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1、毕 业 论 文A Comparative Study of English and Chinese Euphemisms学生姓名： 学号： 人文社会科学院英语学 院： 专 业： 指导教师： 2012年 6月A Comparative Study of English and Chinese EuphemismsbyDu QianruA ThesisSubmitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirementsfor the Degree of Bachelor of Artsin the Department of Foreign Languageso
2、f North University of ChinaUnder the Supervision of Cui XiuzhenJune 20, 2012Table of ContentsAcknowledgements.iAbstract in English. iiAbstract in Chinese. iiiTable of Contents.ivIIntroduction 1II A Brief Introduction to Euphemism.72.1A General Review of the Studies on Euphemism .72.2 Definition of E
3、uphemism . 82.2.1 Origin and Definition of Euphemism . 92.2.2 Euphemism and Taboo . 112.3Formation of Euphemism .26IIIStudy on Euphemisms in English and Chinese.,.39 3.1 Comparison of Euphemisms in English and Chinese .513.2 Cultural Reasons for the Differences in Expressions. 57IVconclusion .65 Bib
4、liography. 72Acknowledgements:At the point of finishing this paper, Id like to express my sincere thanks to all those who have lent me hands in the course of my writing this paper. First of all, Id like to take this opportunity to show my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Ms.Cui, who has given me
5、so much useful advices on my writing, and has tried her best to improve my paper. Secondly, Id like to express my gratitude to all my classmates offered me references and information on time. Last but not the least, Id like to thank those leaders, teachers and working staff especially those in the S
6、chool of Foreign Languages. Without their help, it would be much harder for me to finish my study and this paper.Abstract in English:Based on previous study. This thesis, consulted a large number of documents and the number of data analysis. This article through to the Chinese and English euphemism
7、structure mode and pragmatic functions contrast, this article aims at analyzing the similarities and differences of English and Chinese euphemism in, to deepen the understanding of the euphemism, in order to better use the euphemism for everyday life more convenience. It aims to analyze the features
8、 of English and Chinese euphemism and point out similarities and differences between them. Because of euphemism in English is widely, so get the communicative functions of euphemism for us to learn English well, effective cross-cultural communication has a great help. Chinese euphemism is very commo
9、n, therefore, the study of Chinese euphemism could contributes much more to our language application. It can deepen peoples understanding of euphemism and employ euphemism properly. English and Chinese euphemism similarities, are more different as well. The contrast of euphemism in addition to revea
10、l its universality and particularity outside, it can also actively guide the studies of foreign language teaching, translation and other applications language discipline also has positive significance.Keywords: euphemism similarities differences functions摘要:在前人研究的基础上，本文通过查阅大量的文件和对数据的数量分析，通过对汉语和英语委婉语
11、的结构模式和语用功能的对比，旨在分析英语和汉语委婉语的相似性和差异，通过对委婉语了解的加深，以便更好的日常生活更方便地使用委婉语。它的目的是分析英汉委婉语的特点，指出它们之间的相似性和差异。因为英语中的委婉语广泛，所以委婉语的交际功能对于我们学好英语，有效的跨文化交际有很大的帮助。汉语中的委婉语也非常普遍，因此，研究汉语委婉语更有助于我们语言的应用。它可以加深人们正确的理解和使用委婉语的说法。英语和汉语委婉语的异同，更加不一样。委婉语的对比除了揭示其普遍性和特殊性外，它还可以积极引导研究外语教学，翻译和其他应用语言学科也有积极的意义。关键字：委婉语 广泛 普遍性 特殊性Table of Con
12、tents：IIntroductionAccording to Zhao zhengqing(1996:153), euphemism: is the figure of speech which consists in the substitution of a word or expression of comparative favorable implication or less unpleasant associations instead of the harsher or more offensive one that would more precisely designat
13、e what is instead”. Politeness, as a symbol of human civilization, is a social一cultural as well as linguistic phenomenon that can be found in all languages and cultures Euphemism is a strategy to achieve politeness in peoples daily conversation. Almost all cultures have certain notions or things tha
14、t people try to avoid mentioning directly. When such a notion or thing has to be referred to, a different term or phrase that sounds better will be used as substitution, which is called euphemism-the use of a pleasant, polite, or harmless-sounding term in the place of those considered unpleasant, ru
15、de and offensive. Euphemisms, in a broad sense, include all the ways of euphemistic expressions, such as words, phrases, sentences and discourses etc. In specific situation and context, even some nonverbal expressions can achieve the same effect as the verbal euphemisms. Although English and Chinese
16、 belong to different culture systems, there do exist some similarities on English and Chinese euphemism in the aspect of culture connotation. For example, they both originated form the traditional language taboo which drives people in west and east to find another way to express the tabooed subjects
17、. And then euphemisms came into being. In the modern life, as a cultural phenomenon, euphemism is widely used more out of politeness than fear and the principles of politeness in west and east share something in common. Besides, English and Chinese euphemism is based on similar psychological factors
18、: the psychology of pursuing beauty and self-defense. And dissimilarities or differences on cultural connotations in English and Chinese euphemisms exist, mainly focusing on the root of traditional culture and the value orientation. Euphemism is not only a linguistic and cultural phenomenon, but als
19、o a rhetoric and communicative strategy and it is more widely used and expanded. A contrastive study of euphemism is helpful for Chinese and English-speaking people to know more about each other, including their ways of thinking, views on morality, social values, customs and the like. Of course, as
20、a language variation of deception and evasion, euphemism should be used cautiously and restrictively. In the society in the process of language communication, due to different life, environment, different real life scenes, it is hard for different people to communicate when meeting. In order to expr
21、ess ideas and exchanges. As a result, people choose to use euphemism. Euphemism is a common phenomenon in human society. Language, as a part of the culture, reflecting the cultural scene in the form state, is the portrayal of a national culture, which reflects the national language represented menta
22、l awareness, geography, style, historical changes, religious beliefs, customs and traditions, and economic developments. In modern society, in specific areas and social generation and popular. The euphemism has become a very common phenomenon which is like a mirror. It reflects region and social eth
23、ics, customs. To be familiar with the linguistic features of euphemism in the target culture, to be aware of the differences between the target culture and the native culture and to interpret and use euphemism according to social context are keys to effective employment of euphemism in intercultural
24、 communication.II A Brief Introduction to Euphemism2.1 A General Review of the Studies on Euphemism Euphemism is a common linguistic phenomenon in different cultures. Many scholars at home and abroad have made studies of euphemisms from different perspectives. British writer George Blunt advanced th
25、e term “euphemism” defining it as “a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word” in the early 1580s, much ink has been poured in this field. A milestone appeared in 1981 when British linguist Hugh Rawson edited his a Dictionary of Euphemisms and other Doubletalk, a collection of years of researc
26、h by British and American linguists. Its 14-page long preface gives a comprehensive discussion on the history, definition, coverage, classification and characteristics of euphemisms. In 1983, American scholars J. S. Neaman&C.C. Silver published their book Kind Words, a Thesaurus of Euphemisms, which
27、 presents a detailed description on the history of euphemisms as well as deep discussions on that field. D. J. Enrights Fair of speech: The Use of Euphemism in 1985, John Aytos Times Euphemism in 1994 and R.W. Holders A Dictionary of Euphemisms in 1995 illustrate euphemistic words and expressions wi
28、th rich examples. Robert Burchfields view(2003), a language without euphemism would be a defective instrument of communication. Tracing euphemism will help to see what has been going on in languages, minds and cultures.The recorded study of Chinese euphemism dates back to Zhou Dynasty. As in the cas
29、e of its English counterparts, ancient studies of Chinese euphemisms focus on the avoidance of certain names and of the folk customs at lexical level. A breakthrough is made by Chen Wangdao(1932) in his Introduction to Rhetoric. He extends the concept of euphemism to syntax or even discourse level.
30、From the 1970s and the 1980s when foreign linguistic theories landed in China, Chinese linguists began to view euphemism from different perspectives: Chen Yuan(1932) makes a study from social linguistics, Wang Dechun(1995) makes a study from social psychological linguistics, Wu Liquan(2002) makes a
31、study from culture and rhetorics, Shu Dingfang(1989) makes a study from pragmatics, Wu Tieping(1989) makes a study from fuzzy linguistics, etc. Moreover, Zhang Gonggui (1996) compiled A Dictionary of Chinese Euphemisms.People in both languages have shared psychological foundations in the use of euph
32、emisms. In Shu Dingfangs view(1989), self-defense principle is fundamental in English and Chinese euphemisms. According to this principle, people tend to take their own social status and identity into consideration and try to protect self-benefits and honor. They use good words and expressions to ta
33、lk about the things related to them instead of the vulgar ones.Traditionally, euphemism is categorized as a rhetorical device which stands side by side with other figures of speech, such as metaphor, metonymy, and personification and so on. This classification has been considered inappropriate by ma
34、ny linguistic researchers. Li Guolan (2001:191) proposes that euphemism is better regarded as a communicative effect than a rhetorical device. Wu Tieping(1989) also argues that euphemism is actually quite different from metonymy in that the former focuses on the purpose while the latter on the appro
35、ach. A large number of English and Chinese euphemisms are created for euphemistic purposes through a wide variety of linguistic approaches. Euphemism does not have to be lexicalized to individual words. Syntax and grammar can be euphemistic and euphemism can cover whole stretches of discourse too. W
36、u Liquan (2002: 10) goes even further by claiming any manner of speaking that leans toward indirectness may be a euphemism. In his opinion, Chinese euphemism takes two forms: (a) its typical forms: fourteen figures of speech like pun, parable, and two-part allegorical saying etc., (b) its non-typica
37、l forms: twelve rhetorical devices such as metaphor, metonymy, hyperbole and so on.The achievements of predecessors left us abundant materials for reference and paved the way for us to study the subject from different perspectives.The lexical view:Studies on euphemism from the perspective of lexicol
38、ogy are mainly seen in the compiling of dictionaries. These dictionaries collect euphemisms, trace back the etymology of euphemisms and explain the meanings of euphemisms.In 1981, British linguist Hugh Rawson compiled A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Double Talks, which embodied the achievements
39、 of research on euphemisms over the decades by many British and American linguists. More importantly, in its ten page long preface, Hugh Rawson traced the history of euphemism and illustrated characteristics of euphemism widely as well as its definition, classification, and scope of use. In the dict
40、ionary, a thorough description of the meaning and the etymology of each euphemism were given in detail.Chinese scholars like Liu Chunbao(刘纯豹2001) and Zhang Gonggui(张拱贵1996）compiled A Dictionary of English Euphemisms and A Dictionary of Chinese Euphemisms respectively. Their dictionaries give Chinese
41、 people a brief introduction to the meaning and etymology of English and Chinese euphemisms which may arouse people s interest in learning euphemism.The advantages of compiling dictionaries lie in the comprehensive description of euphemisms and the convenience with which people may check the meaning
42、 and the etymology of one euphemistic expression quickly. However, this lexicographical approach rarely concerns with the socio-cultural or socio-psychological aspect of euphemism.The rhetorical view:Studies from the rhetorical view treat euphemism as a figure of speech. Chinese scholars have long s
43、howed great interest in rhetoric. It is surely adopted in studies of euphemism. Starting from Chen Wangdaos(陈望道)Introduction to Rhetoric(修辞学发凡) in 1976, for a long time, Chinese researchers had mainly paid their attention to rhetoric part. Chen Wangdao described the evolution of rhetoric in Chinese
44、in his book and clearly classified euphemisms when talking of the subject(陈望道1976: 138-143).In 1992, Fan Jiacai(范家材)gave a detailed description of euphemism in Appreciation and Analysis of English Rhetoric. He collected past results of euphemism study and discussed the origin, features and formation
45、 of euphemism(范家材1992: 168-178). The great contribution of rhetorical study on euphemism lies in its breakthrough in breaking the restriction of the study on lexical level, and extends the Inception to the level of sentence and discourse. However, the rhetorical view pays much attention to the class
46、ification and features of euphemism and hardly touches upon the social psychological aspect or social culture.The semantic view:The semantic view studies euphemism by explaining the origin and formation of euphemisms in terms of their semantic features. Many Chinese scholars published articles to air their views on euphemism from semantic angle. Jiang Xihe(江希和1983) briefly introduced history of English euphemism and gave lots of vivid examples. He also put forward some qu