英美社会与文化论文.docx

1、英美社会与文化论文TITLEOn the Formation and Classification of English EuphemismsContentsAbstract in Chinese 1Abstract in English .11. Introduction.2. Literature Review.3. Formation of Euphemisms . .3.1 Omission. .3.2 Adoption of acronyms or abbreviated words. . 3.3 Adoption of fuzzy words. .3.4 Substitution

2、of synonyms.3.5 Application of analogy. 3.6 Adoption of foreign words.3.7 Understatement. . 3.8 Circuitous statements. .3.9 Metaphor .3.10 Special sentence patterns to tone it mildly.4.Classification of Euphemisms.4.1 From the perspective of semantics.4.2 From the perspective of appearance frequency

3、.4.3 From the perspective of the scopes of practical use.4.3.1 Euphemisms on death.4.3.2 Euphemisms on sex and pregnancy.4.3.3 Euphemisms on going to the toilet.4.3.4 Euphemisms on physical appearance. .4.3.5 Euphemisms on professions.4.3.6 Euphemisms on poverty and joblessness.4.3.7 Euphemisms on c

4、rimes.4.3.8 Euphemisms on politics.4.3.9 Euphemisms on war.4.3.10 Euphemisms on commerce.4.3.11 Euphemisms on addressing God and demon.5. Conclusion.Bibliography.2222233333333444455666778889910AbstractThe use of euphemism is a prevailing language phenomenon in human communication. And the correct us

5、e of euphemism can avoid embarrassment and unpleasantness during interpersonal communication, which leads to the successful social intercourse. In our current society, euphemism is used in every field, so it is of importance in English learning and application that learning euphemism well. The essay

6、 introduced the function and the application of euphemism, basing on these, summarized the formation and classification of euphemisms from a new stand, aiming to facilitate the correct and flexible use of euphemism. Key words: euphemism; formation and classification; correct use内容摘要委婉语的使用是人类交往过程中非常普

7、遍的一种语言现象。正确的使用委婉语可以避免人际交往的尴尬或不快，从而达到成功交往的目的。当今社会，委婉语已在各个领域被广泛地使用，因此学好英语中的委婉语对于我们的英语学习和英语应用有着重要的现实意义。文章介绍了委婉语的功能和运用，在此基础上总结了委婉语的构成与分类。主旨在帮助英语学习者避免委婉语的错误运用，促进中外双方交流的顺利准确。关键词：委婉语；构成与分类;正确运用1. IntroductionEuphemism is originated from the Greek which means “good speech”. Today some western scholars even

8、label it as “gilded speech” or the “cosmetic words”.Euphemisms can help eliminate rudeness and vulgarity and refine linguistic forms in interpersonal conversations, hence they are used extensively to facilitate the communications. English is abundant in euphemisms. English euphemisms are mild and in

9、direct in tones, vivid and lively in effects. They have played an unsubstitutible role in daily interactions. This essay makes a brief probe into the formation and classification of euphemisms. Many experts (like Zola Stone) have elaborated on this topic from different perspectives, but their findin

10、gs are either partial or incomplete. This thesis tries to give a complete classification of euphemisms from a new stand.2. Literature ReviewGenerally speaking, many linguistics have made studies of the formation and classification of euphemism, but most of them made their studies from different stan

11、ds, and their studies are all partly incomplete. For example, some study the classification from the forming principles (孙保国), while some from the aspect of everyday use(陈文乾). All these studies make the study of the classification so rich and splendid.3. Formation of Euphemisms Euphemisms can be ach

12、ieved by a lot of means. This section will discuss in brief each type of methods. 3.1 OmissionBy omitting some harsh words, we can make our words milder and gentler. For example, in public, we do not say “pregnant women”, instead, we are expected to say” She is expecting” or “She is in a delicate co

13、ndition”.3.2 Adoption of acronyms or abbreviated words. For example we abbreviate water closet for “W.C”, body odor for “B.O” , cancer for “Big C”.3.3 Adoption of fuzzy words. When we talk about something unpleasant, many fuzzy words are used to express our thoughts in a vague way to avoid to be off

14、ensive. If an unwed girl becomes pregnant, her neighbors may talk in this way: “She has an accident.” Vagina or penis is more frequently referred to the private part 3.4 Substitution of synonymsIn order to praise someone and show our well meaning, we sue some synonymous words to substitute the origi

15、nal words. The synonyms usually are more positive than the replaced one. For instance, “economical” can be replaced by some other words, such as“ thrift”3.5 Application of analogy. This method is frequently seen peoplejobs. are mentioned.Street cleaner, is affectionately called “sanitation engineer”

16、 or “city beautician”; and the rat-catcher, affectionately referred as ” exterminating engineer”.3.6 Adoption of foreign words. The use of a foreign word to express the meaning is extensively found in actual practice, for example,” lingerie “(a French word.) is favored by most English-spoken people,

17、 rather than “womens inside clothes”. 3.7 Understatement. For example, steal can be said as take others things without permission. The latter expression is favored by many people, especially the burglars. This method can help decrees the negative impressions.3.8 Circuitous statements. A teachers ass

18、essment on one student can be he is sure to go far if he can use his resources fully, whose undertone is this student is too lazy. And to describe a cheating boy can be he depends on others too much to do his work.3.9 Metaphor To die is described as go to sleep forever; the pimple is compared to blo

19、ssom3.10 Special sentence patterns to tone it mildly. English euphemisms can be achieved by the use of syntactic means, especially in conjunctive moods. Other sentence patterns include:Could you please give me a cup of coffee?Id like some sugar. Respectively, I am afraid, I am not sure and other phr

20、ases used in conjunction.“What about going to the West Lake?”All the ten methods above can help make your speech courteous and elegant.4.classification of euphemisms.Euphemisms can be classified into different types from different angles. This section chiefly touches upon three kinds of division. 4.

21、1 From the perspective of semantics, euphemisms can be divided into three groups, ie, positive euphemisms, negative euphemisms and neutral euphemisms.1) Positive euphemisms refer to the supplantation of humble words for agreeable or pleasant words. For example, when people talk about the cobbler we

22、may most likely use the“shoe rebuilder” instead.2) Negative euphemisms refer to the replacement of pejorative words for less offensive words. For example, people often do not say “a madhouse”, instead we tend to use “insane asylum” more frequently.3) Neutral euphemisms refer to the substitution for

23、a foreign word.4.2 From the perspective of appearance frequency, euphemisms can be grouped as temporary euphemisms and general euphemisms.1) Temporary euphemisms have a very limited circulation and time span , maybe just in a family or among a group of friends. For example one family happen to refer

24、 “euphemism” as the toilet, but the outsiders may totally feel at a loss about what they are talking about.2) General euphemism refers to the fixed linguistic units during a certain period of time in a language community. As a rule, most of them can be traced in various dictionaries, such as be expe

25、cting, kicked the bucket, disadvantaged citizen and so on.4.3 From the perspective of the scopes of practical use, euphemisms fall into ten groups. 4.3.1 Euphemisms on healthThis kind o f Euphemisms originated from the early human civilization. To avoid the association of fear, helplessness and sorr

26、ow bounded with “death”, we often use euphemisms. as below:Direct expressionsEuphemismsdiepass awaygo to heavenpass awaydepartleave usgo to sleepfinal sleepceased to thinkgone to sleep - but for everillunder the weatheroldadvanced in agesenior citizengolden agevenerable peopleget on yearspass ones p

27、rimegraveyardmemory gardenfinal resting placedeath penaltycapital punishmentcancerterminally ill4.3.2.Euphemisms on sex and pregnancyDirect expressionsEuphemismsvenereal diseasesocial diseaseillegitimate childlove childfree lovetrial marriagemenstruationhave ones periodshomosexualgay, queerpregnantt

28、o be in a delicate condition,to spoil a womans shape,a lady in waitingto be in a family wayto have sex withgo to bed withhave physical contact with4.3.3.Euphemisms on going to the toiletDirect expressionsEuphemismsto urinate or defecateanswer natures callwash ones handsgo to the bathroomdo ones busi

29、nesswomens lavatorypowder roommens lavatorygents4.3.4.Euphemisms on physical appearance.Direct expressionsEuphemismsugly plain , homelyskinnySlender, slimfatweight-watcherplump ,stoutout-size over-weightacneproblem skindeafhard of listeningbreastbosomleglimb4.3.5.Euphemisms on professionsDirect expressionsEuphemismsundertakermorticiancobblershoe rebuildergardenerlandscape architectsecretaryadministrative assistantplumberheating engineergarbage collect