3.2.1 Exclamatory sentences-7

3.2.2 Rhetorical Questions-7

3.2.3 Imperative Sentences-8

3.2.4 Sentences in Subjunctive Mood-8

3.3 Rhetorical Devices with Implied Negative Meaning-9

3.3.1 Irony-9

3.3.2 Symbolism-10

3.3.3 Metaphor-10

3.3.4 Hyperbole-10

3.3.5 Swearing-11

Chapter Four Implicit Negation in Business English-12

4.1 Vocabulary Devices with Implied Negative Meaning: Idiom-12

4.2 Syntactic Devices with Implied Negative Meaning-13

4.3 Pragmatic Devices with Implied Negative Meaning-14

Chapter Five Conclusion-16

References-17