淺談英語委婉語的分類構(gòu)成方式及社會功能英語專業(yè)畢業(yè)論文

1、淺談英語委婉語的分類、構(gòu)成方式及社會功能abstract as an indispensable and natural part of english language, english euphemisms have existed for a long time. the appearance of everything, including euphemism, has its reasons. the emergence of english euphemisms has a close relation with language taboos and religion. sinc

2、e english euphemisms play an important role in social communication, they worth careful and thorough study. this paper will mainly deal with the formation, classification and social function of english euphemisms. various methods have been used to form english euphemisms, including phonetic devices,

3、 spelling devices, vocabulary devices, grammatical devices and rhetorical devices. the paper also tries to classify english euphemisms according to the content. english euphemisms are almost employed in all fields of life such as in the field of daily life, in the field of education, in the field of

4、 law, in the field of politics, and in the field of commerce and industry.from the day they came into being, english euphemisms play the role of social lubricator. without them, the world will be full of conflicts and the social order will be in chaos. the function of english euphemisms is diversifi

5、ed. besides evasion, english euphemisms now are also used for politeness, elegance and disguise.key words english euphemism; formation; classification; social function 【摘 要】 委婉語是人類語言中的一種普遍現(xiàn)象，其存在的歷史相當(dāng)悠久。任何事物的出現(xiàn)總有其原因，委婉語當(dāng)然也不例外。委婉語的出現(xiàn)是與語言禁忌息息相關(guān)的。英語委婉語在交際中起著十分重要的作用，因此值得深入的學(xué)習(xí)和研究。本文主要從英語委婉語的構(gòu)成方式、分類和社會功能來進(jìn)

6、行闡述。英語委婉語的構(gòu)成方式多種多樣包括語音手段、語法手段、修辭手段等。論文還試圖根據(jù)英語委婉語的內(nèi)容對其應(yīng)用范圍進(jìn)行歸類。英語委婉語涉及生活的方方面面，既有日常生活中的委婉語又有教育和法律委婉語以及政治委婉語與商業(yè)和工業(yè)領(lǐng)域委婉語。從其誕生之日起，英語委婉語就肩負(fù)著社會潤滑劑這項(xiàng)重任?？梢灶A(yù)見如果沒有委婉語人際交往中將會增加許多摩擦和矛盾。英語委婉語具有多樣化的功能。除了避諱，它還具有禮貌、求雅、掩飾等功能。【關(guān)鍵字】 英語委婉語;構(gòu)成方式;分類;社會功能1. introductioneuphemisms have existed for a long time. the word “eup

7、hemism” comes from the greek word “euphemia”. the prefix “eu-” means “good”, the stem “pheme” means “speech” or “saying”. many people have defined euphemism. here are some of the definitions.(1) “(example of the) use of pleasant, mild or indirect words or phases in place of more accurate or direct o

8、nes.”1(2) “a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone.”2 (3) “a less direct word used instead of one that is harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.”3 (4) “substitution of mild or vague or roundabout exp

9、ression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted.”4(5) “a polite word or expression that people use to talk about something unpleasant or embarrassing, such as death and sex.”5(6) “a euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face

10、: either ones own face or, through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party.”6just as the above definitions state, some harsh, blunt, unpleasant or offensive things in life should not be stated directly and truthfully in certain occasions. under these circumstances, some better-s

11、ounding names should be used. euphemism is a part of human language as well as a psychological and cultural phenomenon of different nations. the usage of english euphemism reflects ethics and behavioral code of people in english-speaking countries. from the day it came into being, euphemism function

12、s as the lubricator of communication. thus it enables people to live in harmony and makes conversations smooth and successful. the following parts hold a discussion on the origin, formation, classification and social function of english euphemisms.2. the origin of english euphemisms“euphemism is the

13、 linguistic reflection of social psychology and a product of social and cultural environment.”7 “in western nations, the usage of euphemisms in early times originated from religion or admires and dread of gods.”8its earlier emergence had a close relation to language taboos and religion.in ancient so

14、ciety, as the level of productivity and science was very low, people failed to explain the essence of some natural phenomena such as lightening and thunder. they came to believe that there were some supernatural powers, or the existence of devils and gods that controlled their lives and even the who

15、le world. they dared not to mention the names of the devils and gods directly, just as the idiom goes “speak of the devil and he appears.” thus, language taboos came into being. to find a solution to this problem, people used other names that is, euphemisms to substitute the names of those things th

16、ey feared in circumstances that they had to speak of them. because of the usage of euphemisms, people felt that they were somewhat distant from what they were afraid of and their safety, happiness, health and good luck were guaranteed. though it is a rather old religious custom, it still exerts a st

17、rong influence on modern western nations.-as we all know, the majority of the population of english-speaking countries believes in god consciously or unconsciously, and they think that god exists everywhere and has unlimited power. words related to god and religion can only be used in religious cere

18、monies. since the name of god is regarded as the avatar of god itself, people usually use “the lord” to replace it. besides, jesus is euphemized as “gee”, “jeepers”, “jiminy”, “cricket” or “criminet”; and “the deuce”, “the dickens” or “old nick” substitutes “the devil”. 3. the formation of english e

19、uphemismsvarious devices are employed to form english euphemisms.3.1 phonetic devicesphonetic distortion is a common means to form english euphemism. for example, people use “gad”, “goodness”, “gosh”, and “golly” to replace “god” and use “cripes” to replace “christ” in order to show respect. assonan

20、ce is another important means to form euphemisms. for example, “ a coffin shop is euphemized as a coffee shop, for coffin and coffee have similarity in sound.”9 rhyming slang is also employed to form english euphemisms. slang is very informal and has local color. it was originally used by working pe

21、ople. now, some slang words have been accepted in standard english and used as euphemisms. for example, “bristol cities” is for “breasts”; “grasp and grunt” is rhyming slang for “cunt” and “tea leaf” is for “thief”.3.2 spelling devices3.2.1 abbreviationssome euphemisms are abbreviations. for example

22、, “vd” is for “venereal disease”; “bo” is for “body odor”; “bm” substitutes “bowel movement”; “wc” substitutes “water closet”; “od” replaces “to take an overdose”, etc.3.2.2 reinterpretation of initialsreinterpretation of initials is also used to form english euphemisms. for example, “hot and cold”

23、is a roundabout expression for “heroin and cocaine”. “hot” and “heroin” have the same initial “h” and “cold” and “cocaine” have the same initial “c”, but “hot and cold” sounds less accurate and indirect.3.3 vocabulary devices 3.3.1loan wordsborrowing is the use of loanwords in order to avoid taboos.

24、 “it is thought that loanwords have few negative meaning and sensitive associations, so that they sound more neutral and pleasant.” 10here is a list of direct expressions and their respective euphemisms.“english french latin smell scentstink odorfat rotundsick/ill indisposed lie prevaricatespit expe

25、ctoratesweat perspire” 11 as we all know, in 43 a.d. roman empire conquered england and brought latin to england and latin became official language in england. after the norman conquest in 1066, french became the governmental language in england. but french and latin were only spoken by the upper cl

26、asses, and among the low classes english was spoken. the upper classes held the view that words used by themselves were superior to those used by the low classes. so they used french or latin words to replace unpleasant english words. later people accepted the view that french and latin words are mo

27、re euphemistic than english words.3.3.2using uplifting wordsuplifting words can make one feel happier or more hopeful so they are used quite frequently in modern english as an important means to euphemize things related to the humble social class. the main purpose of using these euphemisms is to mak

28、e menial jobs sound decent. for example, people replace “waiters” or “waitresses” by “the dining room attendants”, “l(fā)andscape worker” by “l(fā)andscape architect”, “garbage man” by “sanitary engineer”, and substitute “butcher” with “meat technologist”. generally speaking, in forming euphemism the rule o

29、f using words that are easy on the ears is observed for the purpose of consolation. through using uplifting words, the embarrassing facts are embellished and no longer unpleasant.33.3using vague words or expressionsin modern western countries, vague words or expressions are used in almost all the fi

30、elds. “if a neighboring girl has a child before marriage, people will comment like this: she has an accident. the word accident is very vague. if a person came across a disaster and died, people will also use accident to describe his situation. they may say: he has met with an accident.” 12in school

31、 a student may say to a teacher: “sorry! i have to do my business” when he wants to go to the washing room. besides, “a man of bad taste” is called “a man of doubtful taste”; and “homosexual” is replaced by “queer”. “it is no wonder that euphemism is named weasel words.”13 3.3.4 using country namesn

32、ames of some countries are used to substitute uncomfortable things. for example, “dutch courage” replaces “weak courage”, that is, courage that comes from drinking alcohol; and “dutch uncle” is for “unpleasant relative”. we all know that there was a war between britain and dutch in 17th century. fro

33、m then on, hatred existed among people in these two nations. and englishmen used every chance to make joke of dutch. besides dutch, france is also used to form euphemisms like “french novels” for “porn novels” and “french letters” for “condom”. and people use “french devices/methods” or simply “fren

34、chise” to replace methods of birth control. people in britain banter french because they were once ruled by it.-3.4 grammatical devicesmore and more linguists become to notice euphemisms formed through grammatical devices. such euphemisms are used by speakers with a certain purpose. only through the

35、 context, can listeners figure out speakers special intention.3.4.1 using the past tensein written english the past tense is mostly used to express an action or a fact happened in a certain point of time in the past. but in oral english, the past tense can replace the present tense to make the meani

36、ng of the sentences sounds more polite and mild. (1) do you want me to help you? (2) did you want me to help you?(3) i wonder if you can do me a favor. (4) i wondered if you could do me a favor.sentences (1) and (3) use the present tense and sentences (2) and (4) use the past tense, and they are all

37、 grammatically right. but sentences (2) and (4) sound more pleasant, for they mean that what the speakers say happened in the past, so the listeners will not feel embarrassed if they have different answers from the speakers at the time being.(5) wouldnt it be better for us to start off a little earl

38、ier tomorrow?(6) this is something i should advise you not to do.by using the past tense of model auxiliary verbs, the above sentences put forward a polite proposal instead of a harsh one.3.4.2 using the subjunctive moodthe subjunctive mood in english is mainly used to express doubt, wishes, or poss

39、ibility. when used in spoken english, one can achieve a better communication effect than with indicative mood or imperative mood. here are some examples:(7) if i were you, i would not go there.(8) if he be found guilty, his membership would be suspended.(9) it is essential that he recognize his faul

40、t.3.4.3 using the passive voicein english, the passive voice is used to avoid mentioning the doer, especially when expressing criticism. here are two examples:(10) it is generally considered not acceptable to act that way.(11) this book was not well written.in sentence (10), the passive voice is tac

41、tfully used not to indicate who acts that way. in sentence (11), the speaker does not mention who is the writer in order not to hurt the person concerned.3.4.4 using parenthesesparentheses are also used to form euphemisms. and a parenthesis can be a word, a phrase or a sentence, such as, “i think”,

42、“i guess”, “im afraid”, “i suppose”, “i wonder”, “it seems”, and “it is said”. they are used to make a statement less direct or less strong. here are some examples:(12) the man, it seems, is the one who lives next door to tim.(13) this, i think, is a very good way to improve your english study.with

43、“it seems” and “i think” the two sentences sound more modest and less righteous.3.4.5 using “please” out of kindness and politeness, the word “please” is used as a euphemistic device. examples:(14) no photos, please.(15) close the door, please.(16) children, please! i am trying to work.in sentence (

44、14), “please” is employed on a sign to say that something is not allowed politely. sentence (15) uses “please” as a polite way of asking somebody to do something. sentence (16) employs “please” as a mild criticism, to ask somebody to stop behaving badly.3.4.6 using tag questionsa phrase such as “isn

45、t it?”, “wont it”, or “doesnt she” is added to the end of a sentence to make it a question or to ask you to agree with the above statement politely. examples:(17) lets go fishing this afternoon, shall we?(18) turn on the light for me, will you?3.5 rhetorical devicessome euphemisms are invented by rh

46、etorical means as follows.3.5.1 using metaphorin english, many euphemisms themselves are vivid and popular metaphors, so it is necessary to find out what “metaphor” means. a metaphor employs a word or a phrase to indicate something different from the literal meaning. people seldom say “he died” but

47、“he went to sleep forever” or “he went to his long home”. here, “go to sleep forever” and “go to ones long home” are both metaphors and euphemisms. more examples are: (19) he is hamlet.(20) his plan is castle in the air.(21) john is carrying coals to newcastle.sentence (19) means “he is indecisive”,

48、 sentence (20) means “his plan is daydream”, and sentence (21) has the same meaning with “john is wasting time and energy”. euphemisms created by this way also appear in literary works. here is an example: (22)“therefore it is better to be a guest of the law, which though conducted by rules, does no

49、t interfere too with a gentlemans private affairs.”14 in sentence (22), “to be a guest of the law” means to “be in prison”, but the former is a pleasant substitution. soapy would rather spend his winters in prison than get some help from charity organizations, for if he wants to get help from charit

50、ies, his private affairs will be interfered. 3.5.2 using understatementfor the sake of politeness and pleasantness, people often use another formation called understatement, which, is not to state something fully or adequately. understatement, as the word suggests, is “a statement that is not strong

51、 enough to express how good, bad, impressive etc something really is.”15 “understatement achieves its effect of emphasizing a fact by deliberately understating it.” 16“understatement is usually divided into litotes and meiosis. litotes is understatement by using a negative statement instead of a pos

52、itive one”17. examples: (23) she is very ugly. - she is not particularly good-looking. (24) he was quite rich. -he was a man of no mean wealth. in sentence (23), “not particularly good-looking” is more neutral and vague than “ugly”, so the employment of this euphemism successfully avoids annoying th

53、e person concerned. sentence (24) has something to do with personal affairs. westerners dont like others to talk about their private affairs. wealth belongs to ones privacy, so it is more polite to use a roundabout way to talk about it when you have to.“meiosis is merely understatement without the u

54、se of negatives”18. examples: (25) her daughter is in prison. -her daughter lives under the governments expense.(26) i cant promise. -sorry, this is in fact more than i can promise. “prison” in sentence (25) is an unpleasant word. general speaking, people are sensitive to the word “prison” if one is

55、 in prison, you had better avoid mentioning “prison” in front of his relatives. sentence (26) is a refusal. when you refuse someone, indirect words will get a better result, for they will not make him lose face.by using understatements, the speakers do not seem to be so cruel to others whom they spe

56、ak something upsetting to.3.5.3 using metonymymetonymy is another very useful rhetorical means to form english euphemisms. it uses the name of one thing to substitute that of another. by using it, some unpleasant expressions can be avoided. metonymy can be further divided into the following.() subst

57、ituting the typical characteristics of a person for the personfor example,(27) gray hairs should be respected. in the above sentence, “gray hairs” is employed to replace “old people”, for gray hair is one of the typical characteristics of old people. since “old” is a taboo in english-speaking countr

58、ies people express it with euphemistic words. () substituting the whole for the partfor example,(28) she has a good chest .in sentence (28), “chest” means “breast”. people consider “breast” as an ungraceful word, so they use roundabout way to mention it.() substituting the tools for the action or th

59、e thing for example,(29) during the world war hitler attended to carry fire and sword into every part of the world.in sentence (29), “fire and sword” has the same meaning with “war”. in westerners eyes, fire is the symbol of hope and sword is the symbol of justice. as war makes people think of misery, they usually dont mention it directly. here, “fire and sword” is used to crea