1、英語語言學(xué)概論論文論文題目:An Analysis of Euphemism in English From the Politeness Principle of Pragmatics 歡迎下載 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

2、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

3、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

4、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-savin

5、g 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. Introduction There i

6、s 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

7、 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 h

8、e 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/spe

9、aking. 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. B

10、y 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 on

11、e; 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.” Euphemism is an important rhetorical means in English. It plays an important role in peo

12、ples 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 euphemism 2.1 Indirect and implicit The most important character of euphemism is indirect and implicit. Euphemism

13、 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 acce

14、pted 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 re

15、fer 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 eup

16、hemistic 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 pre

17、gnant. (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.Pragmatic functions of euphemism3.1 Tabo

18、o 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,

19、 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

20、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 an

21、d 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 peoples mind. Though science and technology are hig

22、hly 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 Abrahams bosom, cross the Ri

23、ver Jordan, final sleep, go home, go to meet ones maker, go to ones own place, join ones 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 speakers exp

24、erience 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

25、use funeral home and memorial park to replace them. In such a way, it comforts people.”3.2 Polite function Polite function of euphemism is to avoid inelegant things and make people feel pleasant. As Joanna Channell put in her book Vague Language “Vagueness is used as one way of adhering to the polit

26、eness rules for a particular culture, and of not threatening face.” It means that in real life, when people meet with some unpleasant things or behaviors, they usually choose some vague expressions to avoid making bold or hurting others feeling-to use euphemism. It is harsh to say someone is deaf, s

27、o people use “auditory-impaired” to replace it. They sound more gracefully. “When English-speakers refer to the appearance, they dont use the word ugly or awful, which has strong derogatory sense. Instead, they use the word plain-looking or not pretty.” Westerners are sensitive to age. In their opin

28、ion, “old” equals to “useless” in some extent. In order not to hurt the feeling and self-esteem of the old, “old men” are replaced by “senior citizens” or “seasoned men”. For the word “senior” has many meanings. Except “older”, it also means higher in rank or authority. And the word “seasoned” means

29、 experienced. 3.3 Tactical function If a same meaning is expressed in many different ways, their effects are entirely different. This is what we called the art of speaking. If we apply this strategy to our daily life, our life will be more colorful.For example, on the plane, there are some bags that

30、 can be used by the passengers to shoot his cookies. People dont print the words “vomit bag” on the surface of the bag. Instead, they use the words “for motion discomfort”. And the result proved that the vomit phenomenon has reduced. Because compared with the former words, the word “for motion disco

31、mfort” prevents the passengers from vomiting when in a state of airsickness. This is the tactical function of euphemism. By contrary, if we use euphemism inappropriately, the result would be worse. Try to compare the following two statements:I am an old cripple, drawing an old-age pension, working h

32、ard to raise vast quantities of vegetables on an allotment and well aware that, one of these days, I shall die. If, however, I listen to the voice of officialdom, it turns out that I am a disadvantaged senior citizen, registered as disabled, drawing a retirement pension, renting a leisure garden and

33、, presumably, immortal because I shall never die- I shall merely pass away.We can see that in the first statement, the author talks directly about his life status. The second statement is that the government officials make a survey of the hardship of citizens. They try to cover the facts by using eu

34、phemisms.4.Euphemism and politeness4.1 Euphemism and interpersonal communication Euphemism has been widely used in the real human communication. It can be regarded as a kind of polite terms .In primitive and traditional society, taboo and euphemism are the two sides of a coin. They are used for soci

35、al control and religious control. And in modern English, there are a number of words connected with holy, sex, body organ and body function. So when peoples topic refers to those, they have to find euphemisms to replace them. They often use some vague language to avoid mentioning them directly.4.2 P

36、oliteness and face-threatening theory The main function of euphemism is polite function. Thus, the main character of euphemism is polite. Politeness plays an important role in human communication. It oils human relationships. So euphemism accords with politeness will accelerate human communication.5

37、.Euphemism and Politeness Principle From the above, we know that euphemism has something to do with politeness. We can associate politeness with Politeness Principle. 5.1 Leechs politeness principle “Generally speaking, most of the euphemisms accord with conversational principle, especially politene

38、ss principle. Leechs maxims of the Politeness Principle tend to go in pairs as follows: (1)Tact Maxim :a. Minimize cost to other;b. Maximize benefit to other.Some examples : a、If you keep this diet, youll be on the heavy side.(c.f.: If you keep on eating too much, youll become very fat.)b、Thank you

39、for your kind hospitality. (c.f.: Thank you for your delicious food.)(2)Approbation Maxim:a. Minimize dispraise of other;b. Maximize praise of other.Some examples: a、He is a senior citizen now. (c.f.: He is an old man now.) b、Cao Yu is a Shakespeare of China. (c.f.: Cao Yu is the best playwright of

40、China.)(3)Modesty Maxim :a. Minimize praise of self;b. Maximize dispraise of self.Some examples: a、This is a token of my regard for you. (c.f.: This is a present for you.) b、Your praise is the highest honor for me. (c.f.: Thank you for your praise.)Leech ties politeness to the relationship between b

41、oth parties and the language used. He claims that “static” feature, such as social distance, interact with “dynamic” features, such as the kind of illocutionary demand the speaker is making on the maker, to produce an appropriate degree of politeness. The core of his politeness is to minimize the ex

42、pression of impolite benefits.5.2 Polite function and Politeness Principle Polite function is the basic social function of euphemism. And Politeness Principle shows this function. Euphemism always abides by the Politeness Principle. In such a case, euphemism can make peoples relationship more harmon

43、ious. But there are also some exceptions. Euphemisms of military do not accord with Politeness principle most of the time.5.3 Politeness Principle and the cooperative Principle The Politeness Principle shows equal and friendly relationships between people in the society. It demands that in communica

44、tion, the speaker should cooperate with the hearer. The two parties use euphemisms to replace harsh words because it can meet the psychological needs of face-want. And the language used by the two parties should be appropriate. Generally speaking, the appropriateness of the speech is closely related

45、 with euphemism. However, “The Maxim of Relevance” of Grices “Cooperative Principle” limits the choice of euphemism. He suggests that in communication, the reply of the hearer should be closely related to the speech of the speaker. In the process of communication, the euphemisms used just now should

46、 be connected with the primary language symbols. In such case, it will provide a clue to the hearer so that he can understand the connotation of the speech. This principle provides a lot of standard conversational implicatures. In a word, the two parties can understand the intention of each other fr

47、om the context. A: How is John doing with his study at school? B: Hes a machine.Here, from the literal meaning of Bs reply, he seems havent answer As question. But at least, his answer violates Quality Maxim and Relation Maxim. We know that though Bs answer doesnt cooperate with As question, we can

48、still understand Bs meaning by the deeper implication of his speech. First, we should suppose that this conversation tally with Cooperative Principle. Second, we can guess the implication between machine and study. At last, we can infer that John is hard-working. Thus, if the utterance is not relevant with each other, we can reason. “Unlike presuppositions and ent