A Comparative Study of Interactive and Interactional Metadiscourse Markers in Sales Contract Written by English Natives vs. Iranian Non-natives

As English develops its role as an international language, the importance of the use of English in business communication increases worldwide. Metadiscourse markers play an important role in developing a well-structured, highly communicative professional correspondence. This study investigated two major types of metadiscourse markers (interactive and interactional) as used in a typical international business correspondence, namely sales contracts, written by English natives and Iranian non-natives. In so doing, 60 sales contracts were selected, 30 written by native English and 30 by Iranian non-natives. Based on Hyland and Tse’s (2004) taxonomy, the contracts were codified and classified in terms of the frequency and percentage of the interactive and interactional metadiscourse markers found. The results revealed that Iranian non-natives used more interactive metadiscourse markers in their international sales contracts while natives used more interactional metadiscourse markers. The latter also used more hedges in their sales contracts compared to non-natives. The findings of the study might help Iranian ESP students and teachers in writing appropriate English international business correspondence. It could also help syllabus designers develop more appropriate syllabi for ESP courses.