词汇学论文 Euphemism and taboo.doc

Mengjiao QuClass 1English LexicologyAimei Chen Mid-term PaperNov.16 Euphemism and Taboo Euphemism came into being in ancient times together with early human civilization. Sometimes people cannot mention the dead mans name, Gods name or some words related to death in a direct way. Even some words related to birth, sextual activities , are dirty words we are avoided , in other words, we call it tattoo. In China, we have “mother fuck”, in England, we have “damned”, in America, we have “fuck you” or “fucking”, in Australia, we have “bloody” .When we encounter such taboos, we need to grasp the meaning so as to avoid using such offensive words. Whats more, we also need to focus on some soft words instead, such as “oh, boy”, dashed, cursed, switched, deuced, etc. Common euphemism is different from synonymy. We express some unpleasant things in an indirect way so that men are relieved to accept it easier. There are hundreds of ways to say that one is dead. Basically, we say pass away, go to the heaven, to be gone, lose ones life , to go west, etc. When we say a woman is pregnant, we can use “heavy/big/great with baby”, being with child, in the family way. Further, restroom, bathroom, comfort room take the place of toilet. Americans prefer to use euphemism to describe some unpleasant jobs. A gardener is titled landscape architect, servant is called domestic engineer. In a word, theres about 2000 “engineer” as euphemism. In modern English, euphemism has a close relationship with social affairs. We call poor people the disadvantaged or the low-income group. We use food insecure instead of starving. As a result, one character in comic said: “I used to think I was poor. Then they told me I wasnt poor, I was needy, I was derived. Then they told me under privileged was overused. I was disadvantaged. I still dont have a dime. But I have a great vocabulary.” In some spheres, euphemism is overused in documents and advertisements. old people become senior citizen and mature people. Hotel gave us complimentary breakfast instead of free breakfast. All in all, its a matter of words game.Euphemism in English has something similar to Chinese culture. We Chinese will do whatever we can to protect our face, just like people in English speaking countries keep their dignity through euphemism. When social issues or problems appeared, people find a easier way to make a balance through euphemism. There are still many children starving to death everyday on the earth. There are hundreds of people beyond the reach of clean water everywhere in the world. There are people suffering from incurable death and wars and sorrow. Why dont we fight against unjustified things in the world?I remembered when Obama gave an inspiring speech in white house. On the contrary, he didnt keep his promise.Euphemism does some good to communication and social relationship, but I cant stand its empty beauty. References:Yunfei Zhang. An Introduction To Modern Eng