Functions and Application of Euphemism in Social Life
Abstract : Euphemism is a very common existing language phenomenon in human society and widely ud to mediate interpersonal relationship. This paper mainly focus on the social functions and application of English euphemism.
Key words : euphemism ,taboo, functions, application
1.Definition
Euphemism derived from the Latin word "Euphemisms". "eu"refers to "good", "phemism"refers to "speech"，its literal meaning is "word of good omen". (Zhou lirui，2001：81）
In Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, it is defined as " A kind of expressing method which aims at making people feel less embarrasd by using some words with vague and ambiguous meaning instead of tho which may make people feel unpleasant and not respected."
2. The psychological ba of the emergence of euphemism
If we say language can reflect social life ,euphemism is a mirror of social psychology, i.e.different euphemism reflects different status of social psychology.
The main psychological ba of euphemism is "taboo". Euphemism originated in the early time of human being when the level of science and culture was very low ,and people had superstitious belief. They hold the belief that “To pronounce the word may bring the thing to pass”（Greenough & Kitterdge ), therefore, any words about ghost and god became "taboo". In the middle of Victoria's time, people dared not mention the names of tho who had died, instead they called them cautiously as "the departed" or "no longer living"
According to the rearch , there are thousands of euphemisms about “Devil” in English, such as “the Bleak One”,“Old Boy”, “the Tempter”, “the Big D” ,“Old Harry”, “the Enemy”, “the Wicked One”, “Old Nick”, “Prince of Darkness”and so on. ( Li lifang, 2005, (3) :77-78).
3.The social functions and application of euphemism
The u of euphemism posss important social functions: Beautify function, Evasive function, Concealed function and Polite function. Fully realizing the significance of social functions of English Euphemism will be conductive to our correct understanding and our proper usage.
3.1 Beautify function
About jobs
In modern society, people pay much attention to their social status, tho who do the humble jobs are afraid of losing their dignity, in order to eliminate the emotions ,they usually give their job a pleasant name as following :
garbage collector to sanitation engineer
road-sweeper or dustman to cleaning operative
maid to domestic help, life help
janitor to curity officer
butcher to meat technologist
tree trimmer to tree surgeon
funeral undertaker to mortician, grief therapist
foreigner labour to guest worker
salesman to sales reprentative
hairdresr to beautician, cosmetologist ( 美容师)
About appearance
Obesity is a big problem of westerners, and the concerning words such as "fat" ,"obe" are taboo. Then ,they mention it by "weight problem,plump,stout, mighty，chubby，heav
yt, full-figure" instead，and the clothes they wear are also called as "king size". When describing the skinny women , people may say they are " slender, slim, willowy，svelte" and so on. Besides, they often depict ugly people as "plain, ordinary, homely, not pretty " rather than "ugly" or "awful". Obviously , the u of the euphemisms enable tho who have appearance deficiency feel better.
About poverty
Poverty is a shameful topic for both nations and individuals, so many euphemistic phra are created for it. In a national n, "poor countries "are called as "undeveloped nations, developing countries, emerging countries." In a personal n, fox example: He was both out of pocket and out of spirits by that catastrophe, failed in his health and prophesied the speedy ruin of the empire. (John M. Thackerary: Vanity Fair) . Here the author aesthetically substituted "out of pocket" for "poor".
3.2 Evasive function
Even in modern society, it is ineffable when comes to "death ","dia" and "age". So large quantities of euphemisms about them have been developed.
About death:
There are many words for "die" in English : to go to the other world；to pass away；to expire；to be no more；to breathe one’s last；to come to an end；to join the majority；to go to one’s rest；to sleep the final sleep；to be gathered to one’s father；return to dust；run one’s race；be no longer with us; to be at peace; to be at rest; to be asleep in the arms of God /Jesus,pay the debt of nature and so on. While in Chine,there are also many words for it: 寿终，涅槃，仙逝，圆寂，逝世，谢世，离世，牺牲，捐躯，香消玉殒etc..
