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1、 ON EUPHEMISMAbstract Researches on euphemism that belongs to the area of indirect speech, will certainly be helpful to the correct comprehension and application of indirect speech. This paper analyses five characteristics of euphemism, namely, universality, culture specificity, re-symbolism, obscur
2、ity and beautification. And it also analyses the general reasons why people sometimes resort to euphemisms and expounds the phonetic means and semantic means people usually adopt in euphemizing.Key words: euphemism; characteristics; reason; device论委婉语摘要 间接交流中的委婉语的研究，必定对间接交流的理解和运用都很有帮助。本篇论文分析了委婉语的五个特
3、点：广泛性，文化针对性，再替性，晦涩性和美化性。同时也分析了人们运用委婉语的原因以及在委婉语中用到的语音和语义方法。关键词：委婉语；特点；原因；方式ON EUPHEMISM1.IntroductionEuphemism is defined in Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English as the use of a pleasanter, less direct name of something thought to be unpleasant. The New Edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary
4、defines euphemism as substitution of mild or vague expression for harsh or direct one;expression thus substituted.In Websters New Collegiate Dictionary , the definition of euphemism reads, substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.
5、2.Characteristics of EuphemismEuphemism, as a language phenomenon, has some special characteristics. To succeed in learning a language or associating in the language with the native speakers, learners of the language should pay much attention to the following features of euphemism.2.1 UniversalityIn
6、 almost all cultures there are certain notions or things strongly forbidden by social customs.That is, there are taboos in almost all countries. Generally people try to avoid mentioning the taboos directly. When the taboos have to be referred to , it is likely that people tend to substitute expressi
7、ons that sound better. 2.2Culture specificityThe universal existence of euphemism in languages doesnt mean that euphemisms are identical in different languages. Euphemism has close relevance to culture. What is necessary to be euphemized in one culture may not be necessary to be euphemized in anothe
8、r. For example, the questions about age, ones marital status or prices of ones belongings, although inoffensive to Chinese, should be avoided when conversing with English-speaking people.2.3 Re-symbolismAs we all know from the above definitions, euphemism is substitution of one expression for anothe
9、r. That is to say, euphemism is a re-symbolism of things, ideas, or events already symbolized with precision in mind. The re-symbolizing produces a distance from the new expression to the crude expression(taboo words). As a result, it produces a distance from the new expressions to the things, ideas
10、, or events they refer to. In spite of the distance, euphemisms should be relevant to the taboos themselves. That is, the re-symbolism should provide clues to catch the intended meaning of taboos as the crude expressions do and at the same time, the re-symbolism should sound indirect or roundabout o
11、r pleasanter.2.4 Obscurity Euphemism, as a re-symbolizing of things, ideas or events already symbolized with precision in mind, somewhat overlooks precision and leads to semantic obscurity. For example, death is the precise word to mean the creatures or plants stop living, but people for whatever re
12、ason avoid mentioning the term and take pains to substitute it with terms, such as depart from the world forever, fall asleep, pass away, breath ones last, pay ones debt to nature,etc.Although these expressions are indirect and ambiguous;people also tend to use the obscure terms such as senior citiz
13、ens, advanced in age, elderly to refer to old. Obscure is a basic feature of euphemism. Without obscurity, euphemisms will lose their euphemistic value. Obscurity is a hallmark of all euphemisms.2.5 BeautificationBeautification is another characteristics of euphemism. Generally speaking, taboo words
14、 sound unpleasant ,rude and offensive, so people substitute them with euphemisms that sound pleasant, polite and harmless. For example, a garbage collector is described as a sanitary engineer in English; a cleaner is called as 城市美容师 in Chinese, a military invasion and defeat are respectively beautif
15、ied as a rescue mission and an incomplete success. People use euphemism to beautify the terms and make them sound pleasanter and less direct.3.Why people use euphemismsPsychologically people are in need of euphemism. Generally speaking, people desire to be safe, happy,healthy and lucky. And at the s
16、ame time, people fear something. They fear disease,death,old age, poverty and any sort of disability; they fear supernatural forces that, they suppose, may come from religion and superstition;they fear all the other negative sides of their life. These negative things inevitably exist around them and
17、 form the taboos in their life. In coping with them, people choose to avoid being contacted with them and even in language they try not to mention them.When they have to be mentioned, people would resort to euphemisms instead of them. Thus, people would psychologically feel as if they were not menti
18、oned. Using euphemisms gives people a feeling that they are some distance to what they fear, and resorting to euphemisms seems to be a guarantee of their safety, happiness,health,and good luck.Besides the psychological need, there is a social need for people to use euphemism. As we know that in any
19、culture there are certain notions or things strongly forbidden by social customs. Once they are acknowledged by the society, a tacit convention to euphemize them is formed among all the members in the society.To follow the convention and to express the taboos in a roundabout way become a rule for pe
20、ople to obey. If one doesnt follow the convention and doesnt euphemize the taboos, the offensiveness, the unpleasantness and the rudeness and the taboo words one use will certainly make him hurt others feeling and plunge himself into an embarrassment and eventually make him feel somewhat isolate fro
21、m the society. Sometimes, although the topics in communication may have no relevance to taboos, people will use euphemisms to avoid conflicts, to be polite and to meet other social needs. So resorting to euphemism in social life is a social need or even a social pressure you have to give in to. In c
22、ommunication with others, euphemisms can help people form a positive communicative atmosphere to establish harmonious social relationships and eventually to obtain the communication goals. 4. How people do in euphemizingThere are various methods people can adopt in euphemizing such gestures and faci
23、al expressions ,but people constitute euphemisms mainly by phonetic and semantic devices.4.1 Phonetic means Mainly there are two phonetic devices to get euphemistic effect. One is unstressing, another is sound changing.Unstressing is a very natural and usual device to achieve euphemistic effect. A c
24、hild with certain common sense may lower his voice and say to his motherI want to pee-pee.when a guest is present. People generally dont want to speak loudly and clearly concerning things, ideas or events that may cause unpleasantness or embarrassment.Possibly it is because unstressing can easily ob
25、scure the unpleasant things that people consciously or unconsciously resort to unstressing in euphemizing.Changing the original sound may also play in keeping some distance to the original indelicate language, and as a result, serve the purpose of euphemizing. There are many ways to change the sound
26、 in euphemizing, such as abbreviation, reduplication, and diminutive ,etc. For example, ladies(for ladies room ) and W.C (for water closet)are abbreviations; Pee-pee(for piss) is reduplication; heinie( for hind end that refers to the buttocks) is a diminutive.4.2Semantic means Abstraction. The proce
27、ss of abstraction may sift meaning to reach relative pleasantness. For example, the euphemism untruth(for lie) is conceived through a process of abstraction.Ellipsis. Ellipsis can serve the function of reducing the directness of meaning, so sometimes it is employed in euphemizing. For instance, the
28、euphemistic expression expecting is substitute for expecting for a baby. Circumlocution. Through circumlocution an expression may sound roundabout and indirect. For example, being the big house(for be in prison),lay off(for dismiss) and out of pocket(for penniless).5. ConclusionLinguistic indirectne
29、ss has long been one of the focuses pragmatic researches. And euphemism belongs to the area of indirect speech.Researchers on euphemism will certainly be helpful to the comprehension and application of indirect speech.This paper is only a general idea of euphemism,just as a Chinese idiom has put it :“抛砖引玉”,it aims to evoke worthier studies on euphemism.Bibliography何自然，语用学概论M.长沙：湖南教育出版社，1998冯翠华，英语修辞学M.北京：商馆印书馆，1987胡文仲，文化与交际C.北京：外语教学与研究出版社，1994张全，应用语言学J,曲靖师范学院学报2004金惠康，跨文化交际翻译M，北京：中国对外翻译出版公司，2003
