1、在人类文明日益发展和人际交往不断扩大的今天,委婉语更是发挥着其不可或缺的作用。Hugh Rawson (1981)也曾断言“委婉如此深植于我们的语言中,以至于很少有人能一天离得开它,就连那些以说话平铺直叙而自居的人也不例外。”同样,委婉语也引起了语言学界的极大兴趣。 多年来,语言学者们分别从不同角度对这一语言现象进行分析研究。同时,它独特的语用功能也成为当前社会语用学研究的重要课题。本文通过借鉴前人的研究成果,从语言学的角度来分析,探讨委婉语的产生,分类,构成,委婉语的使用对语言系统与交际的影响,委婉语在人际会话中的功能和应用。本文旨在通过对委婉语产生动因和社会功能意义的分析,为言语交际和社会
2、交流服务,从而认清在人际交往中委婉语使用的重要意义,以减少交际失误,避免人际冲突,改善人际关系。 关键词 委婉语;人际会话;功能;应用 AbstractEuphemism is a common phenomenon in languages. It has a great effect on daily communication. People use euphemism because they fear something, because they want to save face or because they strongly incline to avoid talking
3、about something. With the development of modern society, it has become an important element in peoples interactions. Hugh Rawson (1981) has also affirmed “Euphemisms are embedded so deeply in our language that few of us, even those who pride themselves on being plain-spoken, even get through a day w
4、ithout using them”. So it is not surprising that euphemism has long been a focus of interest in linguistic circle, and a considerable amount of literature on euphemisms has been accumulating.With the progress of society and development of human civilization, euphemism accompanies the process of lang
5、uage communication of the whole society. Many linguists and scholars have studied the linguistic phenomenon from different angles. Based on their achievements, the paper will have an exploration the principles and ways of using English euphemism, make a brief introduction and classification of euphe
6、mism, introduce social function and application of euphemism. Euphemisms are a linguistic technique for people to achieve various goals in communication. Therefore, encoding euphemisms correctly and using them properly are closely related to whether an individual can conduct successful communication
7、.Key Words euphemism; communication; function; applicationOn Function and Application of English Euphemism in CommunicationIntroductionPeople all over the world try to use mild and agreeable language while speaking of unpleasant or embarrassing facts. Almost all people, all the time, seem to have ce
8、rtain things or notions that they avoid mentioning directly. Sometimes people would like to use pleasant, polite or at least harmless-sounding even flattery terms instead of those considered unpleasant or offensive even trouble-making. How to use language terms and sentences to avoid mentioning some
9、thing unpleasant or unlucky; how to avoid using “direct or vulgar words” which usually refer to taboo subjects? Since we are living in the modern world and in a polite, civilized society, we need a certain way to express ourselves in some awkward situations in which euphemism, as an indirect speech,
10、 will surely help us.As a very part of language and a common linguistic phenomenon, euphemism is so widely used in our daily life. Every society, every speech community, every social class has its euphemism. To speak euphemistically is a universal trait. What is euphemism? Why people use euphemism?
11、Why should we speak euphemistically? When is euphemism used? How can we read into them? Such kinds of problems are rather complex. For the circumstances and conditions under them differ from person to person, from profession to profession even from class to class, which means that euphemism is not o
12、nly a linguistic phenomenon but also a cultural and social phenomenon. Therefore, People often use euphemism to make the atmosphere of communication more active, and make the peoples relationship more harmonious. This thesis tries to explore the function and application of English euphemism from pra
13、gmatics angle, to show the use of euphemism is very important in daily life to achieve successful social communication.1. A Brief Introduction of Euphemism1.1 The Definition of EuphemismAccording to the explanation in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary, the word “euphemism” originated from Greek
14、euphemismos and from euphemizein which means “use auspicious words”. Analyzing from the formation of this word, it is comprised of the prefix “eu” which means “good” and a foot “pheme” which means “speaking”. Thus the word literally means “to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner”. (Neaman a
15、nd Silver, 1983:60) That is to say, “euphemism is used as an alternative to unpleasant expression, in order to avoid possible lose of face, either ones own face or through going offense, that of the audience, or some of third of party”. (Allan and Burridge, 1991:18)Different scholars have different
16、explanations of euphemism from various perspectives, but all the definitions share the basic idea: Euphemism is an indirect, roundabout and polite mode of expression used to mean something unpleasant. In communication, it can make the unpleasant things sound better, and make people feel good; it can also ensure both the speaker and the hearer safe w
copyright@ 2008-2022 冰豆网网站版权所有
经营许可证编号:鄂ICP备2022015515号-1