浅谈英语委婉语及其社会影响
[Abstract] Language communication is an important method to maintain social relationship, so people often use the indirect or pleasant expressions in the place of those considered unpleasant, rude or offensive in communication. It is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a kind of social phenomenon and cultural phenomenon. It reflects some kinds of corresponding cultural traditions. This paper mainly focuses on the ways of expression, the major function and the social influence of euphemism in English. And the first part elaborates upon the different expressions of euphemism in English, divided into four parts: figure of speech, semantic method, the variety of pronunciation and spelling form and grammar. And then it makes study the appliance of euphemism on three functions: avoidance, courtesy, disguise in social life, and discusses the positive and negative influences of euphemism. To know these could help us to understand the mode of thinking, social values, moral concepts, and cultural traditions in English-speaking country, and could improve our language communicative ability.[Key words]: Euphemism, application, social influence, positive, negative
【摘 要】 语言交际是人类以维系社会关系的重要手段，因而人们在交际中通常避免使用引起双方不快从而损害双方关系的语言，而是采取迂回曲折的方法来表达思想，交流信息，它不仅是种语言现象，而且是社会现象和文化现象。委婉语言体现了相应的社会文化传统。本文主要阐述了英语委婉语的构成方法以及它的社会影响，并着重从修辞手段，语义手段，构词手段及语法手段对委婉语言作了较全面的'分析，并对委婉语在交际中的语用功能和表达方式做了一些探讨，从委婉语的“避讳”功能，“礼貌”功能和“掩饰”功能三个方面探讨了委婉语在社会生活中的运用，了解委婉语在运用中的积极作用和消极作用, 有助于我们更深入的了解英语国家人们的思维方式、社会价值观、道德观以及文化风俗，对于提高自身言语交际功能是十分必要的。
【关键词】 委婉语； 运用； 社会影响; 积极；消极
1. Introduction
Euphemism is originally from Greek, meaning, “speak with gook words”. “eu” means “well or sounding well”; “pheme” means “speech”. Its definition in Oxford English Dictionary is “(example of the) use of pleasant, mild, or indirect words or phrases in place of more accurate or direct ones.”[1]
The appearance of euphemism is based on two reasons: one aims to take the place of “taboo”. When giving up a taboo word, people will find another new one to take the place of it, which creates a euphemism. The other aims to avoid offensiveness during the communication. It is a figure of rhetoric by which an unpleasant or offensive thing is described or referred to by a milder term.
In English language, euphemism is widely used in the daily communications. In order to achieve the aim of “taboo”, it is used to avoid the unpleasant thing; in order to achieve the aim of “politeness”, it is used to avoid the inelegant things[2], which are the two social psychological basis of the emergence of euphemism. Euphemism is one of the important parts of figure of speech. It is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a kind of social phenomenon and cultural phenomenon. Euphemism in use differs from person to person, from profession to profession, even from class to class[3] , That’s why sometimes the meaning of some euphemisms will puzzle you if you do not know the background of English culture. To grasp the English euphemism can not only help us open our eyes, but strengthen our ability of reading comprehension. This paper aims to discuss the application of euphemism in English and to make acknowledge of its social influence, which could help us use euphemism in a correct way.
2. Ways to express euphemism
2.1. Figure of speech
2.1.1. Metonymy.
That is to use the general words to take the place of the concrete words. “Passed away” which refers to “dead” belongs to metonymy. It can be divided into the following forms: 1) to use the container to take the place of the things in the container. For example: “to be fond of the bottle” is a euphemism for “liking to drink”. 2) To use the entirety instead of the part. For example: “abdomen” is used to refer to “belly”; “limb” refers to “leg”. For some special occasions, the part can be used instead of the entirety. In Australian English “an old hand” is a euphemism for “an old prisoner”. 3) To use the tools to take the place of the objects. For example, “pick” is a tool of prying the lock. It can refer to “thief”. 4) To use raw materials to take the place of finished products. For instance, “poppy” is a kind of flower, but it also refers to “opium”. 5) To use characteristics to take the place of objects. For example, “hellow” is a greeting word, and it is also a euphemism for “prostitute” because prostitutes often use this word to solicit the whoremasters; “blood and iron” is a euphemism for “violence”. 6) To use proper words to replace the objects. For example, “napoleon” is a French golden coin on which there is Napoleon’s head portrait. “Borstal” is a name of countryside in Kent in Britain. It can also refer to “juvenile delinquency”.