Abstract: English letters of recommendation as a kind of practical English writing plays an important role in both daily life and business activities, while register theory is one of the important theories of Halliday’s systemic-functional linguistics. Based on Halliday’s register theory, this paper analyzes the language features of English letters of recommendation —— closely related to the theme, having subjective tendency, being brief and vivid —— from field of discourse, tenor of discourse and mode of discourse. This analysis will give us a lot help to well understand and write English letters of recommendation.

Key words: English letters of recommendation; register theory; language features

摘要：英语推荐信作为一种实用英语信函，在日常生活以及商业活动中起到重要作用。语域理论是韩礼德系统功能语言学中的重要理论之一。本文将从韩利德的语域理论出发，从语场、语旨、语式这三个情景因素分析英语推荐信的语言特点——围绕主题、带有主观性、简洁生动。这将对我们读懂英语推荐信以及写好英语推荐信有很大的帮助。

关键词：英语推荐信; 语域理论; 语言特征