委婉语英语论文.doc

The Influence of Language and Culture on Euphemism Abstract:Euphemism is a common phenomenon in English-Chinese Language. It is an epitome of their society and culture to a certain degree. This dissertation is a simple discussion on Chinese-English euphemism, which have an great impact on their respective culture and tradition, as well as their culture difference in western and eastern country. This would do a good job in removing the barrier of trans-culture communication and improving culture communication.Key words: euphemism and language and culture; function; comparison 摘 要：委婉语是中英语言中共同的一个语言现象,委婉语在一定程度上是中西方社会和文化的一个缩影。本文就中英委婉语对各自文化中的传统,发挥的作用等进行了简单的探讨,以及了解东西方委婉语的文化异同,这将有益于清除跨文化交际中的障碍,促进文化交流。关键词： 委婉语与语言；文化； 功能； 比较 Contents bstractI. Introduction (1)II.Language,Culture and Euphemism (2) 2.1 Language and Euphemism (2) 2.2 Culture and Euphemism(3)III.Functions of euphemism in language and culture (3) 3.1 Functions of Euphemism (3) 3.1.1 Avoiding Taboo (3) 3.1.2 Showing Politeness(4) 3.1.3 Concealing Trut (4) 3.1.4 Beautification (5) IV.The comparison between Chinese and English in the field of language and culture and from Euphemisms(5) 4.1 In Terms of Language (5) 4.1.1 Lexical Device (5) 4.1.2 Phonetic Device (6) 4.1.3 Rhetorical Device (7) 4.2 In Terms of Culture (7) 4.2.1 Different Religions(7) 4.2.2 Different Practices (8) 4.2.3 Different Connotations of Old (9)V. Conclusion (9)Bibliography (10)I. Introduction Now we have joined WTO and we will organize the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. We also have more chances to hold world-wide meetings, activities, etc. Therefore, we want exchange with foreigner easily that we should knew their culture and language more and more. Euphemism is exist in Chinese and English. There is no denying the fact that euphemism is a Language and culture appearance, it can help us understand easily for others. So I will study the culture and language from Euphemism. In every society and culture there are certain things that are not supposed to be separable or mentioned directly. A fair number of words are labeled as frivolous, vulgar, or at least inconsiderate. But in communication, for better maintaining social relationship and exchanging opinions, people have to resort to a kind of language, which can make distasteful ideas seem acceptable or even desirable. Pstein (1985:5) This type of language is defined as "euphemism" in linguistics and it comes in a variety of forms and is used for a variety of reasons. Unlike other figurative language devices, for example, the metaphor of poetry or prose, euphemism aims to surprise and entertain (Lee, 1966), strives to avoid offence by means of circumlocution. As a communicative skill-"telling it like it isn't," (Time, 1978), euphemism abounds in our life. I am very interested in euphemism, because it is not merely a kind of language phenomenon, but also the carrier of English and China culture. As second language learners, even though you have a reasonable command of English, you may feel lost when come across some euphemism. Much research has been done on euphemism because of its prominence in language and culture. A lot of great works came into being during the study of euphemism, which lay a foundation for further research. In 1936, in his book The American Language, American linguist, Mencken, fully discussed why hundreds of euphemisms had been born and become popular on the basis of American history and social cultural background. His book is a valuable legacy for euphemism study. In 1981, British linguist Hugh Rawson compiled A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Double talks, which embodies the achievements of research on euphemisms over the decades by many British and American linguists. More important, in its ten-page-long preface, Hugh Rawson not only traced the history of euphemism, but also widely accounted for characteristics of euphemism as well as its definition, classification, and scope of use. The year 1983 saw the publication of Kind Words-A Thesaurus of Euphemisms, compiled by Neaman and Silver. It is of great value to euphemism study. In 1985, Enright D.J. published a collection of essays on euphemism, The Uses of Euphemism, in which some specific topics like euphemisms and the media, euphemisms and children, and sex and euphemism, etc. were put forward in relation to the different euphemistic uses in the social field. Last but not least, Allan and Burridge published the book Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language used as shield and weapon, in which an interesting perspective on the human psyche is to be gained from the study of euphemism used as a protective shield against the anger or disapproval of natural or supernatural beings. This book is of great significance to the study of English Euphemisms from the pragmatic perspective. II.Language, Culture, and Euphemism2.1 Language and Euphemism "Euphemisms are embedded so deeply in our language that few of us, even those who pride themselves on being plain-spoken, ever get through a day without using them." The relation between language and euphemism is so intrinsically close that it is impossible to study one without an analysis of the other. First of all, language is the vehicle of euphemism.To some extent, we can say that where there is language, there is euphemism. In our daily life, usually certain things are not said for some reasons. We have the employment of euphemisms consciously and unconsciously so as to avoid mentioning certain matters directly, which can make unpleasant things sound better and acceptable. Secondly, euphemism is one form of language; we can derive euphemism from family talks, official meetings, literary words, scribbles on walls, telephone talks, television programs, letters, cards, advertisements, E-mails, oral express and so on. Thirdly, as far as the change of euphemism is concerned, euphemism has experienced the process of growth, development and decline. Therefore, euphemism not only expands and enriches English vocabulary but also contributes to the appropriate and effective use of the English language.2.2 Culture and Euphemism Euphemism, as an indispensable part of every language, is a mirror of morality, customs, politics, life style, social psychology, etc. Euphemism itself cannot exist without social culture with the evidence that expressions used in sensitive areas tend to pick up negative connotations and be replaced by euphemisms.We are sensitive about bodily functions, so there are many euphemisms for "bathroom" (itself a euphemism, replacing the earlier euphemism "toilet", from the French "toilette", originally a cloth used in shaving or hairdressing). Learning euphemism well means more than merely mastering the pronunciation, words and grammar. It means learning to see the world as native speakers of that language see it, learning the ways in which their language reflects the ideas, customs, and behavior of their society, and learning to understand their "language of the mind". The relationship between euphemism and culture is obvious: euphemism, as a cultural-linguistic product, displays its multiple mapping relations with culture; it changes along with the development of society, and the use of euphemism varies with the variation of the context. It is a reflection of culture and carries vestigial patterns once dominant in a society. III.Functions of euphemism in language and culture Functions of euphemism are express clearly in Language and culture. Language and culture communication is the most important means by which people maintain their social relationship. During their communication, people will inevitably encounter unpleasant situations. Using direct and definite language to talk about unpleasantness will undoubtedly displease both sides and possibly affect their relationship. Euphemism has been shouldering the duty of "lubricating" language and social communication since its production. Seen through this angle, euphemism is more than a rhetorical device. It's a communicative means. So when it comes to the function of euphemism, we refer to the communicative function. 3.1 Functions of Euphemism3.1.1 Avoiding Taboo Neaman et al points (1990:130) out the two chief social psychological bases for the production of euphemism, one is taboo, and the other is politeness. To violate the taboo will automatically cause harm to the violator or his/her fellows. In many cultures, the names of gods and devils are taboos as well and people manage to avoid mentioning them directly; otherwise, they would commit the error of blasphemy. Accordingly, western people euphemize the name of Satan as "god of this world", "His Sable Majesty", "old gentleman in black" and "Old Harry". In ancient China, there also existed taboo. People at that time had a belief that the powerful and mysterious forces, such as wind, rain, thunder, etc. will decide their fate, so they had a fear as well as a desire to placate them in communication by using euphemisms. In the Chinese classic A Dream of Red Mansions “起了火” is expressed as “走了水”. In order not to mention or talk about the taboo matters, euphemisms are employed as substitutes for taboo words that often result in anxiety, embarrassment and public shame. With the development of society and science, taboo has been broken continuously and what is now put under taboo is not mysterious or frightening as before.3.1.2 Showing Politeness Politeness plays a very important role in social interaction and conversation. In other words, "face saving" must be taken into account to keep communication going. Everyone needs to keep face in communication. To the criminal, the judge can claim “You have been sentenced to five years in prison.” While if a person has to mention the similar thing in front of the criminal's parents or relatives, he/she will probably say "He has been sent to the big house." or "He is now living under the government's expense." The person use euphemisms to try to avoid being impolite in speech and not hurting the feelings of the criminal's parents and relatives. Seen through the instances here, euphemism does express politeness to others, thus avoiding the unpleasant situation and lubricating peoples social communication as well as their relations.3.1.3 Concealing Truth Euphemism in daily life is for politeness or avoidance of taboo, while euphemism in political life is for disguise. Because of fuzziness in semantic sense, euphemisms can be tactfully or deliberately deceptive. Political life is the fertile soil for euphemism. Whenever political situations change, a large number of euphemisms will be produced. The media and politicians take advantage of the fuzziness to conceal truth in order to avoid offending the public and help maintain the steadiness of political, economic and military situations. In order to divert public attention so as not to intensify social contradictions, "industrial action" substitutes for " strike", "substandard housing" for "slum". During the period of the Reagan Administration, "tax increase" was replaced by "contribution". To conduct international affairs better, "poor nations" can't be found in English, "backward nations", "underdeveloped nations" and "emerging nations" are in its place. After the Watergate affair, the American government created lots of euphemisms to hide such a scandal: "The scheme" was called "scenario", "burglars" became "plumbers", and "the government-sponsored crime" became "a White House horror". In China, we often see such diplomatic remarks in the newspapers .For example, the euphemisms “对此表示遗憾”are used when we dont agree with another country on the international issues. Politicians and the media really give much thought to such a matter. They use euphemisms to deliberately cloud an issue or to distract people's attention, and euphemism really does play an important role in concealment and disguise.3.1.4 Beautification Euphemism is always pleasant to hear and acceptable, making people feel easy and unembarrassed. This is the reason why it is applied to beautify some professions. For example, hairdresser is called beautician; garbage collector is called sanitary engineer; prostitute is called street girl or shady girl.IV.The comparison between Chinese and English in the fielof language and culture and from Euphemisms4.1 In Terms of Language4.1.1 Lexical Device It is permissible for speakers and writers of English to express almost any thought they wish, as long as the more risqué parts of the discussion are rendered in another language, usually French or Latin and so on. Employment of loan words to avoid mentioning a tabooed term is an effective way of euphemizing. It is permissible for one to express whatever thought they wish as long as the more risqué parts of the discussion are rendered in another language. For English euphemism, the so-called "another language" is usually French or Latin. And for Chinese euphemism, the "another language" is generally English. The versatility of French is evident in such diverse aspects as love (affair, amour, liaison), war (personnel, sortie, triage), and women's underwear (brassier, chemise, lingerie). Latin is almost equally popular as a source of English euphemisms, especially for the body's sexual and other functions. Now, let's examine the use of the loan words from English or Japanese in Chinese euphemism. It is not uncommon for us to hear Chinese people mentioning "去W.C.” (to go to W.C), “罗曼史”(romance), “小蜜”(mistress), ect. Substitution is to replace the impolite or unspeakable words with certain literally mild and pleasant words or expressions. Another euphemism for "be sent to prison" is "be sent up the river", because Sing state prison-the best known prison in the U.S.A, is located at the upper reach of the Hudson River, which flows through the New York City. Thus, "agent", "speculator" and "thrifty" have better connotations than "spy", "gambler", and "tight" despite the similar denotations between each pair of words. This is the most commonly employed strategy in encoding euphemism as well as the most frequently tool resorted to in decoding euphemism. It is evident that the ways of expunging offensive express