Definition of English Business
1. Business
means buying and selling, and English is the name of our mother tongue.
Business English is obviously such English as is used in mercantile
transactions. Our definition is quickly made.
But it will bear expansion. We must answer certain questions
that inevitably arise. Is some special brand of English used in
business? And how are we to know when we are studying business and when
merely the English of business?
Take the first
of these two questions. There are of course certain words which name
business transactions primarily. Buy, sell, exchange, barter, trade,
purchase, shop, customer, hire, rent, pay, fee, price, retail,
wholesale, lease, mortgage, merchandise, commodity, goods, stock,
office, factory, finance, money, funds, capital, interest, sum, amount, balance,
cash, currency, bill, receipt, note, draft, check, bank, cashier,
bookkeeper, stenographer, clerk - hundreds of words like these will
occur to us at random as being mercantile words in a peculiar sense.
To be sure, they are not all limited to business transactions. Note
the word brand. It is primarily mercantile, naming a particular kind of
goods. But in the second paragraph, above, the phrase "special brand of
English" appears. Here the word is used figuratively. Every business
word can be extended in that way to social or literary use. When we
speak of wholesale slaughter, or of a stock of words, we use commercial
figures of speech, and Americans are exceedingly fond of doing so. You
have heard people speak of a thoroughly posted man, as if a man were a
ledger. You have heard them speak of the balance of the day, as if time
were literally money. You have noticed that an American likes to claim
everything in sight; I mean, he prefers to claim that a thing is so,
rather than assert, declare, contend, allege, maintain, or swear that it
is so.
2.But the strictly commercial words, again, aria not the only ones
employed in business. In addition to such words as are listed above in
our third paragraph, business employs thousands of terms from science
and technology. If a man is buying or selling machinery, he must know
the names of the machines. If it falls to him to buy the parts of them,
he must know the names of the parts. Does business English, then,
include the study of everything that is bought or sold? If it did, it
would include nearly the whole dictionary. Everything is bought or sold,
from surgical instruments to Egyptian mummies. Nothing is exempt but
heaven and love and faith. "Tis only heaven that is given away; Mis only
God may be had for the asking." And there are gloomy times when we feel
that even faith and love are sold.
Quite clearly we are not called upon to master the whole dictionary.
No man's life is long enough for that. So far as special study of words
is concerned, we must limit it to a few which are most commonly employed
in mercantile transactions.
And I fear that even with these we shall not be quite certain what to
do. In our eleventh chapter will be found brief histories of certain
commercial terms. But it is not pretended that knowing the history of a
word will usually be of much practical value to the young man in
business. The word dollar has a curious history, being connected with
our word dale, a valley. A dollar is a dale-coin, a piece of money first
coined in a certain dale, or Thal. But who cares, except the
philologist or the antiquary? "Show me how to get the dollar," says our
business man, "and you bookworms may have the derivation." He feels that
he is quite literary enough if he manages to spell dollar with two
ll's. It bores him to go farther into derivations. And it would be bad
business to urge him to go back far into history when he is interested
only in the burning present and the glowing future.
3. If we pick up any business letter we see at once that the words
it contains are chiefly common words, not especially mercantile. The
technical buying or selling words are present, but they are in the
minority. What makes the letter good or bad is the choice and
arrangement of words to express thought and feeling. It is their
composition, or putting together. And this is really the subject that we
are after. "Business English" in the sense here used is merely short
for "Business English Composition. "
"English," as used in schools and colleges, now means primarily
English composition. It includes also the study of English literature,
but chiefly because a mastery of literature helps the student to a
mastery of writing and speaking. None of us common people ever invents a
word, and the few Edisons are lucky if they add half a dozen to the
language. We go to other people or to books for our words. They are the
great social heritage into which we enter, and literature is the best
place to find them, because there they are alive, each in its context.
The proper study of literature is so practical that I dare not confess
how practical - because some people think it is a matter of pleasure
pure and simple. The words of literature are practical; the setting of
them is practical; the knowledge of life that they give us is practical.
The right sort of business man cannot read Shakspere without getting a
clearer insight into those springs of human emotion which he has to
consider daily. And if this reading makes him better in point of courage
and good cheer and character, why, that is practical too.
But this is not a plea for the study of Shakspere. For all the
illustrative matter used in this book we shall go to business documents
pure and simple. We shall have business narratives, business descriptions, business arguments, business explanations. We are to try to get at the principles of English composition on business topics:
Our purpose is to point out some of the established principles which
govern effective expression. Everybody is ready to admit that the power
of effective expression is a financial asset. It helps the stenographer,
the salesman, the manager, the advertiser, the correspondent. It makes
for more responsible positions and advanced salaries. Good selling-talk
sells goods. Judicious explanations remove difficulties. Persuasive
arguments reach buyers.
Type of English Letter
*Making An Inquiry
Make an inquiry
when you are requesting more information about a product or service.
This type of business letter tends to include specific information such
as product type, as well as asking for further details in the form of
brochures, catalogs, telephone contact, etc. Making inquiries can also
help you keep up on your competition. Use this letter template to ensure
you receive a prompt reply.
*Sales Letters
Sales Letters
are used to introduce new products to new customers and past clients.
It's important to outline an important problem that needs to be solved
and provide the solution in sales letters. This example letter provides
an outline, as well as important phrases to use when sending out a wide
variety of sales letters. Sales letters can be improved through the use
of personalization in some means in order to ensure attention.
*Replying to an Inquiry
Replying to inquiries
are one of the most important business letters that you write.
Successfully replying to an inquiry can help you complete a sale or lead
to new sales. Customers who make inquiries are interested in specific
information, and are excellent business prospects. Learn how to thank
the customers, provide as much information as possible, as well as make a
call to action for a positive outcome.
*Account Terms and Conditions
When a new customer opens an account it is essential to inform them of account terms and conditions.
If you run a small business, it is common to provide these terms and
conditions in the form of a letter. This guide provides a clear example
on which you can base your own business letters providing account terms
and conditions.
*Letters of Acknowledgment
For legal purposes letters of acknowledgment
are often requested. These letters are also referred to as letters of
receipt and tend to be rather formal and short. These two examples
letters will provide you with a template to use in your own work and can
be easily adapted for a number of purposes.
*Placing an Order
As a business person, you will often place an order
- especially if you have a large supply chain for your product. This
example business letter provides an outline to make sure your order
placement is clear so that you receive exactly what you order.
*Making a Claim
Unfortunately, from time to time it is necessary to make a claim against unsatisfactory work.
This example business letter provides a strong example of a claim
letter and includes important phrases to express your dissatisfaction
and future expectations when making a claim.
*Adjusting a Claim
Even the best business may make a mistake from time to time. In this case, you may be called upon to adjust a claim.
This type of business letter provides an example to send to unsatisfied
customers making sure that you address their specific concerns, as well
as retain them as future customers.
*Cover Letters
Cover letters
are extremely important when applying for a new position. Cover letters
should include a short introduction, highlight the most important
information in your resume
and elicit a positive response from your prospective employer. These
two examples of cover letters are part of a larger section on the site
providing all the information you will need on taking an interview in
English during your job search.
ref:
http://www.testden.com/business-english/Chapter-I-Definition-Of-Business-English.html
http://esl.about.com/od/businessenglishwriting/a/Types-Of-Business-Letters.htm
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