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英语语言学概论论文
论
文
题
目
:
An
Analysis
of
Euphemism
in
English
From
the
Politeness Principle of Pragmatics
Abstract
Euphemism,
cosmetic
words,
is
not
only
a
lingual
phenomenon,
but
also
a
cultural
and social phenomenon. It is like a
mirror, reflecting the values, aesthetic
conceptions and moral
concepts
in
some
extent. Euphemism
plays
an
important
part
in social
communication. It is like lube that avoids hurting
the other party
’
s
feeling.
It
oils
the
human
relationship
in
communication
and
helps
to
save
face
of communicators. If
people make full use of euphemism, it can
accelerate and
facilitate
human
communication.
This
paper
elaborates
on
the
features
and
social
functions of
euphemism. And it focuses on the relationships
between its polite
functions and
Politeness Principle. This thesis is composed of
six parts with
Chapter Four and Five as
its core: The first chapter focuses on the origin
and
definitions
of
euphemism.
The
second
chapter
discusses
the
features
of
euphemism
in
many
ways.
The
third
chapter
talks
about
the
social
functions
of
euphemism
from
the
angle
of
pragmatics.
The
fourth
chapter
forms
the
basis
of
the
whole
research
by
connecting
euphemism
with
politeness
and
face-saving
theory.
The
fifth
chapter
centers on euphemism
and Politeness Principle. The last chapter
concludes the
whole
thesis.
Appropriate
use
of
English
euphemism
can
contribute
a
lot
to
successful message
exchange.
Key Words: euphemism;
social functions; Politeness Principle; face
1
1. Introduction
There
is
a
humor:
Once
a
Paris
tourist
resided
in
UK.
A
landlady
told
him
sadly
that,
“
My
husband
has
just
passed
to
the
other
side.
”
The
guest
looked
from
the
fence
of
the
garden
but
saw
no
one,
feeling
confused.
The
landlady
explained:
“
I
mean he
’
s kicked
the bucket.
”
The guest
comforted her that:
“
I hope
his foot
will
be
better
soon.
”
The
landlady
felt
unintelligibly
and
said:
“
No,
he
wasn
’
t here, he
snuffed it
?
you
know.
”
The guest wondered
and said:
“
But
you
’
ve
got
electricity here.
”
The reasons why the guest
didn
’
t
answer
properly
are
that he
didn
’
t realize
that the landlady used euphemism, nor
did he understand the
“
conversational
implicature
”
of
euphemism. What the landlady wanted to say is that
her husband
word euphemism comes from
the Greek word
“
euphemos
”
, meaning
speech
which
in
turn
is
derived
from
the
Greek
root---
words eu,
word
or
phrase
used
in
place
of
a
religious
word
or
phrase
that
should
not
be
spoken
aloud (Such as
taboo). The primary examples of taboo words
requiring the use of
a euphemism are
the unspeakable names for a deity, such as
Persephone, Hecate,
Nemesis or Yahweh.
By speaking only words favorable to the gods or
spirits, the
speaker attempted to
produce good fortune by remaining in good favor
with them.
“
Euphemism
is
defined
in
the
New
Edition
of
the
Oxford
Concise
Dictionary
(1976)
as
‘
Substitution of mild or
vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct
one;
expression
thus
substituted.
’
IN
Webster
’
s
New
Collegiate
Dictionary
(1973)
the definition reads,
‘
Substitution of an
agreeable or inoffensive expression
for
one that may offend or suggest something
unpleasant.
’”
Euphemism is an important rhetorical means in
English. It plays an important
role in
people
’
s daily
communication. It is not only a cultural
phenomenon, but also
a
social phenomenon. It just likes a mirror,
which
reflects
some social and psychological
phenomena.
2
es of euphemism
2.1 Indirect and implicit
The
most
important
character
of
euphemism
is
indirect
and
implicit.
Euphemism
always gives people hints in a
roundabout way. We can infer the deeper meaning
and intention from the context. For
example, when someone is ill, we always say
he is under the weather. If someone is
mad, we say he is soft in mind.
2.2
Universality
Universality
is
something
that
is
well-known
and
accepted
by
all
of
the
people.
Though euphemism is indirect and it
doesn
’
t come straight to the
point, people
can easily infer its
deeper implication. Some taboos connected with
sex, death,
or body functions are
replaced by euphemisms. And the public has
accepted this
kind of use. For example,
when we refer to death, we seldom say
“
die
”
.
We use
the expression
“
pass
away
”
.
2.3 The
feature of times
The
changes of language depend on the need and changes
of the society. And
euphemism undergoes
a process of metabolism. It bears a marked brand
of times.
For
example,
“‘
She
is
pregnant
’
has
many
different
euphemistic
expressions
in
different eras.
(1) She has canceled all her social
engagements. (1856)
(2) She is in an
interesting condition. (1880)
(3) She
is in a delicate condition. (1895)
(4)
She is knitting little bootees. (1910)
(5) She is in a family way. (1920)
(6) She is expecting. (1935)
(7) She is pregnant.
(1956)
”
But
after 1960s, euphemisms of pregnant develop slowly
because in modern times,
people are not
so implicit. They always mention things directly.
And now, the
phenomenon
of
pregnant
is
a
cheerful
thing.
People
will
not
be
shy
when
mentioning
it.
3
tic functions
of euphemism
3.1 Taboo
function
“
Taboo is the main
psychological basis of the emergence of euphemism.
Euphemism is the avoidance of the
unpleasant, inelegant things. A famous
sociolinguist
Mr.
Chen
Yuan
once
said:
‘
Generally
speaking,
the
coming
into
being
of euphemism all begins from
taboo.
’
From the origin of
euphemism, we can see
that
taboo
is
the
first
function
of
euphemism.
Euphemism
has
been
using
for
a
long
time, and it is closely related to
taboo. In fact, euphemism dates back to the
language
taboo
in
the
early
period
of
human
civilization.
When
people
try
to
avoid
and give up taboo
words, they have to find another word to replace
this vacancy
at the same time. Hence,
people created euphemism.
”
There are some taboo things, such as
birth, death, funeral, sex, nakedness,
defecation, and urinate. If they are
expressed directly, they are called taboo
words and the feelings they give us are
vulgar, crude and harsh, whereas if they
are
expressed
indirectly,
they
are
called
euphemism,
and
the
impressions
they
made
on us
are elegant, implicit and polite. The evading
function of euphemism also
works today.
Some taboo notions cannot be easily removed from
people
’
s mind.
Though science and technology are highly developed
today, the word
“
death
”
is
the
taboo
words
to
all
nations.
Thus
there
are
a
lot
of
euphemisms
related
with
it.
“
Such as pass away, answer
the final call, be asleep in Jesus, be safe in
the arms of Jesus, be at rest, be
called to
God,
be
home and
free, be
in
Abraham
’
s bosom,
cross the River Jordan, final sleep, go home, go
to meet one
’
s maker,
go to one
’
s own
place, join one
’
s ancestors,
join the great majority, return
to
dust, with God, be no
longer with us,
pay the debt
of nature,
tick the bucket,
etc.
”
“
Among
those,
‘
one-way-
ticket
’
is
the
synonym
of
‘
die
’
.
It
reflects
the
speaker
’
s experience of
life. Life is just like travel. People set out to
travel,
but
when
they
arrive
to
the
termination,
they
cannot
go
back.
In
the
past,
people
often
used
graveyard
to
express
the
place
where
the
dead
sleep
peacefully.
But the associations it gives us are
horrified and gloomy. So now, people use
funeral
home
and
memorial
park
to
replace
them.
In
such
a
way,
it
comforts
people.
”
4
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