新世纪研究生英语euphemism.doc

Euphemism 1. Function for taboo.We have known that euphemism roots in the respectableness to gods in religion. Later on, euphemism spread to many aspects. When we say something about death and senescent变老的,显老的, birth and sex, pregnant and delivery, prostitute and seduction勾引、诱拐, sexual actions and sexual organs, we cannot say them out directly but only to use certain tactful words to instead. This kind of words has been used widely up to now. Today, people also created more taboo euphemism. We can mainly divided them into three sorts:1) Death and old ageSuch as “to pass away, to depart, to go to sleep, to go to heaven, to go to ones last, to go to a better place, to be at rest, to be at peace, to be with God, to be in Heaven, to be with the angels, to take the easy way out, to lay down ones life, the final summons: getting on (in years), past ones age prime, feeling ones age second childhood, senior, citizens, golden years, longer living, well preserved, seasoned experienced” and so on.2) Birth and sexual loveSuch as “to come into the world, delicate condition, taken ill., the lady-in-waiting, love-begotten, a love brat, business, action, love-making, balling the Jack, larks in the night, belly high, in ones birthday suit, a chicken, a companion, to make eyes at, a street girl, the oldest profession” and so on.3) Diseases and disastersSuch as “social disease, a growth. Self-deliverance, Self-violence, old Newton took him, happy dispatch, to be blown across the creek and so on. There is no easy to ignore that taboo function of euphemism has a firm status in peoples mind. Even today, the Americans are dare to say “Friday” and the number thirteen!2. Function for coverAnother reason for using euphemism is that euphemism itself sometimes can be rather spurious and deceptive. Then this kind of character becomes a tool of some politicians and profiteers to cheat the society. They use euphemism to cover some evil incidents in our society. Such as scandal, war, crime, drug, racidism and decline. After the “Watergate” in America, the government created a lot of “plumbers”. This function of euphemism is also used widely in diplomacy and military.3. Function for politenessThe other function of euphemism is for polite. We try out best to use some tactful words to avoid the hurt to others and show our respectableness, politeness, and consideration. In a civilized society, everyone needs to attach importance to politeness. In a way, the polite function of euphemism may be more important and useful in our daily life. If we want to fire somebody, we dont use the word “fire” but use “discontinue”. “Professor” means “a person who teach in college”, but now we also call the bass or the magician “professor” to show respectableness.Polite euphemism is used in almost every aspect in our society. We can sum it up into the following four sorts:1). To old men and disabled peopleWe often use “getting on (in years), past ones prime, feeling ones age, second children, golden years, senior citizens, longer living, well-preserved, seasoned, experienced” to express the meaning of “ole age, senility”; use “not all there, soft in the head, of unsound mind, simple-minded” to express “mad, feeble-minded”; use “a slow-learner, under-achiever” to express “a stupid pupil”; use “weight-watchers to express “fat people.2). To the low class in the societyWe use “domestic help, day-help, live-in help” to express “maid, housekeeper”; use “captain, hostess” to express “hairdresser”; use “exterminating, engineer, pest control operator” to express “rat catcher”.3). To poverty and unemploymentWe use “discontinue, lay off, ease out, give the walking ticket, pink slip” to express “fire, sack, dismiss”; use “out of pocket, hard up, badly off, in reduced, circum-stance, in difficulties” to express “penniless, poor”; use “the have-nots, the underprivileged, the disadvantaged” to express “the poor; use “on relief, on welfare benefits” to express “living on dole”; use “welfare workers” to express “unemployed workers”.4). To indelicate thingsWe use “go to the bathroom, do ones business, visit the necessary, answer natures call, wait a minute” to express “to urinate”; use “mens, Gents, W.C (water closet), the washroom, the John” to express “Mens lavatory”; use “Ladies, the powder room, Womens, Mrs. Jones” to express “Womens lavatory”.The famous American writer Mencken called euphemism “gilded words” while Stephen Kanfer called it “cosmetic words”, these can be an exact explanation to the usage of euphemism. Managing this skill well could make our world full of gentle and fragrant atmosphere.英语euphemism（ 委婉语）意为good talk（说好听的或者善词令），指说话时避免直接提到让人尴尬，惹人讨厌的事物和行为，采取迂回含蓄的表达方法，可以用来保持良好的人际关系，促进言语交际的正常进行。英汉语的 委婉语涉及社会生活的各个方面，反映了一种文化或一个社会的价值观和道德标准等，因此在交际过程中扮演着重要的角色。委婉语使用的范围十分广泛：1、不管东方人还是西方人，大家都忌讳死，所以汉语和英语中都有大量关于死的 委婉语。比如说汉语中的去世，走了，不在了，没了，老了，牺牲，光荣了等等，都委婉的表达了死的概念。英语中也有很多，比如：to pass away（去世）, to go to a better world（到极乐世界去了）, to go to heaven（上天堂了）, to breathe ones last（咽下了最后一口气）, troubles be over （罪受完了），to be called to God(去见上帝)等等。2、 委婉语还可以用来表达人们不便直言的生理行为，如大小便等。英汉语中有许多关于厕所和去厕所大小便的 委婉语。英语中有：power room(化妆室), rest room（休息室）, men/mens（男士/男士房间）, women/ womens（女士/女士房间）, convenience（方便去处）, to wash ones hand（去洗手）, to powder ones nose（往鼻子上擦点粉）, to spend a penny（去花一个便士）, to answer the natures call（响应自然的召唤）。在同人交谈时可说May I be excused? (我可以离开一会儿吗？)。 学生上课想要去厕所，可以说Sorry, I have to do my business. 汉语中关于厕所的 委婉语有茅房、茅厕、洗手间、一号、便所等。关于去厕所大小便的委婉说法也为数不少，比如，解手，大解，小解，出去一下，去方便一下等，都是地道的汉语表达方法。3、对于长相或者身材上的缺陷，人们往往也喜欢用 委婉语。在英语中说到人胖，不用fat，而使用overweight（超重），plump（丰满，女性），stout（健壮，男性）；说到人瘦不用skinny（瘦的皮包骨头）