英语中的委婉语_英文_王楠.doc

Abstract 文学刊外 教育教学2013 年第 8 期The Euphemism in English Wang Nan( Inner Mongolia Normal University，Hohhot，Inner Mongolia，010022)Euphemism is a common phenomenon in the process of humans language use When people talk aboutthose unhappy or embarrassing things，its a polite way to use the euphemism It is a kind of figures of speech，but also a cultural phenomenon Because euphemism is widely used in English，therefore，it will be a great help for us to know some-thing about the usage of euphemism in learning EnglishKey wordseuphemism， pragmatic functions， application中图分类号H313文献标识码A文章编号1672-8610( 2013) 08-0033-02I IntroductionEuphemism is one of the most fundamental important items of rhetoric in English The communication of language is a vital method to maintain relationship between people，so use the Eng-lish euphemism can help us to know the social values and cultur-al traditions in English speaking country1 1 The definition of euphemismThe word euphemism comes from the Greek word ( euphori-a) The prefix“eu”means“good，sounding well”，and the root“pheme”means“speech or saying” Euphemism literally means“the use of pleasant，mild or indirect words or phrases in place of more accurate or direct ones”( with good words or pleasant expression) 1 2 Characteristics of euphemism1 Indirect and relevanceThe nature of euphemism is to avoid direct mention of those unpleasant things or phenomena The soul of euphemism is con-stituted by mentioned these things in indirect ways So，one of the most obvious characteristics of euphemism is indirect，and also know as implicitelevance has reflected a euphemism constitute principal， that is，it must has a certain relationship between the referring things directly and the indirectly things referred That is to say， the euphemism must remind people can know the things it repre-sents when it mentionedFor example: “Dont you think my cooking is wonderful?”The wife asked “Are you fishing for compliments?”Her hus-band replied In the conversation above，the husband answered her wife implicitly，and didnt embarrass her wife It achieved the effect of speaking，avoiding the embarrassment，and embod-ies the indirectness of euphemism2 egional featureThere are many different customs in different geographical， this difference is reflected in the language of regional featureEuphemism is more relegated with the folk customs and taboos，so the regional feature is exceptionally obvious Such as bread is a common British food，so there has been a saying “take bread out of someones mouth，”means，“take someones job”3 Times featureLanguage change depends on the needs of society and devel-opment，and therefore times can also be referred as variability From the diachronic point of view，the language is in constant change，new words appear constantly，and old words disappear gradually So does the euphemism In some cases，use of euphe-misms are temporal，with the expansion of the scope，they be-came fixed after peoples recognition For example，when men-tioned the“black”，in the United States has been called from“Negro”to“black people”，until todays“African American”，the American black civil rights movement changes all the things Ways to Express the Euphemism in English2 1 Figure of speech1 MetonymyThat is to use the general words to take the place of the con-crete words “pay ones debt to nature”which refers to“dead” belongs to metonymy It can be divided into the following forms:1) To use the entirety things instead of the part For exam-ple: “abdomen”is used to refer to“belly”;2) To use the tools to take the place of the objects For ex-ample，“pick ”is a tool of prying the lockIt can refer to“thief”3) To use raw materials to take the place of finished prod-ucts For instance，“poppy”is a kind of beautiful flower，but it also refers to“opium”2 PeriphrasisIt is an expression of beating around the bush Though it is a muddled acting，but its main purpose is to avoid offending oth-ers，and to be more polite If someone asked a woman whether she was wearing the apron high，he meant that he wondered作者简介王楠，内蒙古师范大学外国语学院硕士研究生，研究方向: 外国语言学及应用语言学。 33 Wang Nan / The Euphemism in EnglishLANGUAGEwhether she was pregnantSuch way of speaking is humorous，euphemism，and the impressions they made on us are polite andsweet，such as“to W C”we can say “to do ones business”;pleasant“to court”we can say，“to go walking”; When boss wants to3 2 Polite functiondismiss somebody he can say“to give somebody the sack”In the process of communication，both parties generally a-2 2 Semantic methodbide cooperation politeness principle，the use of some politeness，1Synonymcourteous euphemism;can makecommunication activities in aSynonym is the technical name for the sameness relationmild and pleasant atmosphere Euphemism is an important prag-English is said to be rich in synonyms For example，“senior cit-matic function Direct expression gives a person the feeling of ar-izen”is used instead of“old people”; “thrift”is used instead ofbitrary Using euphemisms can avoid awkward and abrupt phe-“economical” The word “poor”is replaced by “needy or un-nomenon，people use the euphemisms to conceal the embarrass-derprivileged” Such euphemism aims to use the appreciativeing fact and something that is embarrassing to mention For in-term to take the place of the derogatory termstance，people avoid saying“toilet”directly，they often express2Grammarlike“wash ones hand”or “go to the bathroom”Polite func-1)Subjunctive moodstion of euphemism is to avoid embarrassing things and make peo-In our daily communication，people often use the subjunc-ple feel comfortable It means that in our real daily life，whentive mood to present their point of view，a request，advice; thepeople meet with some unpleasant things or behaviors，they usu-manner of speaking is more tactful and reserved If often use Ially choose some vague expressions to avoid hurting others feel-wish，as if，could，would，might virtual modal particle etc，eveningif the transmission is negative information，also wont let a per- Conclusionson feel harsh or hard to accept For instance:Euphemism appears with the polite，tactful words or expres-( 1)Original: I am unable to accept your invitation to speaksions that people use to replace some unpleasant or embarrassingat the December meetingevents or some awkward or offensive contentsIn order to avoid( 2)Alter to: I could accept your invitation to speak at thesome obverse conflicts and unnecessary misunderstandings，weDecember meeting if I were to miss the annual stockholders often use some mild and dark words instead of the rude and for-meetingbidden ones It is a sociolinguistic phenomenon and a key meansBecause using the subjunctive mood form，people can makeof coordinating interpersonal relationshipsthrough language Itsconversations smoothly，and reduce the others damaged and al-sociality shows that the forms of language are constantly restrain-so it is a substitution of a less offensive expression in place of oneed by social factors that exist outside languagewhich may offend or say something unpleasant to the listenerAs the society develops day by day，people attach more im-2)Passive voiceportance to othersbeliefs and privacy，when people talk aboutIn English whenexpress the criticism，suggestionsor re-offensives or taboo topics but want to be polite at the same time，quirements during theconversation，itsoftenusethepassivethey would usually apply euphemism This article talks about thevoice toavoid directcontact with peopleandeasetheatmos-expressions and functions of euphemism and let euphemisms asphere，especially gave the command or request to the other side，“comfortable words”or“cosmetic words”，releasing the contra-its better to use passive voice to avoid direct contact and savingdictions and avoid theconflictsWe tryourbestto use somethe other sides faceFor example，tactful words to avoidthe hurt toothersandshowour respect，( 1)Original: It has to be stressed that shipment must bepoliteness，and considerationeffected within the prescribed time limit，as a further extensionwill not be considered【eferences 】( 2)Alter to: We have to stress that you must effect ship-ment within the prescribed time limit，as a further extension will1 薛永 英语委婉语的特征、构成及种类J 徐州教育学not be considered院学报，2003( 3) 2马漪云 浅谈英语中的委婉语及其运用J 山西农业大And we often use the patterns like“How do we feel today?”When use“we”instead of“you”shows the moderation and ge-学学报( 社会科学版) ，2005( 4) 3吴雁 谈谈英语委婉语在社会语言交际中的运用和效果niality “I wondered”often take the place of “I wonder”The expression like this often used in oral English and can letJ 江西教育学院学报，1995( 5) people feel comfortable4郑晓晖 从委婉语的构造看其语义特征J 荆州职业技 Pragmatic Functions of Euphemism in English术学报，2004( 9) 5委婉语的交际功能与构造原则J 解放军外语学院学3 1 Taboo function报，1992( 6) Taboo is the main psychological basis of the emergence of6向仍东 浅析英语委婉语的特征、构成及作用J 长沙euphemism When people need to use some taboo words，they大学学报，2005( 1) also find another words to replace the taboo word，which is eu-7冯翠华 英语修辞大全M 外语教学与研究出版社，phemism1995There are manytaboothings，likebirth，death，funeral，8成令瑾，袁浩 英语说话艺术和写作技巧M 北京语言sex，etcWhen theyareexpressed indirectways，they are学院出版社，1996called taboo words and the feelings they impress us are crude and( 下转第 50 页)harsh，however if they areexpressed indirectly，they are called 34 文学刊外 教育教学2013 年第 8 期下文语境甚至文化差异。One of the major factors on which comfort depends is hu-midity High humidity helps prevent heat loss from the body and makes even high temperature less bearableThe mucous mem-branes of the nose and throat can become dry，which will in-crease susceptibility to respiratory diseases( 资料来源: 科技英语翻译思维探索，2007: 155)参考译文: 影响身体舒适的主要因素之一乃是湿度。湿度高， 容易妨碍身体散 ，从而( 1) 使体温更高，让人难以忍受这时鼻子和喉 的黏膜会变得干燥，从而( 2) 易感染呼吸道疾病。分析: 为了实现语用对等，译者从不同方面做了适当的调整: 例如根据上下文语境将“depend on”译为“影响”而非“决定”，把“prevent”译为“妨碍”而非“阻止”; 为了满足科技文本文体较正式的需要将“is”译为“乃是”而非单纯的一个“是”; 为了增强上下文的连贯性增译了“从而”( 见 1 处) ; 为了体现文体的逻辑性增译了“从而”( 见 22 处) 。科技英语语篇语句子较长、结构复杂，句子间包含多种内在联系和逻辑关系，因此在翻译科技语篇时需综合应用上文提到的表层和语用对等分析法、翻译技巧及策略等，来实现深层对等。The challenging geological conditions in China define that the complex reservoirs ( a) will be the main bodies of oil field exploitation Among other things，the high water cut later stage complicated fault block reservoir ( b) is the main type of eastern Chinas oildom The fractured vuggy carbonate reser-voir ( c) has been the new type of worlds interest in the recent decade; more than that，its one of the major production pools( d) in China However，it has failed in overseas exploitation for its arduousness In face of ( e) such an urgent technological problem，XXX led his team to conduct long term researches and developed ( f) the characteristic theory and technology appli-cable to exploitation of the above two reservoirs( 传神公司翻译材料，中国油气油田开发论文，项目号XM134088)参考译文: 我国复 的地质条件，决定了复 油藏是油田开 的主体，其中高含水后期复 断 型油藏是我国东部油区的主要类型，碳酸 岩 洞型油藏是近十多年来国内外普遍关注的新 型油藏，也是我国上产的主