Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-wzw2p Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-16T23:39:50.544Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The Language Of Business

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 November 2008

Extract

The teaching of the language of business, sometimes also called the “language of commerce” or “administration” (Yates 1977), has the longest history of any specific purpose teaching area; and, in ESP at least, the largest number of textbooks have been produced for business students (Robinson 1980). Yet most seminal research contributions to ESP have been in English for Science and Technology (EST). Due to this phenomenon, Swales (1985) subtitles his ESP retrospective “a source and reference book on the development of English for science and technology.” Earlier well-known collections–e.g., MacKay and Mountford (1978), Trimble, Trimble, and Drobnic (1978), and Selinker, Tarone, and Hanzeli (1981)–provide further evidence for the dominance of EST in teaching and research.

Type
Language and the Professions
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

UNANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Asher, D. A. and Norris, D.. 1982. Characteristics of TV commercials perceived as informative. Journal of advertising research. 22.6170.Google Scholar
Baten, L. and Cornu, A. M.. 1984. Reading strategies for LSP texts: A theoretical outline on the basis of text function, with practical application. In Ulijn, J. M. and Pugh, A. K. (eds.) Reading for professional purposes: Studies and practices in native and foreign languages. London: Heinemann. 190201.Google Scholar
Beedham, C. 1982. The language of management case studies: Discussion. Unpublished manuscript No. ESP 3.1A/12. [Available from the LSU/ESP Collection, Birmingham: University of Aston.]Google Scholar
Benzon, W. 1985. Computing and the future of technical communication. In Moran, M. and Journet, D. (eds.) Research in technical communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 353380.Google Scholar
Berkenkotter, C. 1981. A writer's awareness of audience. College composition and communication. 32.388397.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyle, J. P. 1981. Texts from business journalism for ESP courses in Hong Kong. System. 9.2.99105.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bramki, D. 1983. A study of lexical familiarization in economics texts and an examination of its pedagogic implications for the teaching of reading comprehension. Birmingham: University of Aston. M.A. thesis.Google Scholar
Butler, M. 1986. A reassessment of the case approach: Re-enforcing artifice in business writing courses. The bulletin of the association for business communication. 49.1.47.Google Scholar
Carey, J. 1980. Paralanguage in computer-mediated communication. Proceedings of the association for computational linguistics. 6163.Google Scholar
Carrell, P. L. 1982. Cohesion is not coherence. TESOL quarterly. 16.4.479488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chambers, F. 1980. A re-evaluation of needs analysis in ESP. ESP journal. 1.1.2533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Charles, D. A. 1983. A case study observed. Unpublished manuscript. [Available from the LSU/ESP Collection, Birmingham: University of Aston.]Google Scholar
Charles, D. A.. 1984. The use of case studies in business English. In James, G. (ed.) The ESP classroom: Methodology, materials and expectations. Exeter: University of Exeter.2433.Google Scholar
Cohen, A. D. 1984. The use of mentalistic measures in determining LSP reading problems. In Ulijn, J. M. and Pugh, A. K. (eds.) Reading for professional purposes: Studies and practices in native and foreign languages. London: Heinemann. 177189.Google Scholar
Coleman, H. (ed.) Forthcoming. Working with language: A multidisciplinary consideration of language use in work contexts. The Hague: Mouton.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crandall, J. and Burkhart, G. (eds.) 1984. ESP: Vocational ESL. [Special issue of ESP journal.3.2.]Google Scholar
Document Design Center, n.d. Simply stated. Washington, DC: American Institutes for Research.Google Scholar
Doheny-Farina, S. 1986. Writing in an emerging organization: An ethnographic study. Written communication. 3.2. 158187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doheny-Farina, S. and Odell, L.. 1985. Ethnographic research on writing: Assumptions and methodology. In Odell, L. and Goswami, D. (eds.) Writing in non-academic settings. New York: Guilford Publications. 503535.Google Scholar
Dos Ghali, D. and Tremblay, D.. 1980. Recherche des besoins langagier d'adultes en milieu professionel [Research into adult language needs in a professional context]. Canadian modern language review. 36.3.434443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eble, K. E. and Noonan, J. (eds.) 1980. New directions for teaching and learning. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.Google Scholar
Ede, L. and Lunsford, A.. 1985. Research on co- and group authorship in the professions: A preliminary report. [ERIC # ED 257–086.]Google Scholar
Ehrenreich, S. L. 1981. Query languages: Design recommendations derived from human factors literature. Human fact. 23.709–725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
[Cited in Moran, M. and Journet, D. (eds.) Research in technical communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 171.]Google Scholar
Fearing, B. E. 1985. Oral presentations in business and industry. In Moran, M. and Journet, D. (eds.) Research in technical communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 381406.Google Scholar
Feild, H. S. and Holley, W. H.. 1976. Resume preparation: An empirical study of personnel managers' perceptions. Voc quid quarterly. 24.229236.Google Scholar
Flesch, R. 1979. How to write plain English. New York: Barnes and Noble. [For Reading Ease Test see pp. 2325.]Google Scholar
Flower, L. and Hayes, J.. 1977. Problem-solving strategies and the writing process. College English. 39.449461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuller, S. L. 1984. Schema theory in the representation and analysis of text. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Ph.D. diss. [DA 8500206.]Google Scholar
Gallagher, B. 1979. Vocabulary for writing for business: Six propositions for pedagogical use. Journal of basic writing. Fall/Winter. 4058.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gerot, L. In press. Ideational, interpersonal, and textual macrofunctions applied to lexico-metric work on French business correspondence. In Benson, J. D. and Greaves, W. S. (eds.) Systemic perspectives on discourse. Norwood, NJ: Ablex. [XVI: Selected Applied Papers.]Google Scholar
Gould, J. D. 1980. Experiments in composing letters: Some facts, some myths and some observations. In Gregg, L. W. and Steinberg, E. R. (eds.) Cognitive processes in writing. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. 97128.Google Scholar
Gregg, L. W. and Steinberg, E. R. (eds.) 1980. Cognitive processes in writing. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Halpern, J. and Liggett, S.. 1984. Computers and composing. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Hamouda, M. 1984. A reform of “explication de texte” techniques for EBE students. Birmingham: University of Aston. M.A. thesis.Google Scholar
Haneda, S. and Shima, H.. 1981. Japanese communication behavior as reflected in letter writing. Journal of business communication. 19.1.1932.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hart, M. B. 1979. An experimental study in teaching business communication using two different approaches: Theory and application vs. writing. Journal of business communication. 17.1325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey, A. M. and Sinderman, G.. 1980. Reading strategies for economics and administration. Santiago: Departamento de Economia, Universidad de Chile.Google Scholar
Hiltz, S. R. and Turoff, M.. 1978. The network nation: Human communication via the computer. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.Google Scholar
Holden, S. (eds.) 1977. English for specific purposes. London: Modern English Publications.Google Scholar
How plain English works in business: Twelve case studies, n.d. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. [S/N 003–000–00631–0.]Google Scholar
Irgl, V. 1986. The metaphor in the language of commerce. Unpublished paper presented at the 5th European Symposium on LSP. Leuven, Belgium, July.Google Scholar
Jablin, F. M. and Krone, K.. 1984. Characteristics of rejection letters and their effects on job applicants. Written communication. 1.387406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, A. M. 1980. Cohesion in business discourse: Some contrasts. ESP journal. 1.1.3544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, A. M.. 1981. The ESL student in the business communications class. Journal of business communication.18.3138.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johns, A. M.. 1986a. Some comments on the nature of Chinese ESP coursebooks. In Peterson, P. W. (ed.) ESP in practice: Models and challenges for teachers. Washington, DC: U.S. Information Agency. 8592.Google Scholar
Johns, A. M.. 1986b. Coherence and academic writing: Some definitions and suggestions for teaching. TES0L quarterly. 20.2.247265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kennedy, C. 1986. Formative evaluation as an indicator of student wants and attitudes. ESP journal. 4.2.93100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, K., Enniger, W., and Knapp-Potthof, A. (eds.) 1984. Analyzing intercultural communication. Berlin: n.p.Google Scholar
Kuhn, J. et al. 1981. The demand for foreign languages in selected businesses in Lower Saxony. Incorporated linguist. 20.4.131142.Google Scholar
La Roche, M.G. and Pearson, S. S.. 1985. Rhetoric and rational enterprises: Reassessing discourse in organizations. Written communication. 2.246268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Latorre, G. and Pons, H.. 1986. Pedagogic models of the English complex noun phrase: A comparison between registers. In Peterson, P. W. (ed.) ESP in practice: Models and challenges for teachers. Washington, DC: U.S. Information Agency. 99108.Google Scholar
Le Goff, C.. 1982. Teaching business correspondence. French review. 56.2.241249.Google Scholar
Lewis, P. V. 1983. ABCA research respectability and credibility. Journal of business communication. 20.4.512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacKay, R. and Mountford, A. (eds.) 1978. English for specific purposes. London: Longman.Google Scholar
Mann, W. C. and Moore, J. A.. 1981. Computer generation of paragraph English text. American journal of computational linguistics. 7.1730.Google Scholar
Markee, N. In press. The relevance of socio-political factors to communicative course design. ESP journal. 5.1.Google Scholar
Matsunobu, J. 1983. Discourse and rhetoric in graduate business lectures: A comparative study. Unpublished paper presented at the 17th annual TESOL conference.Toronto, March.Google Scholar
McKeachie, W. J. 1980. Learning cognition and college teaching. In Eble, K. E. and Noonan, J. (eds.) New directions for teaching and learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 5166.Google Scholar
Mead, R. and Henderson, W.. 1983. Conditional form and meaning in economics text. ESP journal. 2.2.139160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mead, R., Sinhaneti, K., and Pas, K.. 1985. Teaching business communication in English. PASAA. 15.1.112. [Thailand].Google Scholar
Moran, M. G. and Journet, D. (eds.) 1985. Research in technical communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.Google Scholar
Moran, M. H. and Moran, M. G.. 1985. Business letters, memoranda and resumes. In Moran, M. G. and Journet, D. (eds.) Research in technical communication. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. 313352.Google Scholar
Munby, J. 1978. Communicative syllabus design. London: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Murray, D. E. 1985. Composition as conversation: The computer terminal as a medium of communication. In Odell, L. and Goswami, D. (eds.) Writing in non-academic settings. New York: Guilford Publications. 203227.Google Scholar
Murray, D. E.. Forthcoming. When the medium determines turns: Turn-taking in computer conversation. In Coleman, H. (ed.) Working with language: A multidisciplinary consideration of language use in work contexts. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Nolan, T. D. 1977. A comparative study of the planning, implementation and evaluation processes of audience-committed non-directed technical writing students. Technical writing teacher. 4.5054.Google Scholar
Norwood, F. W. 1984. The effects of listening and writing skills training on writing performances of business communication students. Dissertation Abstracts 46–04A. 8511760.Google Scholar
Neu, J. 1985. A multivariate linguistic analysis of business negotiations. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Ph.D. diss.Google Scholar
Neu, J.. 1986. American English business negotiations: Training for non-native speakers. ESP journal. 5.1.4157.Google Scholar
Nune, E. 1982. Developing oral proficiency in university students of business administration and economics. Birmingham: University of Aston. M. A. thesis.Google Scholar
Odell, L. and Goswami, D. (eds.) 1985. Writing in nonacademic settings. New York: Guilford Publications.Google Scholar
Opitz, J. 1983. The properties of contractual knowledge: Selected features of English documentary texts in the merchant marine field. Fachspraahe. 4.161170. [Vienna].Google Scholar
Perelman, C. 1982. The realm of rhetoric. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. [Tr. W. Kluback.]Google Scholar
Peterson, P. W. (ed.) 1986. ESP in practice: Models and challenges for teachers. Washington, DC: U.S. Information Agency.Google Scholar
Pindi, M. 1983. Aspects of the discourse structure of company annual reports. Birmingham: University of Aston. M.A. thesis.Google Scholar
Piotrowski, M. 1982. Business as usual: Using the case method to teach ESL. TESOL quarterly. 16.2.229238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pollay, R. W. 1984. 20th century magazine advertising: Determinants of informativeness. Written communication. 1.1.5677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Purves, A. 1980. Putting readers in their places: One alternative to cloning Stanley Fish. College English. 42.228236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pytlik, B. P. 1982. Decision style, purpose of discourse, and direction of communication: The impact of writing styles of selected accountants in a big city accounting firm. Los Angeles: University of Southern California. Ph.D. diss.Google Scholar
Redicker, C.-H. 1982. A new view of business English as cultural studies oriented toward decision-making. Die neueren sprachen. 8.5.452465. [Frankfurt am Main].Google Scholar
Ricciardi, J. and Edwards, G.. 1982. Investigating occupational communication needs in the perspective of communicative performance testing. TESL talk. 13.1.5574. [Toronto].Google Scholar
Richterich, R. and Chancerel, J. L.. 1978. Identifying needs of adults learning a foreign language. Strasbourg: Council for Cultural Cooperation of the Council of Europe.Google Scholar
Robinson, R. 1980. ESP: English for specific purposes. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Sacks, H., Schegloff, E. A., and Jefferson, G.. 1974. A simplest systematics for the organization of turn-taking for conversation. Language. 50.4. 696735.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, M. 1981. Needs assessment in English for specific purposes: A case study. In Selinker, L., Tarone, E., and Hanzeli, V. (eds.) English for academic and technical purposes: Studies in honor of Louis Trimble. Rowley, MA: Newbury House. 199210.Google Scholar
Selinker, L., Tarone, E., and Hanzeli, V. (eds.) 1981. English for academic and technical purposes: Studies in honor of Louis Trimble. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.Google Scholar
Sinclair, J. M. and Coulthard, R. M.. 1975. Towards an analysis of discourse. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sinhaneti, K. 1984. Suggested sources and activity types for teaching English in a business setting.Unpublished paper presented at the Eastern Michigan University Conference on Foreign Languages for Business and the Professions.Dearborn.Google Scholar
Stalpers, J. 1984. The use of ALORS in French-Dutch negotiations: Differences in the presentation of argument. In Knapp, K., Enniger, W., and Knapp Potthof, A. (eds.) Analyzing intercultural communication. Berlin: n.p.Google Scholar
Stalpers, J. and Ulijn, J. M.. 1984. Theme transition in technical commercial negotiations. Unpublished paper presented at AILA, Brussels, 510 August.Google Scholar
Stein, N. L. In press. Knowledge and process in the acquisition of writing skills. Review of research in education: Special issue on writing. Washington, DC: American Educational Research.Google Scholar
Strevens, P. 1977. Special-purpose language learning: A perspective: Survey article. Language teaching and linguistics: Abstracts. 10.3.215229.Google Scholar
Swales, J. 1985. Episodes in ESP: A source and reference book on the development of English for science and technology. Oxford: Pergamon.Google Scholar
Swales, J. and Mustafa, H. (eds.) 1984. English for specific purposes in the Arab world. Birmingham: LSU/University of Aston.Google Scholar
Swarts, H., Flower, L., and Hayes, J.. 1980. How reading in documents can mislead readers. Technical Report No. 9. Document Design Project NIE-400-78-0043.Google Scholar
Tadros, A. A. 1984. Prediction as an aspect of the structuring of didactic text and its implications for teaching reading and writing. In Swales, J. and Mustafa, H. (eds.) English for specific purposes in the Arab world. Birmingham: LSU/University of Aston. 5267.Google Scholar
Tadros, A. A.. 1985. Prediction in text. Birmingham: University of Birmingham, English Language Research Unit.Google Scholar
Tarone, E. et al. 1981. On the use of the passive in two astrophysics journal papers. ESP journal. 1.2.123140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, M. E. 1984. Questions in business studies examinations and the applications of them as course material. Birmingham: University of Aston. M.A. thesis.Google Scholar
Tebeaux, E. 1982. Getting more mileage out of audience analysis: A basic approach. Journal of technical written communication. 12.1524.Google Scholar
Tebeaux, E.. 1985. Redesigning professional writing courses to meet the communicative needs of writers in business and industry. College composition and communication. 36.4.419428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trimble, M. T. and Trimble, L.. 1978. The development of EFL materials for occupational English. In Trimble, M. T., Trimble, L., and Drobnic, K. (eds.) English for specific purposes: Science and technology. Corvallis, OR: ELI/Oregon State University. 74132.Google Scholar
Trimble, M. T. and Drobnic, K. (eds.) 1978. English for specific purposes: Science and technology. Corvallis, OR: ELI/Oregon State University.Google Scholar
Ulijn, J. M. 1984. Reading for professional purposes: Psycholingulstic evidence in a cross-linguistic perspective. In Ulijn, J. M. and Pugh, A. K. (eds.) Reading for professional purposes: Studies and practices in native and foreign languages. London: Heinemann. 6681.Google Scholar
Ulijn, J. M. and Gorter, T. J.. Forthcoming. Language, culture and technicalcommercial negotiating: An inquiry among Dutch industries. In Coleman, H. (ed.) Working with language: A multidisciplinary consideration of language use in work contexts. The Hague: Mouton.Google Scholar
Ulijn, J. M. and Pugh, A. K. (eds.) 1984. Reading for professional purposes: Studies and practices in native and foreign languages. London: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Yates, S. 1977. Commercial English: Some notes. In Holden, S. (ed.) English for specific purposes. London: Modern English Publications. 6566.Google Scholar
Weeks, F. W. and Hatch, R. A.. 1977. Business writing case and problems. Champaign, IL: Stipes Publishing.Google Scholar
West, L. 1984. Needs assessment in occupation-specific VESL or how to decide what to teach. ESP journal. 3.2.143152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zak, H. and Dudley-Evans, T.. 1986. Features of word omission and abbreviation in telexes. ESP journal. 5.1.5971.Google Scholar