Abstract: With the development of foreign trade, business English letters is playing a more and more important role in business communication and can even influence the result of communication. After in-depth research, scholars have come up with the economy principle of language, which provides a brand-new perspective and theoretical support for optimal distribution in language. Taking business English letters as research objects, this thesis explores the embodiment of the economy principle in business English letter writing and the linguistic features of business English letters. It further analyzes how business letters can achieve the maximum utility of language with least efforts by optimizing language distributions, to help the readers have a better command of the applications of the economy principle in business English letters.

Key words: business English letters; the economy principle; optimal distribution; linguistic features

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1The Background of the Study-1

1.2The Significance of the Study-1

1.3The Structure of the Study-2

2. Literature Review-2

2.1 A General Introduction of Business English Letters-2

2.2 An Overview of the Economy Principle in Language-4

3. Principles of Language Distribution in the Economy principle-6

3.1 Principle of General Equilibrium-7

3.2 Principle of Common Presupposition-8

3.3 Principle of Closeness Preference-9

3.4 Principle of Conformity to Public-10

3.5 Principle of Secondary Position of Aesthetic Motivation-10

4. Linguistic Features of Business Letters under the Economy Principle-10

4.1 The Use of Effective Vocabulary-11

4.2 The Use of Polite Expressions-15

5. Conclusion-19

References-21