[畢業(yè)論文]委婉語的交際功能

1、學號： 學士學位論文題 目 communicative function of euphemism學 生 指導教師 年 級 2007級專 業(yè) 英 語系 別 外語系學 院 文理學院 學 士 學 位 論 文題 目 communicative function of euphemism學 生 指導教師 年 級 2007級專 業(yè) 英 語系 別 外語系學 院 文理學院2011年4月contentsabstract1introduction11. a brief review of the euphemism22. comparison between chinese and english euphem

2、isms32.1 in religions32.2 in numbers42.3 in names53. the communicative function of euphemism53.1 the avoidance of taboo function63.1.1 in terms of death73.1.2 in terms of disease and disabilities83.1.3 in terms of sex, body excretion process83.1.4 in terms of old age93.2 the politeness function103.2

3、.1 in terms of old and disable103.2.2 in terms of the name of lowly job and unemployment103.2.3 in terms of education113.2.4 in terms of peoples appearance113.3 the cosmetic function123.3.1 for social problem123.3.2 for the government and the military133.3.3 for the commerce133.4 the induce function

4、143.5 the function of being humorous and ironic153.5.1 for the humorous function153.5.2 for the ironic function15conclusions16reference18chinese abstract19communicative function of euphemism abstract: language communication is an important way to maintain the social relationship among human beings.

5、we all need to communicate in our daily life or in diplomacy. however, because of the difference of life habit or custom and the taboo of different culture. a fair number of words make someone embarrassed、unhappy、dislike or fear when used in communication. if we express the meaning in the direct way

6、, we will make such impression which is vulgar, frivolous and impolite. we must learn to use euphemism to avoid embarrassment or unhappiness. in order to avoid the embarrassment or ease the sting of harsh words, man has created euphemisms. therefore, this paper tries to research into communicative f

7、unction of english euphemism in certain language condition by special examples. in western cultures, many of the fields that people tend to euphemize widely are not different from anywhere in the world. and, euphemism as an important part of language of humanity communication, its an universal pheno

8、menon in different language of the world, to analyze and compare with its produce an use under the different background, you can find that they inclusion different culture connotation. this paper will also try to research the comparative of english euphemism and chinese euphemism. the study of engli

9、sh euphemism can help us understand the western culture and promote the international development because euphemism is widely used in international negotiations. so there is a great need for us to study the communicative function of euphemism.key word: euphemism ; function ; communication ;中文摘要：委婉語的

10、交際功能摘要：語言交際是人類賴以維系社會和人際關系的重要手段，不管是在日常生活還是在涉外交際中，我們都要進行語言交流。由于某些生活習慣或習俗差異，以及不同文化背景的社會具有不同的忌諱，這時我們就必須學會使用委婉語以避免尷尬或不愉快。所以本文從語言學的角度，試圖通過具體的例子來探究在特定的語言環(huán)境下英語委婉語的交際功能。委婉語在語言交流中，起到了重要的作用。本文從不同的語言國家，不同的文化背景，試圖通過具體的例子來探究英語委婉語和漢語委婉語的差異。英語委婉語的研究能夠幫助我們了解西方的文化和促進國際的發(fā)展，因為委婉語在國際談判中被廣泛的使用。所以，對我們來說，委婉語交際功能的學習是必須的。關鍵字

11、：委婉語 功能 溝通introductioneuphemism, as a common linguistic phenomenon in world culture, is widely used in every social class and field. english euphemism, as one of many euphemisms existing in the world, has its own deep origin, which include both the religious origin and the historical, literary origi

12、n. it is deeply rooted in social life and has a great influence on social communication. as an indispensable and natural part of english language, english euphemism has attracted peoples attention for a long time. since euphemism was coined, it has played a very important role in peoples communicati

13、on. during the communication, due to some certain restriction of behavior and morality, people tend to use euphemismused as a kind of lubrication, making the harsh, indelicate words sound tactful and pleasant. it is unimaginable if the communication without euphemism. euphemism is used like lubricat

14、ion, which makes the communication go on smoothly.a euphemism is a substitution with an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the receiver, 1 or to make it less troublesome for the speaker, as in the case of doublespeak. the deploym

15、ent of euphemisms is a central aspect within the public application of political correctness.it may also substitute a description of something or someone to avoid revealing secret, holy, or sacred names to the uninitiated, or to obscure the identity of the subject of a conversation from potential ea

16、vesdroppers. some euphemisms are intended to amuse.when a phrase is used as a euphemism, it often becomes a metaphor whose literal meaning is dropped. euphemism may be used to hide unpleasant or disturbing ideas, even when the literal term for them is not necessarily offensive. this type of euphemis

17、m is used in public relations and politics, where it is sometimes called doublespeak. sometimes, using euphemisms is equated to politeness. euphemism is widely use in every field, so it is good for us to study english and do effect multi-cultural intercommunication.1. a brief review of the euphemism

18、if we want to study the euphemism, we must know what the euphemism is.the word “euphemism” was derived from the greek word “euphemismos”, which means “fair speech”. the prefix “eu” means “good, sound well” and the root “pheme” means “speaking”. and thus the literal meaning of “euphemism” is “to spea

19、k with good words or in a pleasant manner”. according to definition from “the english euphemism detail dictionary”, “euphemism” is a kind of words that use harmless or sweet-sound terms instead of direct, rude words, and is a way of modify that the truth is covered by the kindhearted words. thus it

20、can be seen, the euphemism is the needful in peoples communication, is an important method that harmonize the people society relationship and the interpersonal relation in language communicate. “in a sense, it is also the lubrication of the interpersonal relation.” 2. it is not only a social languag

21、e phenomenon, but it is also a cultural phenomenon. with the social advanced, the developed of human culture, euphemism always company with whole process of social language communication and full show their function of communication.2. comparison between chinese and english euphemismssince euphemism

22、 is culturally relevant, namely, different cultures show different attitudes towards the same taboos, which is deep-rooted in a countrys cultural environment, having an inherent association with the countrys history, customs, values, national character, etc., and suggesting the basic characteristics

23、 of a culture in a comprehensive manner. euphemisms are products of social language and embodiments of culture as well. 2.1 in religionschristianity is the dominant world view in the english-speaking countries. the study of it offers an insight not only into the spiritual and psychological needs of

24、the people, but also into the social aspects of a culture. christianity reinforces group norms, provides moral standards for individual conducts, and furnishes the basis of common purposes and values upon which the community depends. the monism in religion exerts great influence on english euphemism

25、. christianitys influence over english euphemism goes beyond “death”, “to irritate sb.” is “to get sbs goat”; “holy communion” is good speech for “hard drink ”, “venereal disease” becomes “cupids itch ”, “toilet” is “holy of holies”, etc. it is pointed out that many euphemisms for “going to the toil

26、et” have something to do with religious activities, such as “to worship at the altar”, “to go into retreat”. china is a multi-deity-worship country. taoism, buddhism and islamism coexist in china, and each has its own followers. these religions generate some chinese euphemisms for “death”, which is

27、considered as the miserable of the miserable, but each has different explanations for this natural phenomenon.chinese euphemisms for “death” with a religious hue are far fewer than english ones, which largely results from the pluralism of chinese religions. according to a dictionary of chinese euphe

28、mism, chinese euphemisms for “death” amount to 481 items, but most of them are without religious origin. what is more, chinese religion-hued euphemisms for “death” are not so popular with the people as english ones. they are more often used within respective religious circles.2.2 in numbers in china

29、, the number “4” and the word “死 (death)” almost sound the same. people do not like the number “4”, because it reminds them of “death”. among old people, they think “73” and “84” are two key ages. if you are 73 or 84 years old, you will die before the king of hell invites you. so many old people avo

30、id talking their exact ages.while in western countries, one of the most influential taboo numbers is 13. according to the story of “the last supper”: judas, the person who betrayed jesus, sat in the no.13 chair, therefore, number thirteen is universally considered to be unlucky. no doors number is t

31、hirteen; no hotel has the no.13 room; they dont allow 13 people have dinner together. all in a word, they avoid number thirteen in every aspect. ordinary people feel upset on 13th in every month. therefore, thirteen became a taboo word in western countries.another number concerning taboo in western

32、is friday. it also has long been considered as an unlucky day. “this taboo term affects people probably not only because they believe that jesus christ was put to death on the cross on friday, but also because friday is for many years the day of execution of criminals, commonly called “hangmans day”

33、. 3 another striking contrast is that chinese people like even numbers. for example, they say “好事成雙”, “成雙成對”。chinese people especially like the even number “6” and “8”. the saying “六六大順” can prove it . but in western countries, they like odd numbers. “the roman poet virgil says, the god delights in

34、an odd number. in shakespeares play merry wives of windsor, falstaff says, good luck lies in odd numbers they say, there is divinity in odd numbers, either in nativity, chance or death.” 4 2.3 in nameshow to call others in verbal communication is very important. in chinese, the ancestors and the old

35、er generations names cannot be refer日ed directly. for example, because the second name of sima qians father was “談”. when writing the historical records, (sima qian changed “趙談” into “趙同” and “李談” into “李同”5) as a result , we cannot find such a chinese character “談” in the historical records. 6 but

36、in the english culture, there are no such name taboos. the younger generation can refer the elder generations name directly. it shows that they are equal, friendly and intimate. in the united states, many black people bear the name “l(fā)incoln”, apparently after abraham lincoln, the 16th president of t

37、he country. english babies may be named after their grandparents or other relatives to show respect or to honor them. for example, “the british prime minister churchills father was named randolph. churchill, and one of the prime ministers sons was also named randolph. churchill. the grandfather and

38、grandson had the same name. the american president franklin d. roosevelts son also had the same name with his father.” 7 this practice was quite different from chinese culture which was characterized by a clearly delineated stratified society in which the names, for example, of ones relatives, one o

39、r two generations above, or officials, or other influential figures were taboos to the ordinary chinese, no one dared to name his babies after them. 3. the communicative function of euphemismeuphemism, as a variation of language, is applied everywhere in all human societies and used in all human int

40、eractions. taboo, being a common socialcultural phenomenon, is actually the extension of peoples selfprotection psychology. the main function of euphemism is to replace taboo. in speech interaction, out of politeness or tact, one uses a pleasant, less direct word instead of something unpleasant. eup

41、hemism is one of the ways people use to realize this purpose. so resorting to euphemism is speakers active pragmatic strategy at a certain time and in a certain situation. more important, euphemism embodies the civilization and morality of human beings. as people live in different times and societie

42、s, and the language they use belong to different categories, accordingly this kind of language variation created by them are varied, and reflect various social cultures and values.from the perspective of language communication, euphemism functions are avoiding taboos, to show politeness and conceal

43、feelings. thanks to euphemism, it is easy for people to accept the things that are likely to make others feel embarrassed or unhappy. it is peoples general character to express their ideas as mildly and tactfully as possible. euphemism helps people to reach this goal. from the moment euphemism came

44、into existence, it has played a very important role in our daily communication, and help establish a good relationship between human beings and even strengthen the social stability. euphemism are motivated by the desire not to be offensive. people use them to show their politeness, to avoid being of

45、fensive and to meet the psychological and beneficial needs of both speakers and hearers in communication. people use them to show their politeness, to avoid being offensive and to meet the psychological or beneficial needs of both speakers and hearers in communication. but sometimes they are used to

46、 conceal or cover something. accordingly, euphemism serves fifth basic communicative functions: avoidance of taboo, polite function, cosmetic function, induce function and humorous and ironic.3.1 the avoidance of taboo functionevery culture and society has its linguistic taboo. these linguistic tabo

47、os have a closed relationship with euphemism. in communication, avoidance of taboo is a sign of self-culture and development of society. this is why the euphemism is widely used in every aspect of our life.due to the people is afraid of something or appearance. in language express, people will be no

48、t want to say and not dare to say. but sometimes, people have to express this meaning, so people use euphemism instead of it.the avoidance of taboo function of euphemism is to evade using taboos, enabling the speaker to talk about tabooed things freely. these tabooed things are believed to be danger

49、ous to certain individuals, or to the society as a whole, or to be disgusting and unpleasant, and cause fear. such taboo things include: death, disease, disabilities, etc. people can use euphemisms to talk about what cannot be talked directly.3.1.1 in terms of deathit is a general sense that the fea

50、r for death exists in any cultures. death is an inevitable stage at the end of lifes journey. it is common experience of human beings. the speech of “death” has different euphemism in different countries, the people in english-speaking country as same as many other countries, there are many ways to

51、express the word “death” that evade say it directly. for example, people often say “to pass away”, “to depart”, “to leave us”, “to go to sleep”, “to go to heaven”, “final sleep”, “to have found rest” or other words to instead of “to die”. no matter why this word is used in a certain language, people

52、 always tend to use less harsh words.we can call “being hanged death” as doing a dance in mid-air; we can call “electric instruments of torture” as to get a permanent wave. if a person kills himself, we use “to die by ones own hand or to drain the cup of life” instead of committing suicide. and the

53、lovers leap means that a person kills himself because of losing one love. “euthanasia” is called by “mercy stroke” or “to put somebody out of his mystery” and so on.8different stages have different expressions about death. for example, if the noble was died, they often used “to ascend to heaven”. it

54、 reflects their stage, and also expresses their love to the dead person. if the servant was died they often use “pass away or become an immortal”.3.1.2 in terms of disease and disabilitiespeople yearn for health, and fear for specific disease and every sort of disability. so, people always use tactf

55、ul way to express them.in ancient time, some diseases mean death. for instance, in the past, the disease tuberculosis and cancer means death. people were unwilling to talk about it. so people often use terminally ill instead of cancer. people use look off color to express a person is not fine. besid

56、es, people often use acronym to talk about some diseases. for example, vd is shorted by venereal disease, sars is severe acute respiratory syndromes, 9 “cancer” change into “terminally ill”, “aids” is shorted by “acquired immune deficiency syndrome”. disabilities are very sensitive area in every cul

57、ture. in english, “the disabled, the handicapped, the inconvenienced, the invalid, auditory impaired, hard of hearing, talk with ones fingers”, etc. are put into service.10 so euphemism plays a very important function in our social communication. without it, we sometimes cannot continue our talk. 3.

58、1.3 in terms of sex, body excretion processwords relating to sex, procreation and excretion are highly restricted to mention because they may evoke disgusting responses of people.it is very common that people feel ashamed when sex is talked about. some vocabulary involving sex is believed the taboo. for example, sex knowledge called facts of life; pornographic movies called adult film; free love called trial marriage.with the development of society, people talk sex with friend or parents. b