We hope to establish a closer relationship between us.
I’m not familiar with this usage of より. I’ve only seen より used to mean “rather than,” but in the sentence it seems to mean “more,” as もっと is used. What are the cases in which より is allowed to be used like this?
@ericaw
より + adjective is a formal version of もっと. And the original Japanese sentence is quite formal due to the humble tone of 私ども instead of 私たち and 願っております instead of ～といいね. Replacing より with もっと in this particular sentence is grammatically understandable, but it makes the whole sentence sound awkward. It’s like “Yo what’s up, your Majesty?” kind of awkwardness in English.
Here are examples in the same より + adjective/adverb pattern:
より高い順位を目指すならば、さらなる練習が必要だ。= You need further training programs in order to achieve a higher rank. ==> (casual) もっと高い順位を目指すなら、さらに練習が必要だね。
価格を引き下げて、より多くのお客様にご来場いただこう。= Shall we lower the price in order to have more customers visiting our shop? ==> (casual) 値段を下げて、もっとたくさんのお客さんに来てもらおうよ。
日本の歴史について、より深く学ぶために来日しました。= I came and stay here in Japan in order to learn more about the history of Japan in depth. ==> (casual) 日本の歴史をもっと知りたいから、日本に来たんだ。