英语语言学论文

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.

”

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