Communicative interaction of addressant and addressee in the german business correspondence

Abstract

This article analyzes the speech behavior of participants in business communication in German business correspondence, determines the linguistic component of interaction in the mode of polite business communication, considers communicative tactics for implementing the addressee’s intentions, establishes extralinguistic factors that influence the choice of certain communication tactics. Taking into account the specifics of business communication, the customer and the contractor are considered as participants in business communication, who, depending on the situation, can change their roles. As a result of the study of documentary materials on the basis of two types of business communication texts − commercial proposals and reclamations − specific markers of the influence of communicants for the implementation of their communicative intentions were identified. The conducted linguopragmatic analysis made it possible to identify the conditions for maintaining the mode of politeness in the process of communication between the parties to ensure successful communication, as well as to establish potential transformations of the mode of politeness into a mode of conflicting speech behavior, leading to a violation of the positive image of the interlocutor. As a result of the study, it was found that the contractor bears more communication expenditures than the customer, in accordance with the specifics of the relationship, due to the different social roles of the participants in business communication.