商务英语的学科定位及其发展趋势

Business English——Its Disciplinary Position and Prospects

商务英语是一门应用型的边缘交叉学科。它以语言学与应用语言学为理论指导,应用于商务、经贸等领域里,是英语中一种重要的功能变体。它既具有简洁性、固定性、专业性,又有准确性和含糊性的矛盾统一特征。作为专门用途英语的一个重要分支,商务英语在为促进人类的文化交流和各国间的商务往来中,将日渐变得不可缺少。

This paper, based on the analysis of the stylistic features of English for Business （EB） and its status that, is devoted to discussing the position of the discipline and its prospects, in accordance with criteria set for English for Specific Purposes （ESP）. It argues that EB is an applied and cross-disciplinary branch of the linguistic science, focusing on English used in some specific fields such as commerce, trade, etc. EB is an important variety characterized by brevity, stability, preciseness and vagueness. As an important branch in ESP, it has become increasingly indispensable in promotion of cultural communication and business interaction among different cultures and countries in the world.