英语中的委婉语Euphemism

EnglishEuphemism Definition Euphemismisapleasantreplacementforanobjectionablewordthathaspejorativeconnotations Theword euphemism comesfromancientGreek threemorphemes Soeuphemismmeans speakingwellof eu beinggoodorwell pheme speech ism anactortheresultofanact Socialbackgroundoftheemergenceofeuphemism Theemergenceanddevelopmentofeuphemismwascausedmainlybythepeopleofmiddleclass Peopleofupperclassdidn tchoosetheirworkwithgreatcareanylongerbecausetheirsocialstatushasbeenstabilized Peopleoflower classdidn thavetheabilitytoweightheirwordsbecauseoftheirknowledgelimitation Peopleofmiddleclasswanttoimprovetheirpresentconditionandsocialstatus sotheytrytoprettifythemselvesinlanguage Duringthepastdecades insomeEnglishspeakingcountries alotofeuphemismemergedandwasdevelopingquicklybecauseoftheincreaseofthepeopleofmiddleclass Formationdevices Mosteuphemismsareformedbymorphologicaldevices phoneticdevices spellingdevices lexicaldevices andrhetoricaldevices Morphologicaldevicesincludeword formingmethodssuchascompounding backformation acronymyandclipping Forinstance theacronym BM isformedfrombowelmovement 大便 theword lav istheclippedformoflavatory 洗手间 Lexicaldevicesareoftenemployedtoattaineuphemisticobjective Thatis tosubstituteataboowordwithpejorativeinmeaning Forinstance agentforspy speculatorforgambler silencerformurderer Borrowingisafavoritemethodforstudents especiallyintheVictorianAge Figuresofspeecharealsoeffectivemeanstoserveeuphemisticfunction Thesearemetaphoricaltransfer asinmeattechnologistforbutcher negation asinunwiseforstupid understatement asintheneedyforthepoor andperiphrasis asinvisuallyretardedforblind Theeuphemismsfordeath Deathisoneofexpressions Theeuphemismsfordeathareawidelyuseditem especiallywhenitconcernsone sownfamiliesandfriends e g passaway 过世 togowest 归西天 tickthebucket 翘辫子 togotosleep 长眠 tocloseone seyes 闭眼 toexpire 逝世 toendone sday 寿终 tolaydownone slife 牺牲 tobreatheone slast 咽气 topaythedebtofnature 了结尘缘 tocrossovertotheotherside 去世 等 Theeuphemismsforpovertyandunemployment Thetopicofpovertyandunemploymentmightcausesomeembarrassment sopeopleoftenuseeuphemismwhentheirtalksconcernsuchthings Forexample badlyoff 短缺的 lesswelloff 不太宽裕的 downonone sluck 时运不济 hardupformoney 缺钱 indifficulty 处于困境 have nots 不富有的人 unemployment tobedevelopinganewproject InAmerica unemployedmen arecalled claimants while inBritain theyarecalled tobeonpublicassistance or thelessfortunate Theeuphemismsfortheageandweight Theage especiallyawoman sageisregardedasasensitiveprivacy Andmostofthewesternpeopleareafraidofgettingold so oldpeople or oldage caneasilycausethefearoftheoldpeople Someeuphemisticexpressionstakeplaceofthem suchas gettingon inyears secondchildhood adistinguishedgentleman agrandedame thirdage Theyarenot old but long lived Inwesterncountry itisveryimpoliteifyoutalkaboutsomeone sfigureandweightwithoutreservation Ifsomeoneis fat overweight isoftenusedtoreplaceit Tomale fat iscalled stout tofemale afatgirl iscalled afullerfigureorplump tochild itiscalled chubby Onthecontrary ifsomeoneistoothin euphemismisalsoused Tomale itiscalled lean andtofemale itiscalled slim slenderorsvelte KingSize QueenSizeWhenwomengotobuypentyhose 连裤袜 inEnglish theycanoftensee Queensize justlike KingSize it sforfatpeople Thisisalsoakindofeuphemism Forexample mentalhospitalormentalhealthcenter isaeuphemismfor madhouse mortuaryorfuneral isaeuphemismofdeadhouse Somesmallcompaniesorsmallenterprisesliketousetheword industry suchashotelindustry touristindustry garageindustry women sbeautyindustryetc Theeuphemismfortheofficeandtrade Conclusion Asanimportantlanguagephenomenon euphemismwillsurelyhaveaninfluenceonthehumanlanguage Yetitstillneedsfurtherstudy notonlyfro