genre analysis of enquiry business emails in english as an international language

This study examined the generic and linguistic features of enquiry-based business emails exchanged between an iranian shipping company and its international business partners, using english as a lingua franca (elf). the data for this study comprised 300 emails exchanged between the iranian company and its partners from japan, south korea, and china. drawing on a combination of santos’s (2002) and mehrpour and mehrzad’s (2013) models of genre analysis, the research investigated the structural and linguistic characteristics of these emails. the findings revealed the presence of four primary moves: establishing the negotiation chain, providing information, requesting action, and concluding the email. notably, several modifications to the generic structure were identified, reflecting significant flexibility in move ordering. this adaptability underscores the importance of practicality and efficiency in international business communication. additionally, the study highlights the frequent use of imperative structures, unconventional abbreviations, and acronyms, which are influenced by cultural and contextual factors. these findings enhance our understanding of how elf functions in professional settings and provide valuable insights for english for specific purposes (esp) learners and instructors.