【英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)用功能探究（英語(yǔ)）（論文）】

英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)用功能研究摘要長(zhǎng)期以來(lái)，委婉語(yǔ)作為一種特殊的語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象長(zhǎng)期存在與人們的語(yǔ)言交流之中。同時(shí)也充當(dāng)著“潤(rùn)滑劑”的角色，使那些能夠引起人不安、恐懼的詞轉(zhuǎn)換為一些較有禮貌的詞或表達(dá)從而構(gòu)建和諧的人際關(guān)系。從古至今，有許多語(yǔ)言學(xué)家和研究者都從不同的角度以及方面對(duì)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行研究，主要集中在委婉語(yǔ)的定義、構(gòu)成、發(fā)展歷史、目的以及作用來(lái)進(jìn)行分析。為了揭示委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)言特征，本文從語(yǔ)言學(xué)、語(yǔ)用學(xué)、合作原則、禮貌原則等角度全面闡述了英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)用功能。論文首先從委婉語(yǔ)的概念入手,概括了國(guó)內(nèi)外學(xué)者對(duì)委婉語(yǔ)的研究現(xiàn)狀，追溯了委婉語(yǔ)的發(fā)展，強(qiáng)調(diào)了委婉語(yǔ)是經(jīng)過(guò)不斷地時(shí)代更新?lián)Q代而產(chǎn)生的一種語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象。其次，分析了委婉語(yǔ)的分類以及不同種類的委婉語(yǔ)的適用范圍，其中重點(diǎn)論述了英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的合作原則和禮貌原則，強(qiáng)調(diào)了合作原則和禮貌原則的重要性以及英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)用目的。最后，論文分別從禁忌、諷刺、禮貌和掩飾等四個(gè)方面探討了英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的語(yǔ)用功能?？傊?，英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)不僅僅是一種語(yǔ)言現(xiàn)象，更多的是一種修辭和交際策略。英語(yǔ)委婉語(yǔ)的研究有助于我們更好地理解中西方文化差異，更進(jìn)一步理解英美國(guó)家民族心理特征，進(jìn)一步實(shí)現(xiàn)和諧跨文化交際。

關(guān)鍵詞:委婉語(yǔ)；掩飾功能；禮貌功能；語(yǔ)言形式；語(yǔ)用功能AbstractForalongtime,euphemismasaspeciallanguagephenomenonhaslongexistedinlanguagecommunicationwithpeople.Italsoactsasa"lubricant",allowingwordsthatcancausediscomfortandfeartobeconvertedintomorepolitewordsorexpressionstobuildaharmoniousinterpersonalrelationship.Sinceancienttimes,manylinguistsandresearchershavestudiedthelinguisticphenomenonofeuphemismfromdifferentperspectivesandaspects,mainlyfocusingontheanalysisofthedefinition,composition,developmenthistory,purposeandfunctionofeuphemism.Inordertorevealthelinguisticfeaturesofeuphemism,thispapercomprehensivelyexpoundsthepragmaticfunctionsofEnglisheuphemismfromtheperspectivesoflinguistics,pragmatics,cooperativeprinciplesandpolitenessprinciples.Thepaperbeginswiththeconceptofeuphemism,outlinesthecurrentstateofresearchoneuphemismsbyscholarsathomeandabroad,tracesthedevelopmentofeuphemisms,andemphasisesthateuphemismsarealinguisticphenomenonthathasemergedthroughconstantchangeovertime.Secondly,itanalysestheclassificationofeuphemismsandthescopeofapplicationofdifferenttypesofeuphemisms,withemphasisontheprinciplesofcooperationandpolitenessinEnglisheuphemisms,stressingtheimportanceoftheprinciplesofcooperationandpolitenessandthepragmaticpurposesofEnglisheuphemisms.Finally,thethesisdiscussesthepragmaticfunctionsofEnglisheuphemismsfromfouraspects,namelytaboo,irony,politenessandcover-up.Inconclusion,Englisheuphemismisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenon,butalsoarhetoricalandcommunicativestrategy.ThestudyofEnglisheuphemismshelpsustobetterunderstandtheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheWest,tofurtherunderstandthenationalpsychologicalcharacteristicsofBritishandAmericancountries,andtofurtherrealiseharmoniousinterculturalcommunication.Keywords:euphemism;coveringupfunction;politenessfunction;linguisticform;pragmaticfunctionContentsTOC\o"1-3"\h\uI.Introduction IntroductionAsweallknow,Euphemismisanusuallinguisticphenomenonthatexistsindifferentcultures.Itispresentinsociallifeallthetime.Atthesametime,itstronglyreflectscurrentculturalandsocialvalues.Inotherwords,itisalinguisticallybasedculturalphenomenon.English-Chineseeuphemismshaveundergonechangesintimeandcultureasanintegralpartoflanguage.Euphemismsthatoriginatedfromtaboosalsoreflectstrongculturalmotivesandreveal,toacertainextent,thevaluesysteminEnglishculture.Tabooandeuphemismaretwocloselyrelatedculturalandlinguisticphenomenainhumansociety,andtabooisoneofthesourcesofeuphemism.ThenameoftabooiscitedfromtheTonganlanguageinthegeneralsenseofaprohibitionagainstusing,referringtoorassociatingwithaparticularobject,actorperson.ThewordtaboowasintroducedintotheEnglishlanguageinthe18thcenturywhenCaptainJamesCookobservedsomestrangesocialphenomenaduringavisittotheislandsoftheSouthPacific.Taboooriginallyhadareligiousconnotation,butinsociolinguisticsitmeanstheprohibitionofanyactthatusesaspecificwordorphrase.Thesubstitutionofnon-forbiddenwordsfortheselexicalitemsiscalledaeuphemism.Tosumup,theuseofeuphemismsisveryimportantinsocialcommunicationwithothersineverydaylife.Ifeuphemismsareusedwiselyandfunctioneffectively,Ibelievetheycouldplayanimportantroleinourlife.ToreallymasterEnglisheuphemismsandusethemfreely,youshouldreadawiderangeofEnglishworks,constantlyexpandyourculturalhorizons,enhanceyourreadingcomprehension,payattentiontoaccumulatingrhetoricalknowledgeandimproveyourrhetoricalliteracy.Inreading,learntorecognizeeuphemismsandunderstandtheirtruemeaningareimportant.LiteratureReview2.1DomesticResearchChinesescholarsfirstbegantostudyeuphemismsintheSpringandAutumnPeriod.Foralongtimeinthe1970sandbeyond,Chineseresearchersstudiedeuphemismsmainlyfromarhetoricalperspective,representedbyChenWangdao,whopublishedSociolinguisticsin1983andstudiedeuphemismsindepthfromasociologicalperspective.Later,morescholarspublishedpapersontheformationorcharacteristicsofEnglisheuphemism,suchasAaronYu,JiangXihe,LiGuonan,etc.In1989,WuTiePing'spaperfirstproposedafeatureofeuphemisms-ambiguity-basedonthetheoryofambiguity.In1992,FanJiacaipublishedAnAppreciationofModernEnglishRhetoric,acomprehensiveaccountoftheformation,characteristics,structureandroleofeuphemisms.In1994,LiuChunbaopublishedADictionaryofEnglishEuphemisms.Intermsofthefunctionofeuphemisms,notmanyscholarshadtouchedonthisarea,buttherewasstillaconstantstreamofscholarswhocontinuedtostudythefield.In1989,ChenSongchangdividedthefunctionsofeuphemismsintothreecategories:alleviatingthepsychologicalpainofthelistenerbyindirectlyexpressingthespeaker'sdiscontentanddisgust:avoidingstrongpublicreactions,especiallyinpoliticalstruggles:providingmoretimeforthespeakertofindabettersolutiontohisorherproblem.In1993,KongQingchengpublishedaresearchreportonthesocialpragmaticfunctionofeuphemisms.Inhisresearchresults,hedividedeuphemismsintofourcategories:replacingtaboowords,talkingaboutsensitivetopics,expressingtactfully,andbelatlingoneselftoshowrespectandmodesty.Wecanlearnthatthesetworesearchershavedonealotofinvestigationandresearchontheroleofeuphemisms,butwehavetoadmitthattheirresearchresultsarenotverysystematicandcomprehensive,andatthesametimetheyaresomewhatone-sided.Theydidn'ttalkaboutwhyweuseeuphemismsandtheeuphemismstheydotalkaboutaretooone-sided.2.2AbroadResearchEuphemismsarewidelyusedinhumancommunication,andtheyrangefromawordandaphrasetoasentence,adiscourse,andevenabodylanguage.EuphemismsareanintegralandnaturalpartoftheEnglishlanguageandacommonlinguisticphenomenonwhenusedasanimportantmeansofharmonyinginterpersonalrelationships.Meanwhile,itisacomplexlinguisticphenomenoninvolvingmanyaspectssuchashistory,culture,ethnicity,gender,psychology,contextandpurpose.Asaresult,scholarsaroundtheworldhavetakenakeeninterestinit.Euphemismshavealonghistory.TheEnglishwriterGeorgeBront?coinedtheterm'euphemism'inthesixteenthcentury,definingeuphemismamonghispublishedremarksas'agoodorfavourableinterpretationofabadword'(Shuttingfang,1995).Therearemanyotherscholarswhohavealsocontributedgreatlytothestudyofeuphemisms,suchasMenken,BolingerNeamanandSilver.ThefamousscholarMenken(1936)madeasignificantcontributiontothestudyofeuphemismsbydocumentinginconsiderabledetailtheconditionsunderwhichvariouseuphemismsariseandhowtheydeveloped.TheBritishscholarSirJamesGeorgeFrasertookanearlyinterestineuphemismsandconductedacorrespondingsystematicstudyinhisresearchprocess.Therearefourchaptersdevotedtothestudyofforbiddenwords,actions,thingsandnamesinSirFraser'sbookTheGoldenBough-AStudyinMagicandReligion(1991).Notonlyisthebookamonumentalstudyinfolklore,magicandreligion,butitdemonstratesthesuperstitionsandtaboosofearlyandChristianculturesthathadatremendousimpactonpsychologyandlinguistics,andremainsaclassicsourceforearlyanthropology,providinglinguistswithmorevaliddata.In1981,theBritishlinguistHughRawsoncompiledaDictionaryofEuphemismsandOtherPuns.ThisdictionaryreflectstheachievementsofBritishandAmericanlinguistsinthestudyofeuphemisms.Itsprefacereviewsthehistoryofeuphemismresearchandprovidesanextensiveandvaluablediscussionofmanyissuessuchasthedefinition,classification,scope,characteristics,anddomainofeuphemisms.ShuDingfangconsideredthisbooktobeahighlyvaluableworkoneuphemismsandgaveithighmarks.Shecalleditthebestworkontheinterpretationofeuphemisms.In1983,AmericanscholarsNeimanandSlivepublishedadictionary,WindyWords-ATreasuryofEuphemisms,inwhichtheauthorsprovidedadetaileddescriptionoftheorigin,history,developmentandtransmutationofeuphemisms.1985,DJ.EnrighteditedFairnessinSpeech:TheUseofEuphemisms.1991,AllanandBurridgepublishedEuphemismandDysphemism.JohnEtopublishedEuphemismsin1993,abookthatdiscussesmethodsandstrategiesforusingeuphemisms.Otherscholarshavesincestudiedeuphemisms,butallhavefocusedonthecategorisation,formationandcollectionofeuphemismsratherthanthefunctionoftheiruse.2.3TheDefinitionofEnglishEuphemismNowadaysdifferentscholarshavedifferentdefinitionsofeuphemismindifferentbooksandpapers,andthereisnogeneralagreementonthedefinitionofeuphemism.Atthesametimethefollowingaresomeofthedefinitionsthathavesomeinfluenceinthecommunity.(1)Amorepolite,euphemisticorvaguelyuncleartermusedtoavoiddirectstatementsthatleadtounsuccessful,rigidorembarrassingrealities.(2)Amildorvagueeuphemismforanunpleasantfact,inlieuofdirectprecision.(3)Aeuphemismforavoidingthenegativefacethatisabouttoarisebysubstitutinganexpressionofdislike:eitherforone'sownfaceortooffendthelistenerorsomethirdparty.(4)Agentleorambiguousexpressionusedasanalternativetoonethatisperceivedastooharshordirect.(5)Agentlerormoresubtleexpressionisusedinplaceofthepreviousharsherandmoredirectone.(6)Toreplaceamorepreciseordirectwordorphrasewithapleasant,mildorindirectwordorphrase.Althoughtheseeuphemismshaveavarietyofdefinitions,theysharedthebasicconceptthateuphemismwasagentle,euphemisticandmorepolitewayofexpressingtheunpleasantthingsinlife.Inoureverydaycommunicationitcanmakethingsthatsoundunpleasantbetterandmorecomfortable;itcanalsoensurethatbothpartiescansavefaceandcomforteachother'sexistence.Inthenarrowersenseofthewordeuphemisminourcognitivesystem,itincludesonlyeuphemismsandphrases.Insteaditreferstowordsthatseemtohavebecomeconventionalandacceptedbythemajorityofpeopleafterbeingusedinagivensocietysometimes.Forexample,weareusedto'deceased'beingusedasamoreeuphemisticexpressionfor'death'.Euphemismsinabroadsensecancoveralleuphemisticexpressions-phrases,sentences,discourseandevennon-verbalexpressions.2.4TheChangeandDevelopmentofEuphemismAllthingschangeovertime,andlanguageisnoexception.Althoughthechangemayseemsmallandslow.Whenwelookatthewrittenrecordofthelanguage,wearelikelytonoticewhathasactuallyhappened.IfwedothisforalongtimeafterthebirthofEnglish,wewillfindthatEnglisheuphemismsarequitedifferentindifferenthistoricalperiods.TaboosandeuphemismshavetheiroriginsintheNormanConquestof1066.TheSaxoneraisknowntohavebeenagoldenageoflinguisticfreedomandasourceofnon-euphemisticnomenclature.Atthattime,theNormansreducedordinarylanguagetovulgarityandharshness.TheupperclassesthenbegantousewordsofLatinoriginthatwereelegantandpolite.TheAnglo-Saxonswerealsoverycarefulnottooffendpolitical,orreligiousleaders,ordeities.Forexample,dieanddeatharesynonymouswith'ealdor-gedal':bothliterallymean'toseparatefromlife'andtendtobeeuphemisms(Burchfield,1985:21).Inthefourteenthcenturywordsrelatedtosexbegantoevolveintoexpressionsthatcouldnotbesaiddirectly.Forexample,peopleneverusetheworddirectly,buttheyusesynonymsorotherwordstoexpresstheword.Chaucer'susesuggeststhatthislinguistictendencytowardeuphemismwaspopularinShakespeare'stime.WilliamShakespearewasagreatEnglishplaywrightandpoet.Hismasterworkwasconcentratedinthelate16thandearly17thcenturies,whenhecontinuedtouseblatantlyrepeatedsexualpunsandinnuendoineverydramaticspeechandsonnet.ndeed,atthattime,religioustaboosweremuchmoreinfluentialthansexualtaboos.Mostofthebodilyfunctionsofeverydaylifewerestillplainlyspokenofinapracticalandsimpleway.Atthesametime,theupperclassesweredevelopingandperfectingtheirelaboratecourtlylanguage,whichwascharacterizedbycircuitousnessandmagnification.Whenthecourtlanguagegraduallyformedacertainscalesystem,theAmericanlinguistJohnLeighnamedthecourtlanguageeuphemism,andusedthiskindofeuphemisminhissatiricalworks.InthenintheditionofWebster'sNewUniversityDictionary,euphemismisexplainedas"anelegantElizabethan,alinguisticphenomenonoftenusedinlinguisticcommunication,ametaphordrawnfrommythandsociety;Anelegantartificiallanguage".GeorgeBlunt,anotherwell-knownscholarandauthor,mentionedandexplainedeuphemisminhisliterarywork,definingitas"agoodoradvantageousinterpretationofabadword".Euphemismdiffersfromeuphemisminitsliteralmeaning,butinfacttheybothdescribethingsinanindirectandeuphemisticwayofspeaking.The17thcenturywasthemostprosperousperiodofgovernmentruleandpoliticalandeconomicdevelopment.Althoughtheupperclassesofthetimeconsideredeuphemismscreativeandevenracistbecauseoftheiruseofeuphemisms,themiddleclassesremainedconservativeandavoideddirectmentionoftopicssuchassex,taboos,deathandexcretionalfunctions.DuringthereignofKingJamesIofEngland,anactwassignedimposingafineof12dinarsonblasphemerswhowereinterruptedanddesecratedattheircoronationin1603byagroupofmiddle-classpetitioners.Asaresult,hebecamethefirstBritishmonarchinhistorytoorderafinetobeimposedonthosewhotooktheoath.However,aftertherestorationofthemonarchyinEnglandin1660,Puritanismdeclinedsharplyandwentonadownwardtrend.Varioustaboolanguagesorcustomswereabandoned,liberalismprevailedunprecedentfully,andrestrictionsonopentaboolanguageswererelaxed.Butthepoliticallanguageofthetimewasstillsomewhatlimited.Inthe18thcentury,theEnglishproposedtheimportanceofbeingreservedandpoliteinverbalconversation.Bythemiddleofthe18thcentury,euphemismwasgraduallyacceptedbythepublicandwidelyused.WiththeemergenceofNeoclassicism,societydevelopedanumberofmoremedical,implicitandpoliteexpressionsoflifeandthehumanbody.Inordernottooffendothers,gentlemenusedmoreeuphemisticLatintermsforpoliteexpression.TheroundaboutexpressionformofLatinlanguagebecameapopulartrendinthesocietyatthattime,whichmadethestyleofeuphemismmoreperfect.TheEnglishpoetandsatiristAlexanderPope(1688-1744),forexample,referredtofishas"shoals"andscissorsas"tinyengines"and"sharpfoxes".Bythelatenineteenthcentury,theformationofvocabularyandeuphemismwasgraduallyperfectedamongthepopulace.Theslangtheyusedplayedapowerfulandimportantroleintheperfectionofeuphemisminthelaterperiod.Forexample,thievesandcriminalshidetheirillegaltransactionsbyusinginternaltermsinthelanguage.Asaresult,thelowerclassescreatedanincentivetocreateaninternallanguagetoconcealtheirshadydealings.Ontheotherhandmotivatedbytheproletarianrevolution,themiddleclassspeakersusedhundredsofwordstomakethemavoidtopicssuchasmoney,sex,andlabor.IntheVictorianera,themoralethicsofsocietybecamemoreconservativeandpeopleweremoreconcernedwithmorality,reputation,refinementandaestheticsensibilities.Inthattraditionalsociety,ethicswerefirmlyestablished.Therefore,theincreaseorevenspreadoftaboowordsandeuphemismsdirectlyreflectedthesocialethosatthattime.2.5TheCategoriesofEuphemism2.5.1TheTraditionalEuphemismCloselyassociatedwithtaboowords,traditionaleuphemismornegativeeuphemismwascalled.Suchasbirth,oldage,illness,death,sex,excretionandothertaboothings,ifdirectlyexpressedistaboowords,oftengivepeopleavulgar,rude,bluntsense.However,ifweuseeuphemisminstead,itwillmakepeoplefeelimplicit,pleasantandeasytoaccept,suchas‘menstruation’iscalled‘inherperiod’.Bastardswerecalled‘illegitimatechildren’or‘lovechildren’,anddeathwaseuphemisticallyreferredto‘a(chǎn)spassaway’.2.5.2TheStylisticEuphemismStylisticeuphemismorpositiveeuphemismisacomplimentorcomplimentinessence,whichisawayofexpressingpoliteness,avoidingconflictandsatisfyingpeople'spsychologicalneeds.ThiseuphemismisnowpopularinEuropeandtheUnitedStates,whererubbishcollectorsarecalled"sanitationengineers"andbarbersbecome"hairstylists."IthasbecomeaspecialtoolforBritishandAmericanpoliticianstowinpublicopinion,rulingtheclassbycoveringupthingsanddeceivingvoters.Itwascloselyrelatedtothepoliticalcultureofthesocietyatthattime.Strikes,forexample,arecalledindustrialactionbytherulingclass,whileanadmissionofdefeatisdefinedasan"admissionofvictory".2.5.3TheExaggeratedEuphemismExaggeratedeuphemismisactuallyontheuseofeuphemismwordhyperbole.Itcouldmakewordssoundelegant,gentlethantherealthingstheyrepresent.Thisexaggeratedeuphemismisactuallyequivalenttostylisticeuphemism.Forexample,occupationalexaggerationandflatteringnames:hairdresseriscalledbeautician;cobberiscalledshoe-rebuilder;invasionmeansinvolvement,etc.2.5.4TheUnderstatedEuphemismUnderstatedeuphemismplaystheroleofreducingcontraction,thatis,trytochangetabooordifficultwordsintosimpleeuphemism,butdonotoverstatethemdirectly.TheUsageofEuphemismsanditsPurposes3.1TheUsageofEuphemismsinCooperativePrincipeandPolitenessPrinciple3.1.1EuphemismsinCooperativePrincipeTheprincipleofcooperationwasdevelopedbyPaulGrice,whofocusedonthephilosophicalaspectsoflanguage.Hearguedthatparticipantsshouldprovidesufficientrelevantinformationandspeakinaclear,conciseandorderlymanner.Onthisbasis,thesubjectoftheconversationshouldalsointerpretwhattheotherpersonsays,whichGricedividedintofourcategoriesthatechoKant'sprinciplesofquantity,quality,relationandmanner.Afterhehaspresentedthesefourcategories,hefurtherproposed'markers'toguidetheconversationbetweenspeakerandlistener,whichtheyeitherfollowedordidnot.Theguidelinesforquantity(a)Correspondingtheamountofinformationweprovidetotheamountofinformationneededforthepurposeofthecurrentcommunicationtobeachieved.(b)Don'tmaketheamountofinformationyouprovidemoreinformativethanitneedstobe.(ii)Qualityisofparamountimportance：Qualityguidelinesrequirethecommunicatortosaywhatistrue,especiallynotwhatyouthinkiswrong,norwhatyoulacksufficientevidence.(a)Don'tsaythethingsthatyouthinkiswrong.(b)Don'tsaythingsforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.(c)Guidelinesforrelationship:makeyourcontributionrelevant.(iii)Guidelinesforattitude(a)Avoidobscureexpressions(b)Avoidvagueness(c)Beconcise(avoidunnecessarylength)(d)Beorganised(fromGrice,1975:4-46)Inshort,thesemaximsactasaninterpretativetoolthatpeoplecanusetocommunicateinthemosteffective,rationalandcooperativewaypossible.Toachievethis,peopleshouldcommunicateinasincereandclearwayofspeaking,whichprovidessufficientinformation.3.1.2EuphemismsinPolitenessPrincipleIntermsofpolitenessprinciple,wecanexpressitintwoways:thefirstistoimplicateimpoliteness,andthesecondistoexaggeratetheexpressionofpolitenessbelief.Becausethedegreeofpolitenessprincipleinvolvesrelationshipfriendly,talkingandtalkingtogetherobjectsareusedtoconstitutethemainbodyofthepolitenessprinciple,intheprocessofconversation,usuallybythetalkingobjectsubjectthemselvesandtalkingtogether,thespeakerandthelistenerpositiononaposition,butalsocanbeusedintheabsenceorpresenceofathirdparty.Inthiscase,thefamousscholarLech(1983:132)putforwardthepolitenessprinciple.ItinvolveswhatLechcallstherelationshipbetweenthemselvesandtheotherparticipants.Thesixcategoriesare:decency,generosity,praise,modesty,consistency,andcompassion.Accordingtoeachheadlineandsubrule,thepolitenessofthepeopleyoucommunicatewithisthekeytothepolitenessrule,notthedegreeofpolitenesstothespeakeritself.Inconversationalcommunication,thesubjectofspeechoftenstrivesmoreforothers'intereststhanforhisown.Sothattheotherfeelsrespected.Inheterosexualrelationshipsbothpartiestoaconversationaremoreconcernedwiththeirmannerismsduetopsychologicalandphysicalfactors.Menaretryingtobegentlemanlyandwomenaretryingtobeladylike,sobothpartiesfocusoneuphemismstoshowtheirtasteandgrooming.However,insame-sexrelationshipsbothpartiestendnottouseeuphemismswhenitcomestobodyparts,physiologicalphenomena,etc.Ofcourse,thepolitenessprinciplediscussedaboveisnottheabsoluteprincipleinlifecommunication.Itisnecessarytoconsiderwhatprinciplesofpolitenessorsocio-culturalnormspeopleobserveinaspeechcommunityandwhatverbalmeanstheychoosetoexpressthem.Lech(1983:107-127)establishedsomepragmatichierarchiestomeasurethecostorbenefitoftheproposedbehaviourtotheaudience,inordertomeasurethedegreeofpolitenessusedinspeechacts.(1)Forexample：Enjoyyourleisuretime.Haveanotherhamburger？Theabovesentencesgraduallychangefrombeingcostlytobenefitingthelistener,sothattheywouldbemorepolitetothelistener.(2)Ascaleofoptionalityonwhichspeechactsareorderedaccordingtothespeakerallowsthelistenerasmuchchoiceastheywant.Forexamplea.Willyoubeabletofinishyourassignmenttomorrow?b.Areyoulikelytocompleteyourtasktomorrow?Theabovesentencesshowthatthechangeinselectivityhasgraduallychangedfromrelativelyimpolitetomorepolite.(3)Onanindirectdimensionallevel,fromthespeaker'sperspective,speechactsareorderedaccordingtothelengthofthelinkbetweenthespeechactanditsverbalpower.Fromthelistener'spointofview,speechactsareorderedaccordingtothelengthofthereasoningresponsearc.Andthe'power'inthislanguageprocesscomesfromthespeechact.Forexamplea.Wouldyouanswerthephone?b.Doyoumindansweringthephone?Intheexamplesentence,their"force"performancegraduallybecomesmoreindirect,soitbecomesmorepolitebecausetheproposedactionisthepriceoftheaudience.(4)TheAuthorityandEquivalenceScale,ortheSocialDistanceScale.ItisbasedonthedistinctionbetweenpoweranduniformitymadebyBrownandGilman(1960)intheirfamousstudyofpersonalpronounce.Ontheonehand,itmeasuresthesocialdistancebetweenparticipants'powerandauthority;3.2ThePurposeofUsingEuphemisms3.2.1IneffablePurposeManycountriesavoidunluckynumbersordatesthattheydon'tlike.Therefore,euphemismscanbeusedtoavoidthesebadwordsbyusinganotherlinguisticexpressioninEnglishcommunicationandthusplayataboorole.Forexample,thewordsusedbyEngelsatMarx'sdeath,"Oh,""thentothink,""gonetosleepbutforever","witnessthewitness'sdeaththen,"thusinformingtheaudiencegentlyofthenewsandactingasanopacity.Englisheuphemismsarefrequentlyusedinmanybooksandstories.Forexample,inthestory"CaesartheGreat",Shakespeareused"puttodeath"todescribeCaesar;inthestory"Macbeth",heused"takingoffandsurceasing"todescribedeath;In"Hamlet"inthestory,heused"sleep,shuffleoffthemortalcoil"todescribedeath,withvariousstumblesoutoflifeinordertogainliberationinforsomenocureandtreatmentofdisease.Inaddition,euphemismsaregenerallyusedwhenexplaininguntreatableandineffectivediseasesaswellasphysicalandbodilyproblems.ThisistheimportantembodimentofEnglisheuphemismineffablepurpose.3.2.2UrbanizationPurposeAccordingtotheeconomicprinciplesofpragmatics,incommunication,thespeakertendstoconveyinformationinthesimplestlanguagecontentwhilethelistenerexpectstheotherpartytoprovideasmuchinformationaspossibletomakeitlessdifficultofinformationprocessing.However,inthepracticalapplicationofthelanguage,sometimesspeakerswilldeliberatelyavoidsimpleandclearexpressions,andusemorecomplexlanguagestructures,thatis,euphemismswithimportantfunctionsinthelanguage.Inamatteroffact,theuseofeuphemismnotonlyreflectstheculturalcharacteristicsofalanguagecommunity,whichisrestrictedbylong-formedmorals,rightsandsocialregulations,butalsoisapsychologicalprocessandphenomenon,whoseformationandusereflectthecognitivemodeandcharacteristicsofthelanguagecommunity.3.2.3PalliativePurposeRacehasalwaysbeenasensitivetopicinsocialcommunication.WiththesuccessoftheblackmovementinmodernAmericaandthegrowingpopularityoftheprincipleof"allmenareequal",peoplehavebecomemorecarefulwhentalkingaboutrace,tryingnottohurteachother'snationalpride,andtheeffectivewaytodothisisusingeuphemisms.Theuseoftheword'race'haslonghadasomewhatnegativeconnotation,replacedinsomecasesbyaneweuphemism.E.g.Muli-culturalinsteadofmuli-racial.Civilconflictstooktheplaceofracesense,racismwaseuphemismscalledracialprideandsoon.BlackpeoplearethelargestminoritygroupintheUnitedStates.Inhistory,theyhadoftensufferedoppressionanddiscriminationfrompeople,suchasNegro,Nigg