英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)4.doc

從語(yǔ)用學(xué)的禮貌原則看英語(yǔ)中的委婉語(yǔ)減小字體 增大字體 作者：佚名來(lái)源：不詳發(fā)布時(shí)間：2008-11-22 0:19:01【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 partys 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 want【摘 要】 委婉語(yǔ)是一種語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象，一種文化現(xiàn)象，更是一種社會(huì)現(xiàn)象，在一定程度上， 它反映了社會(huì)的價(jià)值觀，審美觀和美德觀。委婉語(yǔ)在社會(huì)交際中發(fā)揮著重要作用。日常的約定俗成的委婉語(yǔ)能起潤(rùn)滑劑的作用，通過(guò)委婉語(yǔ)，可以避免語(yǔ)言過(guò)于直露而給對(duì)方造成傷害。 它是語(yǔ)言使用中人們用來(lái)協(xié)調(diào)人際關(guān)系的有效潤(rùn)滑劑，是保全交際各方面子的重要手段。很多中外學(xué)者曾從不同的角度對(duì)英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)進(jìn)行了長(zhǎng)期的研究并取得了可喜的成果。本文主要研討了委婉語(yǔ)的特點(diǎn)，社會(huì)功用，并從語(yǔ)用學(xué)的角度分析了委婉語(yǔ)的社會(huì)功用，禮貌原則及面子問(wèn)題。本文分為六個(gè)部分。第四和第五章是文章的重點(diǎn)。第一章主要探討了委婉語(yǔ)的定義及起源。第二章從很多方面概括了委婉語(yǔ)的特點(diǎn)。第三章從語(yǔ)用的角度分析了委婉語(yǔ)的社會(huì)功用。第四章把委婉語(yǔ)與禮貌，面子保全論聯(lián)系在一起，是本文的核心。第五章側(cè)重于委婉語(yǔ)貌與禮貌原則的關(guān)系。本文的實(shí)踐意義在于其分析結(jié)論有助于保證信息傳遞的順利進(jìn)行并促進(jìn)人們的日常交流?！娟P(guān)鍵詞】 委婉語(yǔ)；社會(huì)功用；禮貌原則；面子1. IntroductionThere 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 hes kicked the bucket.” The guest comforted her that: “I hope his foot will be better soon.” The landlady felt unintelligibly and said: “No, he wasnt here, he snuffed it you know.” The guest wondered and said: “But youve got electricity here.”The reasons why the guest didnt answer properly are that he didnt 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 died.The word euphemism comes from the Greek word “euphemos”, meaning auspicious/good/fortunate speech which in turn is derived from the Greek root- words eu, good/well pheme, speech/speaking. The eupheme was originally a 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 Websters New Collegiate Dictionary (1973) the definition reads, Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.”1 Euphemism is an important rhetorical means in English. It plays an important role in peoples 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. Features of euphemism2.1 Indirect and implicitThe 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 UniversalityUniversality is something that is well-known and accepted by all of the people. Though euphemism is indirect and it doesnt 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 timesThe 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)” 2 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. “The word gay, at first, it means happy and homosexuality. But as euphemism develops, the word gay only reminds us the meaning of homosexuality. Thus, people dont use the expression We are young and gay.”3 2.4 Regional featureIn euphemism, there are some regional differences. An Australian woman married to an American man. They spent their honeymoon in America. And one day, the couple intended to go to a party together. But the bridegroom couldnt find a suitable full dress. The bride took out a birthday suit that she gave him as a present few days ago and said: “Why not wear your birthday suit?” However, the whole family all astonished because in American English, “in ones birthday suit” 4 is the euphemistic expression of “naked”. So this embarrassing situation resulted from the regional differences in euphemism. There are two causes of regional differences.First is a regional cultural difference. In different regions, the culture there will effect the development of euphemism. For example, “go to w.c.”. In the Balliol college of Oxford University, students call “go to toilet as to visit Lady Periam”5 because the toilets of that college were built on the land donated by Lady Periam. Of course, Americans will not agree with this expression.“Second is the difference of geographic environment. For example, in seaside, death would be connected with sea and tide. They may use go with the tide to express die. On the contrary, in American west mountain areas, the euphemism for die is (gone) over the range or to cross the Great Divide. These are the typical regional euphemisms.”6 2.5 Diversity of lingual regionSomeone thinks that only upper and middle class use euphemism. But this conclusion is too absolute. We can analyze this in three aspects.2.5.1 Differences of gender or age“A study shows that female use more euphemisms than male do. There is a saying in English: horse sweat; men perspire; young ladies glow. (Brock, 1973:73) Women use obscure word to express the action of sweat. And the difference of gender and age usually influence the choice of the synonyms of euphemism. For instance, there are a variety of expressions about go to toilet. Men use the expression to shoot a lion. Adults may say to go to w.c. And children say to go to the pot.”7 2.5.2 Difference of profession or identityEuphemism changes while the profession and identity change. This is a synchrony variation. The word “die” can be used in many different ways. “In military, people use the expression to lose number of ones mess. This expression orients from the mess system of UK navy. However, in the press, people often use the word thirty because they usually mark 30 in the end of a news article, which means ending.”8 2.5.3 Difference of style or contextStylistically, the word “die” has hundreds of euphemisms. But in daily communication, people may use “to be gone” or “to be no more”. In obituary, people use “to pass away” or “to depart”. It also has some witty expressions, for instance, “to pop off” or “to kick the bucket”.Euphemism is restricted by the context. For example, “On the 14th of March, at a quarter to three in the afternoon, the greatest livi