语言文化论文-浅谈英语委婉语的分类、构成方式及社会功能.doc

语言文化论文-浅谈英语委婉语的分类、构成方式及社会功能AbstractAsanindispensableandnaturalpartofEnglishlanguage,Englisheuphemismshaveexistedforalongtime.Theappearanceofeverything,includingeuphemism,hasitsreasons.TheemergenceofEnglisheuphemismshasacloserelationwithlanguagetaboosandreligion.SinceEnglisheuphemismsplayanimportantroleinsocialcommunication,theyworthcarefulandthoroughstudy.Thispaperwillmainlydealwiththeformation,classificationandsocialfunctionofEnglisheuphemisms.VariousmethodshavebeenusedtoformEnglisheuphemisms,includingphoneticdevices,spellingdevices,vocabularydevices,grammaticaldevicesandrhetoricaldevices.ThepaperalsotriestoclassifyEnglisheuphemismsaccordingtothecontent.Englisheuphemismsarealmostemployedinallfieldsoflifesuchasinthefieldofdailylife,inthefieldofeducation,inthefieldoflaw,inthefieldofpolitics,andinthefieldofcommerceandindustry.Fromthedaytheycameintobeing,Englisheuphemismsplaytheroleofsociallubricator.Withoutthem,theworldwillbefullofconflictsandthesocialorderwillbeinchaos.ThefunctionofEnglisheuphemismsisdiversified.Besidesevasion,Englisheuphemismsnowarealsousedforpoliteness,eleganceanddisguise.KeyWordsEnglisheuphemism；formation；classification；socialfunction【摘要】委婉语是人类语言中的一种普遍现象，其存在的历史相当悠久。任何事物的出现总有其原因，委婉语当然也不例外。委婉语的出现是与语言禁忌息息相关的。英语委婉语在交际中起着十分重要的作用，因此值得深入的学习和研究。本文主要从英语委婉语的构成方式、分类和社会功能来进行阐述。英语委婉语的构成方式多种多样包括语音手段、语法手段、修辞手段等。论文还试图根据英语委婉语的内容对其应用范围进行归类。英语委婉语涉及生活的方方面面，既有日常生活中的委婉语又有教育和法律委婉语以及政治委婉语与商业和工业领域委婉语。从其诞生之日起，英语委婉语就肩负着社会润滑剂这项重任。可以预见如果没有委婉语人际交往中将会增加许多摩擦和矛盾。英语委婉语具有多样化的功能。除了避讳，它还具有礼貌、求雅、掩饰等功能。【关键字】英语委婉语；构成方式；分类；社会功能1.IntroductionEuphemismshaveexistedforalongtime.Theword“euphemism”comesfromtheGreekword“Euphemia”.Theprefix“eu-”means“good”,thestem“pheme”means“speech”or“saying”.Manypeoplehavedefinedeuphemism.Herearesomeofthedefinitions.(1)“(exampleofthe)useofpleasant,mildorindirectwordsorphasesinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectones.”1(2)“apolitewordorexpressionthatyouuseinsteadofamoredirectonetoavoidshockingorupsettingsomeone.”2(3)“alessdirectwordusedinsteadofonethatisharshorbluntwhenreferringtosomethingunpleasantorembarrassing.”3(4)“Substitutionofmildorvagueorroundaboutexpressionforharshordirectone；Expressionthussubstituted.”4(5)“apolitewordorexpressionthatpeopleusetotalkaboutsomethingunpleasantorembarrassing,suchasdeathandsex.”5(6)“Aeuphemismisusedasanalternativetoadispreferredexpression,inordertoavoidpossiblelossofface:Eitheronesownfaceor,throughgivingoffence,thatoftheaudience,orofsomethirdparty.”6Justastheabovedefinitionsstate,someharsh,blunt,unpleasantoroffensivethingsinlifeshouldnotbestateddirectlyandtruthfullyincertainoccasions.Underthesecircumstances,somebetter-soundingnamesshouldbeused.Euphemismisapartofhumanlanguageaswellasapsychologicalandculturalphenomenonofdifferentnations.TheusageofEnglisheuphemismreflectsethicsandbehavioralcodeofpeopleinEnglish-speakingcountries.Fromthedayitcameintobeing,euphemismfunctionsasthelubricatorofcommunication.Thusitenablespeopletoliveinharmonyandmakesconversationssmoothandsuccessful.Thefollowingpartsholdadiscussionontheorigin,formation,classificationandsocialfunctionofEnglisheuphemisms.2.TheoriginofEnglisheuphemisms“Euphemismisthelinguisticreflectionofsocialpsychologyandaproductofsocialandculturalenvironment.”7“Inwesternnations,theusageofeuphemismsinearlytimesoriginatedfromreligionoradmiresanddreadofgods.”8Itsearlieremergencehadacloserelationtolanguagetaboosandreligion.Inancientsociety,asthelevelofproductivityandsciencewasverylow,peoplefailedtoexplaintheessenceofsomenaturalphenomenasuchaslighteningandthunder.Theycametobelievethatthereweresomesupernaturalpowers,ortheexistenceofdevilsandgodsthatcontrolledtheirlivesandeventhewholeworld.Theydarednottomentionthenamesofthedevilsandgodsdirectly,justastheidiomgoes“Speakofthedevilandheappears.”Thus,languagetabooscameintobeing.Tofindasolutiontothisproblem,peopleusedothernamesthatis,euphemismstosubstitutethenamesofthosethingstheyfearedincircumstancesthattheyhadtospeakofthem.Becauseoftheusageofeuphemisms,peoplefeltthattheyweresomewhatdistantfromwhattheywereafraidofandtheirsafety,happiness,healthandgoodluckwereguaranteed.Thoughitisaratheroldreligiouscustom,itstillexertsastronginfluenceonmodernwesternnations.Asweallknow,themajorityofthepopulationofEnglish-speakingcountriesbelievesinGodconsciouslyorunconsciously,andtheythinkthatGodexistseverywhereandhasunlimitedpower.WordsrelatedtoGodandreligioncanonlybeusedinreligiousceremonies.SincethenameofGodisregardedastheavatarofGoditself,peopleusuallyuse“theLord”toreplaceit.Besides,Jesusiseuphemizedas“Gee”,“jeepers”,“jiminy”,“Cricket”or“Criminet”；and“thedeuce”,“thedickens”or“OldNick”substitutes“theDevil”.3.TheformationofEnglisheuphemismsVariousdevicesareemployedtoformEnglisheuphemisms.3.1PhoneticdevicesPhoneticdistortionisacommonmeanstoformEnglisheuphemism.Forexample,Peopleuse“Gad”,“Goodness”,“Gosh”,and“Golly”toreplace“God”anduse“cripes”toreplace“Christ”inordertoshowrespect.Assonanceisanotherimportantmeanstoformeuphemisms.Forexample,“acoffinshopiseuphemizedasacoffeeshop,forcoffinandcoffeehavesimilarityinsound.”9RhymingslangisalsoemployedtoformEnglisheuphemisms.Slangisveryinformalandhaslocalcolor.Itwasoriginallyusedbyworkingpeople.Now,someslangwordshavebeenacceptedinStandardEnglishandusedaseuphemisms.Forexample,“Bristolcities”isfor“breasts”；“graspandgrunt”isrhymingslangfor“cunt”and“tealeaf”isfor“thief”.3.2Spellingdevices3.2.1AbbreviationsSomeeuphemismsareabbreviations.Forexample,“VD”isfor“venerealdisease”；“BO”isfor“bodyodor”；“BM”substitutes“bowelmovement”；“WC”substitutes“watercloset”；“OD”replaces“totakeanoverdose”,etc.3.2.2ReinterpretationofinitialsReinterpretationofinitialsisalsousedtoformEnglisheuphemisms.Forexample,“hotandcold”isaroundaboutexpressionfor“heroinandcocaine”.“hot”and“heroin”havethesameinitial“h”and“cold”and“cocaine”havethesameinitial“c”,but“hotandcold”soundslessaccurateandindirect.3.3vocabularydevices3.3.1LoanwordsBorrowingistheuseofloanwordsinordertoavoidtaboos.“Itisthoughtthatloanwordshavefewnegativemeaningandsensitiveassociations,sothattheysoundmoreneutralandpleasant.”10Hereisalistofdirectexpressionsandtheirrespectiveeuphemisms.“EnglishFrenchLatinsmellscentstinkodorfatrotundsick/illindisposedlieprevaricatespitexpectoratesweatperspire”11Asweallknow,in43A.D.RomanEmpireconqueredEnglandandbroughtLatintoEnglandandLatinbecameofficiallanguageinEngland.AftertheNormanConquestin1066,FrenchbecamethegovernmentallanguageinEngland.ButFrenchandLatinwereonlyspokenbytheupperclasses,andamongthelowclassesEnglishwasspoken.Theupperclassesheldtheviewthatwordsusedbythemselvesweresuperiortothoseusedbythelowclasses.SotheyusedFrenchorLatinwordstoreplaceunpleasantEnglishwords.LaterpeopleacceptedtheviewthatFrenchandLatinwordsaremoreeuphemisticthanEnglishwords.3.3.2UsingupliftingwordsUpliftingwordscanmakeonefeelhappierormorehopefulsotheyareusedquitefrequentlyinmodernEnglishasanimportantmeanstoeuphemizethingsrelatedtothehumblesocialclass.Themainpurposeofusingtheseeuphemismsistomakemenialjobssounddecent.Forexample,peoplereplace“waiters”or“waitresses”by“thediningroomattendants”,“landscapeworker”by“landscapearchitect”,“garbageman”by“sanitaryengineer”,andsubstitute“butcher”with“meattechnologist”.Generallyspeaking,informingeuphemismtheruleofusingwordsthatareeasyontheearsisobservedforthepurposeofconsolation.Throughusingupliftingwords,theembarrassingfactsareembellishedandnolongerunpleasant.33.3UsingvaguewordsorexpressionsInmodernwesterncountries,vaguewordsorexpressionsareusedinalmostallthefields.“Ifaneighboringgirlhasachildbeforemarriage,peoplewillcommentlikethis:Shehasanaccident.Thewordaccidentisveryvague.Ifapersoncameacrossadisasteranddied,peoplewillalsouseaccidenttodescribehissituation.Theymaysay:Hehasmetwithanaccident.”12Inschoolastudentmaysaytoateacher:“Sorry!Ihavetodomybusiness”whenhewantstogotothewashingroom.Besides,“amanofbadtaste”iscalled“amanofdoubtfultaste”；and“homosexual”isreplacedby“queer”.“Itisnowonderthateuphemismisnamedweaselwords.”133.3.4UsingcountrynamesNamesofsomecountriesareusedtosubstituteuncomfortablethings.Forexample,“Dutchcourage”replaces“weakcourage”,thatis,couragethatcomesfromdrinkingalcohol；and“Dutchuncle”isfor“unpleasantrelative”.WeallknowthattherewasawarbetweenBritainandDutchin17thcentury.Fromthenon,hatredexistedamongpeopleinthesetwonations.AndEnglishmenusedeverychancetomakejokeofDutch.BesidesDutch,Franceisalsousedtoformeuphemismslike“Frenchnovels”for“pornnovels”and“Frenchletters”for“condom”.Andpeopleuse“Frenchdevices/methods”orsimply“Frenchise”toreplacemethodsofbirthcontrol.PeopleinBritainbanterFrenchbecausetheywereonceruledbyit.3.4GrammaticaldevicesMoreandmorelinguistsbecometonoticeeuphemismsformedthroughgrammaticaldevices.Sucheuphemismsareusedbyspeakerswithacertainpurpose.Onlythroughthecontext,canlistenersfigureoutspeakersspecialintention.3.4.1UsingthepasttenseInwrittenEnglishthepasttenseismostlyusedtoexpressanactionorafacthappenedinacertainpointoftimeinthepast.ButinoralEnglish,thepasttensecanreplacethepresenttensetomakethemeaningofthesentencessoundsmorepoliteandmild.(1)Doyouwantmetohelpyou?(2)Didyouwantmetohelpyou?(3)Iwonderifyoucandomeafavor.(4)Iwonderedifyoucoulddomeafavor.Sentences(1)and(3)usethepresenttenseandsentences(2)and(4)usethepasttense,andtheyareallgrammaticallyright.Butsentences(2)and(4)soundmorepleasant,fortheymeanthatwhatthespeakerssayhappenedinthepast,sothelistenerswillnotfeelembarrassediftheyhavedifferentanswersfromthespeakersatthetimebeing.(5)Wouldntitbebetterforustostartoffalittleearliertomorrow?(6)ThisissomethingIshouldadviseyounottodo.Byusingthepasttenseofmodelauxiliaryverbs,theabovesentencesputforwardapoliteproposalinsteadofaharshone.3.4.2UsingthesubjunctivemoodThesubjunctivemoodinEnglishismainlyusedtoexpressdoubt,wishes,orpossibility.WhenusedinspokenEnglish,onecanachieveabettercommunicationeffectthanwithindicativemoodorimperativemood.Herearesomeexamples:(7)IfIwereyou,Iwouldnotgothere.(8)Ifhebefoundguilty,hismembershipwouldbesuspended.(9)Itisessentialthatherecognizehisfault.3.4.3UsingthepassivevoiceInEnglish,thepassivevoiceisusedtoavoidmentioningthedoer,especiallywhenexpressingcriticism.Herearetwoexamples:(10)Itisgenerallyconsiderednotacceptabletoactthatway.(11)Thisbookwasnotwellwritten.Insentence(10),thepassivevoiceistactfullyusednottoindicatewhoactsthatway.Insentence(11),thespeakerdoesnotmentionwhoisthewriterinordernottohurtthepersonconcerned.3.4.4UsingparenthesesParenthesesarealsousedtoformeuphemisms.Andaparenthesiscanbeaword,aphraseorasentence,suchas,“Ithink”,“Iguess”,“Imafraid”,“Isuppose”,“Iwonder”,“itseems”,and“itissaid”.Theyareusedtomakeastatementlessdirectorlessstrong.Herearesomeexamples:(12)Theman,itseems,istheonewholivesnextdoortoTim.(13)This,Ithink,isaverygoodwaytoimproveyourEnglishstudy.With“itseems”and“Ithink”thetwosentencessoundmoremodestandlessrighteous.3.4.5Using“please”Outofkindnessandpoliteness,theword“please”isusedasaeuphemisticdevice.Examples:(14)Nophotos,please.(15)Closethedoor,please.(16)Children,please!Iamtryingtowork.Insentence(14),“please”isemployedonasigntosaythatsomethingisnotallowedpolitely.Sentence(15)uses“please”asapolitewayofaskingsomebodytodosomething.Sentence(16)employs“please”asamildcriticism,toasksomebodytostopbehavingbadly.3.4.6UsingtagquestionsAphrasesuchas“isntit?”,“wontit”,or“doesntshe”isaddedtotheendofasentencetomakeitaquestionortoaskyoutoagreewiththeabovestatementpolitely.Examples:(17)Letsgofishingthisafternoon,shallwe?(18)Turnonthelightforme,willyou?3.5RhetoricaldevicesSomeeuphemismsareinventedbyrhetoricalmeansasfollows.3.5.1UsingmetaphorInEnglish,manyeuphemismsthemselvesarevividandpopularmetaphors,soitisnecessarytofindoutwhat“metaphor”means.Ametaphoremploysawordoraphrasetoindicatesomethingdifferentfromtheliteralmeaning.Peopleseldomsay“hedied”but“hewenttosleepforever”or“hewenttohislonghome”.Here,“gotosleepforever”and“gotooneslonghome”arebothmetaphorsandeuphemisms.Moreex