Analysis of the Social Functions of English Euphemism英语委婉语社会功能分析.docx
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1、ContentsAbstract1Key Words1摘 要1关键词11. Introduction12. A Brief Introduction to English Euphemism22.1 The Definition of English Euphemism22.2 The Origins of English Euphemism32.3 The Classification of Euphemisms42.4 The Significance of English Euphemism53. Two Pragmatic Theories and English Euphemism5
2、3.1 Politeness Principle and English Euphemism63.2 Face-saving Theory and English Euphemism74. The Social Functions of English Euphemism84.1 English Euphemism as an Avoidance of Taboo84.2 English Euphemism as a Means of Expressing Politeness104.3 English Euphemism as a Make-up124.4 The Poetic Functi
3、on of English Euphemism145. Conclusion16Bibliography171 Analysis of the Social Functions of English Euphemism Abstract: Widely used by all layers of people, English euphemism has reflected the distinctiveness of English culture. Because of its importance, English euphemism has been studied since the
4、 17th century. This thesis tries to study the social functions of English euphemism in detail with the method of analysis and a lot of instances. It firstly gives an introduction to the definition, origins, classification and significance of English euphemism. Then the Politeness Principle and the F
5、ace-saving Theory are applied to analyze the reasons underlying the use of English euphemism. Lastly but most importantly, the social functions of English euphemism are studied. The study of English euphemism especially that of the social functions based on English cultural backgrounds offers us a g
6、ood way to be aware of English cultures.Key Words: English euphemism; culture; social functions摘 要:英语委婉语被广泛使用,所以它能鲜明反应英国文化独特的一面。从十七世纪开始,人们已开始关注英语委婉语。本文意在详细论述英语委婉语的社会功能。使用的主要方法是论证和分析。首先,本文将介绍英语委婉语的定义、来源、分类及意义;其次,本文将引用礼貌原则和面子保全理论来揭示人们使用委婉语的原因;最后,本文将详细介绍英语委婉语的社会功能。委婉语的研究,特别是基于文化之上的社会功能研究,能使我们了解更多的英国文化。
7、关键词:英语委婉语;文化;社会功能1. IntroductionEnglish euphemism delivers information in a way of “beating around the bushes” rather than “calling a spade a spade”. Simply speaking, euphemism is used to create harmony and make conversations pleasant and smooth. As its function as a lubricant, English euphemism is
8、studied for many centuries. At the 17th century, it is said to be employed to conceal some unpleasant topics, such as death and illness. Then with the development in linguistics, culture and society, many aspects of English euphemism are studied, such as the uses of it in American life in The Americ
9、an Language by H. L. Meknen (1978), and the recent researches including A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Double-talk by H. Rawson (1981).This thesis mainly talks on the social functions of English euphemism in order to discover more about the English culture and make contribution to a smooth cro
10、ss-cultural communication.2. A Brief Introduction to English EuphemismIn order to make us better understand the social functions of English euphemism, this section presents a brief introduction to English euphemism. It offers answers to the following questions. What is English euphemism? Where did i
11、t come from? Will it change along the course of history? 2.1 The Definition of English EuphemismThe word “euphemism” originated from the Greek word “euphemismos”, with “eu” meaning “good” and “phemo” meaning “speech”, the whole word means “good speech”. (Neaman, 1983: 1) This reflects that euphemism
12、s are positive in meaning, in contrast with those rude and unpleasant words.Websters Third New International Dictionary (1961: 657) defines “euphemism” as “a polite, tactful, or less explicit term used to avoid the direct naming of an unpleasant painful or frightening reality”. And the Random House
13、College Dictionary (1997, 1st edition) defines it as “the substitution of a mild, indirect or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh or blunt.” Though the definitions are differently worded, their cores are the same, that is, euphemism is used to replace the harsh words in order to
14、make the speech more pleasant.2.2 The Origins of English EuphemismThe record use of euphemism is found until the 11th century, B. C. By the early 1580s George Blountto first point out the term “euphemism” refers to “a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word.” (George Blountto, 1580: 243) In t
15、hat age, people ranged words into two types: “Obscene Vocabulary”, the uncourteous words which easily offended others, and “Genteel Vocabulary”, the pre-existence of English euphemism. Specifically, English euphemism has its origins in religion, race and nation, history and politics.2.2.1 Religious
16、originThe religious origin of euphemism is related with taboos. Taboos are words usually connected with death, sex, body organs and gods.As human beings, we all have fears. Afraid of death, the word itself will surely arouse bad feelings, so expressions like “pass away”, “be no more”, “rest in peace
17、” are used to replace the word “death”. Being a forbidden territory in religion, sex is treated as “impure” and is always connected with” sin”. As a result, expressions related with sex are replaced by euphemisms. The expression “love child” is used to mean “illegitimate child”.It may seem to be rud
18、e and ignoble to talk on some body organs bluntly, so people create some expressions to refer to body organs, for example, “cheerful giver” for “liver”, and “spaghetti factory” for “intestines”. In ancient times, limited in their power of changing the world, people could not explain the complicated
19、natural phenomena, so they believed that there existed the gods that controlled the nature. To show respect to gods they talked about them in a more indirect way. The gods might be represented by their characteristics, for example, “the thunderer” was used to name the god in charge of thunders. Many
20、 Westerners believe in Christianity, in order to show their loyalty to God, they used “the Creator”, “the Lord” and “the Maker” etc. to refer to the “God”. Afraid of speaking of the devil, people also avoided “devil”, thus expressions like “old gentleman in black” and “God of this world” appeared as
21、 substitutions.2.2.2 Racial originA lot of the proper names of the other countries are used with negative connotations in English euphemism, for example, “Pardon my French.” actually means “Please forgive my curse.”, “Dutch act” means “suicide”, and “go to Egypt” means “go to the washroom”. All of t
22、hese expressions reflect the chauvinism and racialism of the English people. In revenge for this, “English” are treated in the same way. For example, other countries coined “English disease” to mean “syphilis” and “English leave” to mean “secret leave”.2.2.3 Historical and political origin In histor
23、y, sometimes euphemisms would change their connotations with the evolution of society. The alteration of euphemisms for African-American has the largest quantity and representativeness.Before the 20th century, both “black” and “Negro” had the meaning of African-American. To some degree, “Negro” was
24、even more euphemistic because in the 18th century, “Negro” had been the euphemism of “slave” such as “Negro quarter”(slave quarter); “Ill be no mens Negro.” While in the early 19th, with the advocacy of the slavery abolition, people believed the word “Negro” would make them recall the unpleasant age
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- Analysis of the Social Functions English Euphemism英语委婉语社会功能分析 Euphemism 英语 委婉 社会 功能分析
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