Evaluation in Written and Spoken Business Discourse: Integrating Research into Teaching

This article focuses on research into evaluation in business discourse and how insights gained by examining authentic data can be incorporated into intercultural business communication training. It uses data extracts drawn from several studies by the author and a study co-authored by the author to illustrate the importance and the functions of evaluation in written and spoken business communication. Extracts from transcripts of spoken interactions come from business meetings organized by an Italian company for its international distributors from 12-14 countries and from a winery visit in Italy involving wine producers from Italy and California. Written texts investigated include brochures and website texts in English for wineries; and CEO letters accompanying the annual reports of securities brokerage firms in the U.S. The examples, which include occurrences of implicit and explicit positive evaluation, negative evaluation and indications of relevance, are analyzed and discussed. Giving attention to such uses of evaluation in authentic business discourse can enhance teaching and increase awareness of the kinds of linguistic strategies that can contribute to successful communication in multilingual and multicultural settings.