英语语言学概论论文我爱的祖国
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论文题目幼儿教师师德师风演讲稿:An Analysis of Euphemism in English From the Politeness Principle of Pragmatics
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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 some extent. Euphemism plays an important part in social communication. It is like lube that avoids hurting the other party’s feeling. It oils the human relationship in communication and helps to save face of communicators. If people make full u of euphemism, it can accelerate and facilitate human communication. This paper elabo
rates on the features and social functions of euphemism. And it focus on the relationships between its polite functions and Politeness Principle. This thesis is compod of six parts with Chapter Four and Five as its core: The first chapter focus on the origin and definitions of euphemism. The cond chapter discuss 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 rearch by connecting euphemism with politeness and face-saving theory. The fifth chapter centers on euphemism and Politeness Principle. The last chapter concludes the whole thesis. Appropriate u of English euphemism can contribute a lot to successful message exchange.
Key Words: euphemism; social functions; Politeness Principle; face
1. Introduction
There is a humor: Once a Paris tourist resided in UK. A landlady told him sadly that, “My husband has just pasd to the other side.” The guest looked from the fence of the garde
n but saw no one, feeling confud. The landlady explained: “I mean he’s kicked the bucket.” The guest comforted her that: “I hope his foot will be better soon.” The landlady felt unintelligibly and said: “No, he wasn’t here, he snuffed it… you know.” The guest wondered and said: “But you’ve got electricity here.”
The reasons why the guest didn’t answer properly are that he didn’t realize that the landlady ud euphemism, nor did he 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/speaking". The eupheme was originally a word or phra ud in place of a religious word or phra that should not be spoken aloud (Such as taboo). The primary examples of taboo words requiring the u of a euphemism are the unspeakable names for a deity, such as Perphone, Hecate, Nemesis or Yahweh. By 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 Conci Dictionary (1976) as ‘Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted.’ IN Webster’s 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 people’s 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 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
易县旅游
Universality is something that is well-known and accepted by all of the people. Though euphemism is indirect and it doesn’t come straight to the point, people can easily infer its deeper implication. Some taboos connected with x, death, or body functions are replaced by euphemisms. And the public has accepted this kind of u. For example, when we refer to death, we ldom say “die”. We u 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 euphemistic expressions in different eras.
(1) She has canceled all her social engagements. (1856)
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(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 pregnant. (1956)”
But after 1960s, euphemisms of pregnant develop slowly becau 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 euphemism
