英语毕业论文A-Comparison-on-Pragmatic-Functions-of-English-and-Chinese-Euphemism

AComparisononPragmaticFunctionsofEnglishandChineseEuphemism

Abstract:Euphemismsaremild,agreeable,orroundaboutwordsusedinplaceofcoarse,painful,oroffensiveones.ThetermcomesfromtheGreekeu,meaning"well"or"soundinggood,”andpheme,“speech."Euphemismplaysanimportantroleinourdailycommunication.Fromthedayitcameintoexistence,euphemismhasbeenfunctioningtolubricateourcommunication,helpestablishagoodrelationshipbetweenhumanbeingsandevenstrengthensocialstability.Manylinguistsandscholarshavestudiedthislinguisticphenomenonfromtheperspectivesofrhetoric,semantics,pragmaticsandsociolinguists.Asaresult,achievementsinthestudyofeuphemismhavebeenconspicuous.Thus,onthebasisofothers’researches,thisthesisattemptstodoananalysisofpragmaticfunctionsofEnglishandChineseeuphemismsbycomparativelyanalyzingtheirlinguisticandculturalcharacteristics.Keywords:euphemism;culturalconnotation;pragmaticfunction;communication

1.Introduction

1.1.

LanguageVariations:Euphemism

Inthebeginningwastheword.Therefollowed,atanundeterminedbutoneassumesdecentinterval,private,harsh,anddirtywords.Inventionherebeingthemotherofnecessity,theneedforeuphemismarose.(Epstein1985).Ineverysocietytherearecertainthingsthatarenotsupposedtobespokenormentioneddirectly.Afairnumberofwordsarelabeledasfrivolous,vulgar,oratleastinconsiderate.Butincommunication,forbettermaintainingsocialrelationshipandexchangingideas,peoplehavetoresorttoakindoflanguage,whichcanmakedistastefulideasseemacceptableorevendesirable.Thistypeoflanguageisdefinedas“euphemism”inlinguisticsanditcomesinavarietyofformsandisusedforavarietyofreasons.Unlikeotherfigurativelanguagedevices,forexample,themetaphorofpoetryorprose,euphemismaimstosurpriseandentertain(Lee,1966),strivestoavoidoffencebymeansofcircumlocution.Asacommunicativeskill—“tellingitlikeitisn’t,”(Time,1978),euphemismaboundsinourlife.Euphemismsarepowerfullinguisticdeviceswhich“areembeddedsodeeplyinourlanguagethatfewofus,eventhosewhopridethemselvesonbeingplainspoken,evergetthroughadaywithoutusingthem.”(Rawson1981)

1.2.

Definition

Nodoubt,euphemismisawidelyandfrequentlyusedfigureofspeech.Asahotresearchissueinthefieldoflinguistics,itneedsaconciseanddefinitecriteriontojudgethescopeofeuphemism.

1.2.1.

EnglishEuphemism

Westernlinguiststhinktheword“euphemism”comesfromtheGreek“eu”(meaning“good”)and“pheme”(meaning“speech”or“saying”),andthusitliterallymeans“tospeakwithgoodwords”.Lateron,euphemismisdefineddifferentlyandmoreprecisely.Someofthedefinitionsarelistedbelow:(1)Thatfigureofspeechwhichconsistsinthesubstitutionofawordorexpressionofcomparativelyfavorableimplicationorlessunpleasantassociations,insteadoftheharsherormoreoffensiveonethatwouldmorepreciselydesignatewhatisintended.(OxfordEnglishDictionary,1989)(2)Thesubstitutionofamild,indirect,orvagueexpressionforonethoughtsubstituted.(Webster’sEncyclopedicUnabridgedDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguage,1996)(3)Euphemizingisgenerallydefinedassubstitutinganinoffensiveorpleasanttermforamoreexplicit,offensiveone,therebyveneeringthetruthbyusingkindwords.(EnrightD.J.,1985)(4)Word,etc.usedinplaceofoneavoidedase.g.offensive,indecent,oralarming.(OxfordConciseDictionaryofLinguistics,ShanghaiForeignLanguagesPublishingHouse,2000)(5)Usedasanalternativetoapreferredexpression,inordertoavoidpossiblelossofface:eitherone’sownfaceorthroughgivingoffences,thatoftheaudience,orofsomethirdparty.(Allen,K.andBurridge,K.,1991)Astraditionalwesternlinguisticsrestrictseuphemismstudytothelexicon,euphemismsare,therefore,wordsorphrasesinplaceofthingsconsideredtoberudeorunpleasant.Givenfromtheperspectiveofrhetoric,alltheabovedefinitionsaredeterminedinanarrowsense.Manylinguiststhinkthatthedefinitionofeuphemismneedstobeframedinabroadsense.Americanlinguist,BolingerDwightoncepointedout:“Euphemismisnotrestrictedtothelexicon;therearegrammaticalwaysoftoningsomethingdownwithoutactuallychangingthecontentofthemessage.”Afterwards,thegrammaticalwaysofformingeuphemismsuchasnegation,tense,voice,andmoodandsoonwerecarefullyattendedto.（Wedealnextwithclarifyingtheterm"Englisheuphemism"inthisthesis.Theterm“native

English

speakers"

includes

people

of

many

countries---Americans,Englishmen,Australians,Canadians,NewZealandersandothers.Eachofthesebelongstoaculturethatissomewhatdifferentfromtheothers,inspiteoftheircommonlanguage.Actually,eventhelanguagedifferssomewhatfromcountrytocountry,althoughsuchdifferencesmaynotbenoticeableatfirst.Forexample,LorriesinEnglandarecalledtrucksintheU.S.;Americanssay"You'rewelcome"inreplyto"Thankyou",whereasEnglishmenwouldsay"Notatall"or"Don'tmentionit"or"It'sapleasure".SincewecannotpossiblycoveralloftheEnglish-speakingpeoples,theanalysisregardingcultureconductedinthispaperwillfocusonAmericanone.Thisispartlybecauseofthepolitical,economicandculturalpositionoftheU.S.intheEnglish-speakingworld.）

1.2.2.

ChineseEuphemism

TheChineseequivalentfor“euphemism”is“委婉”，“婉转”，orthemostpopularone“婉曲”containing“婉言”and“曲语”;“婉言”means“substitutinganimplicitexpressionforanexplicitone”while“曲语”impliestheoriginalmeaningthroughdescribingthingsrelevanttoit.Let’scompare:(1)我尝想：公文书里罢黜一个人的时候常用“人地不宜”四字，总算是一个比较体面的下台的借口。（梁实秋《骆驼祥子》）(2)阿刘哑告诉，姓孙的那几个人打牌，声音太闹，给法国管事查到了，大吵其架，自己的饭碗也砸破了，等会就得卷铺盖下船。（钱钟书《围城》）Example1fallsinto“婉言”,usinganimplicitparlancetoreducetheprovocation.Example2belongsto“曲语”inChinese,or“periphrasis”inEnglish.Soitisapparentherethat“euphemism”inEnglishand“委婉”inChinesearesimilarinthatbothusemild,agreeable,roundaboutexpressionsinplaceofcoarse,painful,andoffensiveones.ThevariousdefinitionsofeuphemismpresentedbyChinesescholarsaresimilartothosegivenbywesterners.ChenWangdao(陈望道)wasthefirstpersonwhogaveeuphemism（inhiswords“婉曲”and“讳饰”）adefinition.InhisIntroductiontoRhetoric(《修辞学发凡》)，thedefinitionreads,“婉曲辞”means“tosaysomethingindirectly,butconnotingandsubstitutingitwithroundaboutandimplicitwordsorevenmetaphoricalexpression.”(说话时不直白本意，只用委曲含蓄的话来烘托暗示的叫婉曲辞);ChenWangdaosaysthatwhenwespeakoftabooedthings,wedonot“callaspadeaspade”,butusepleasantexpressionstocoverthemupis“讳饰辞格”(说话时遇有犯忌触讳的事物，便不直说该事该物，却用旁的话来装饰美化的，叫做讳饰辞格。)Atthebeginningofthe1980s,ChenYuan(陈原)definedeuphemismfromthesocial–culturalperspective,“Euphemismmoreorlessoriginatesfromtaboo…;euphemismistousepleasant,implicitandlessoffensivewords…tosubstitutethelanguagetaboo.”ThedefinitionputforwardbyChenYuancombinestheeuphemism(婉曲辞)withtaboowords(讳饰辞格)andrevealsthedirectrelationbetweeneuphemismandtaboo,whichhasbeenacceptedbyChineselinguists.Thoughscholarsathomeandabroadhavedefinedeuphemismdifferentlyfromdifferentperspectives,theabove-mentioneddefinitionssharesomefeatures:(1)Thepurposeofusingeuphemismsistoavoiddirectlyspeakingouttheunpleasantortabooreferencelikedeath,thedead,thesupernatural,etc.(2)Euphemismisakindofpoliteandroundaboutmodeofexpression.(3)Euphemismisusedtosoftenorbeautifytheunpleasantnessofreality..ComparisonofEnglishandChineseEuphemism

2.1.ComparisonofCulturalConnotationLanguageisanintegralpartofcultureanditisthekeystoneofculture.Languageistheprimarytoolthatacultureusestotransmititsbeliefs,values,andnorms.Languageprovidesawayforpeopletocommunicatewithothermembersoftheirowncultureormembersfromanotherculture.Italsoprovidespeopleawayofthinking.Socialscientistsmaintainthatwithoutlanguage,culturewouldnotbepossible.Ontheotherhand,languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture.Languagereflectsculture.Peoplevaluecertainthingsanddotheminacertainway.Thelanguagetheyusereflectswhattheydoandvalue.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprisestheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundsaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking(DengYanchangandLiuRunqing,1989).Languageandcultureareinseparablyintertwined.AccordingtoKramsch(2000),whenlanguageisusedincommunication,“Itisboundupwithcultureinmultipleandcomplexways”.Languageandculturearecloselyrelatedtoeachother.Theyinteractwitheachotherandtheunderstandingofonerequirestheunderstandingoftheother.Euphemismispervasiveinourdailylanguage.Euphemism,asaformoflanguage,isalsogreatlyinfluencedbyculture.Thecultureofapeoplehasaneffectonpeople’swaysofavoidingtaboosandtheirchoiceofeuphemisms.Almostallculturesseemtohavecertainnotionsorthingsthatpeopletrytoavoidmentioningdirectly,evenwhenthereissuchaterminthelanguage.Whensuchanotionorthinghastobereferredto,peoplewillchooseadifferenttermorphrasethatsoundsbetter.Euphemismisareflectionofculture.PatrickHartwellpointsoutthoseeuphemismsareanaturalpartofthesocialworldofwordsandtheytellusagooddealaboutthevaluesofaculture.Euphemismchangeswiththedevelopmentofasociety.Thetabooedsubjectsofasocietyandeuphemismsemployedtosubstitutethemmayvaryfromoneculturetoanotherorfromonehistoricalperiodtoanotherwithinasingleculture.Evenpeoplewhocomefromthesamecultureinthesamehistoricalperiodmayuseeuphemismsdifferentlyaccordingtodifferentsocialcontexts.ManyEnglish-speakingcountriesarecomposedofimmigrantsfromdifferentraces.Theirsocietiesarecalled“meltingpots”,whichmeansdifferenttraditionsandvaluescancombinewitheachotherinsuchpots,andeveryonecanhaveequalopportunities.Inordertoavoidtheimplicationofracialdiscrimination,theword“race”isoftenreplacedby“ethnicorigin”.Andforthesamereason,“nigger”isreplacedby“Negro”,“colored”and“black”.ThecaseisquitedifferentinChina.AlthoughtherearesomanynationalitiesinChina,peopleunitetogether,despitetheirdifferentcustoms.Thereisnoracialdiscrimination;therefore,thereisnoneedtouseeuphemismswithregardtorace.InEnglish,peopleshouldtrytoavoidsuchtopicsasage,income,maritalstatusandweight,whileChinesepeoplecantalkaboutthisinformationinpublic(HeZiran,1988).ThedifferencesoftopicsofconversationbetweenEnglishandChinesearepointedoutin“WesternManners”(CollegeCoreEnglish,1991).Thesubjectstobeavoidedare:bodilyfunctions,oranythingconnectedwiththemoreprivatepartsofthebody,detailsofbirth,detailsofunpleasantillness;incomeorsalaryoffriends,orpricesoftheirpossessions;theageofthepersononeistalkingwith;personalquestionsorremarks,suchas,“Whydon’tyougetmarried?”“Ishouldthinkyouwouldwanttohavesomechildren”.SomeoftheseareallowedinChinesesociety,buttheyarealltabooinformalwesternsociety(ShaoHongzhi,1997).Thewesternerspaymuchattentiontotheirprivacy,whichcanbeseeninsuchsayingsas“Aman’shomeishiscastle”and“Mindyourownbusiness.”Therefore,weshouldpayspecialattentiontotheissuesconcerningprivacyduringthecross-culturalcommunications.Euphemismisacommonphenomenonwhenpeopleuselanguage,whichisnotonlyasociallanguagephenomenon,butitisalsoaculturalphenomenon.Weallneedtocommunicateinourdailylifeorindiplomacy.However,becauseofthedifferenceoflifehabitorcustomandthetabooofdifferentculture,wemustlearntouseEuphemismtoavoidembarrassmentorunhappiness.Therefore,throughlinguisticfacet,thispapertriestoresearchintocommunicativefunctionofEnglishEuphemismincertainlanguageconditionbyspecialexamples.OnlywhencanweknowhowtomakeuseofEuphemismindifferentbackgroundandenvironment,wecanusetheproperEuphemismtominimizehurttopeopleandtoachievethepurposeofeffectivecommunicativeEuphemismreflectsallkindsofsocialmentalityandsocialcommunicativefunction.Euphemismisalsowidelyusedineveryfield,soitisgoodforustostudyEnglishanddoeffectivemulti-culturalintercommunication.

2.2.ComparisonoftheBasicPragmaticFunctions

2.2.1.TabooFunction

Euphemismoriginatesfromverbaltaboo,andverbaltaboooriginatesfromreligioussuperstition,whichreflectstheimportanceofsocialpsychologyintheoriginofeuphemism.Tabooandeuphemismaretwocloselyrelatedculturalandlinguisticphenomenaofhumansociety.Wecan’ttalkaboutonewithoutreferringtotheother.Almostanyoftheculturesintheworldhasitsowntaboo.Theword“taboo”isfromPolynesian,meaning“sacred”or“accused”.Andtherearetwoaspectsofverbaltaboo:oneisword–fetishism;theotheristheforbiddenuseoflanguage.Inuncivilizedandcrudesociety,theprimitiveswereoftenconfrontedwithpuzzlingandthreateningsituationsandphenomena,suchasdeathanddiseases.Astheycouldn’tunderstandandexplaintheextraordinaryeventsandperformance,successandfailure,theyworshiped,andevendreadedthesupernatural.Suchpsychologyleadstosuperstition,andthendevelopedintoFetishism.Thespecificlanguagewasalsodefied,thatis,WordFetishism.Outoftheworshipofgodsandghosts,theirnamesmustbeavoided.Sotheirnamesbecametheearliesttaboowords,andotherwordsusedtoreplacethembecametheearliesteuphemisms.Fromtheoriginofeuphemism,wecanseethattabooisthefirstfunctionofeuphemism.Euphemismhasbeenusingforalongtime,anditiscloselyrelatedtotaboo.Infact,euphemismdatesbacktothelanguagetaboointheearlyperiodofhumancivilization.Whenpeopletrytoavoidandgiveuptaboowords,theyhavetofindanotherwordtoreplacethisvacancyatthesametime.Hence,peoplecreatedeuphemism.”

Thoughscienceandtechnologyarehighlydevelopedtoday,theword“death”isthetaboowordstoallnations.Thustherearealotofeuphemismsrelatedwithit.“Suchaspassaway,answerthefinalcall,beasleepinJesus,besafeinthearmsofJesus,beatrest,becalledtoGod,behomeandfree,beinAbraham’sbosom,crosstheRiverJordan,finalsleep,gohome,gotomeetone’smaker,gotoone’sownplace,joinone’sancestors,jointhegreatmajority,returntodust,withGod,benolongerwithus,paythedebtofnature,tickthebucket,etc.”“Amongthose,‘one-way-ticket’isthesynonymof‘die’.Itreflectsthespeaker’sexperienceoflife.Lifeisjustliketravel.Peoplesetouttotravel,butwhentheyarrivetothetermination,theycannotgoback.Inthepast,peopleoftenusedgraveyardtoexpresstheplacewherethedeadsleeppeacefully.Buttheassociationsitgivesusarehorrifiedandgloomy.Sonow,peopleusefuneralhomeandmemorialparktoreplacethem.Insuchaway,itcomfortspeople.”

2.2.2.EvasiveFunction

Therearesometaboothings,suchasbirth,death,funeral,sex,nakedness,defecation,andurinate.Iftheyareexpresseddirectly,theyarecalledtaboowordsandthefeelingstheygiveusarevulgar,crudeandharsh,whereasiftheyareexpressedindirectly,theyarecalledeuphemism,andtheimpressionstheymadeonusareelegant,implicitandpolite.Theevadingfunctionofeuphemismalsoworkstoday.Sometaboonotionscannotbeeasilyremovedfrompeople’smind.

2.2.3.PolitenessFunction

Euphemismcanbeusedtotalkaboutthings,whicharethoughttobeunpropitious,nastyorunpleasant.Thesetabooedthingsincludesomereligioussubjects,death,sexandpartsofthebody,excretions,etc.Thepolitenessfunctionofeuphemismmeansthatweuseeuphemisminordernottooffendothersorhurtother’sfeelings.Sowhenwetalkaboutsomesensitivetopics,suchasdiseasesanddisabilities,appearance,occupation,poverty,oldage,socialstatus,etc.,wewillusuallyemployeuphemism.Forexample,weuse“plump”and“heavyinweight”insteadof“fat”and“delicate”or“slender”insteadof“skinny”.Butsometimesthedemarcationbetweentheevasivefunctionandthepolitenessfunctionisvague.Withtheprogressofthesociety,weadoptmorerationalandlessmagicalattitudestowardstaboo.Onsomeoccasions,breakingtherulesisnotsodramaticasitusedtobe.Moderntaboosreflectourrespectofother’sfeelings.Weuseeuphemisticexpressionstotalkaboutthosesensitivetopicssoastomakethemsoundcomfortableandacceptable.Wetakeothers’feelingsintoconsideration.Wedon’twanttohurtthem.Atthesametime,wewanttoprotectourownfaceandavoidtheriskofbeingconsideredtobeimpolite.Forexample,peopleuseeuphemisticexpressionssincesomethingrelatedtosexisusuallytabooedinasociety.Theydosopartlybecauseoftheavoidanceofthetabooedsubject.Meanwhile,theydonotwanttomakethosepeopleinvolvedinsuchanaffairembarrassed.Theydonotoffendthemandatthesametimetheymakethemselvesseemtobepoliteandwell-manneredbyemployingeuphemisticexpressionsinsteadofsharpwords.

2.2.4.DisguisingFunction

Todisguisemeanstoveilthetruthandseparatewordsfromthefactsortobeautifythingsthatarenotbeautifulinrealityorsometimesevilbyusinggoodorneutralwords.Euphemisticexpressionsinthiscategoryareusuallycosmeticinexpressionbutdeceptiveinnature.Sosometimestheyarecalled“cosmeticwords”.WecanfindmanycosmeticeuphemismsinAmericanEnglish.ManyeuphemisticexpressionswerecreatedduringtheVietnamWar.Forexample,“bombing”,“burning”and“imprisonment”weredisguisedas“pacification”.Thewarwascalled“conflict”and“aggression”became“policeaction”.The“strategicvillage”wasusedtorefertothe“concentrationcamp”.Euphemismssuchas“airoperation”and“groundoperation”appearedintheGulfWar.PoliticsisapieceoffertilelandforthegrowthofeuphemismsinEnglish.GeorgeOrwellwroteinafamousessay(PoliticsandtheEnglishlanguage,1946)“politicallanguage…isdesignedtomakeliessoundtruthfulandmurderrespectableandtogiveanappearanceofsoliditytopurewind”.Euphemismofthiskindinflateslanguage,reducesprecisionandoftentamperswiththetruth.That’sthereasonwhysomepeoplecondemneuphemismasdemoralizingbecauseitissometimeshypocritical.Thetaboofunction,theevasivefunction,thepolitenessfunctionandthedisguisingfunctionarefourbasicpragmaticfunctionsofeuphemism.Thepragmaticfunctionsofeuphemismarenotrestrictedtofour.Forexample,euphemismmaycreateahumorouseffectoraestheticeffect.Sometimesaeuphemisticexpressionmayserveseveraldifferentfunctionsinacertainsituation.Euphemismhasitspositivefunctionaswellasnegativefunction.

2.3.ComparisonoftheSpecialPragmaticFunctions

Leech(1983)putforwardthePolitenessPrincipleinhisPrinciplesofPragmatics.Leech’smaximsofthePolitenessPrincipleincludeTactMaxim,ApprobationMaxim,GenerosityMaxim,ModestyMaxim,AgreementMaximandSympathyMaxim.ThePolitenessPrincipleseemstohaveahigherregulativerolethantheCooperativePrinciple.SometimeswehavetoviolatetheCooperativePrinciplesoastofollowthePolitenessPrinciplesincethePolitenessPrinciplecanhelpusestablishmutualcomfortandpromoterapportincommunication.Onmanyoccasions,weemployeuphemisminordernottooffendothersandwetakeothers’facewantintoconsideration.So,euphemismisthewaybywhichpeoplecouldshowtheirpolitenesstoothersandsavetheirownfaceandthatofothers.Inasense,wemaysaythateuphemismistherepresentationandresultofthePolitenessPrinciple.Theuseoflanguageiscloselyrelatedtosocialandculturalvalues.Therearemanysocialfactorsthatinfluencetheuseoflanguage.Languageusehasmuchtodowithaspecificsociety,withcultureandsocialcontextinit.Euphemism,asapartoflanguage,isalsogreatlyinfluencedbysocialfactors.Inordertouseeuphemismappropriately,weshouldalwaystakesocialcontextintoconsideration.Whethertouseeuphemismsandwhatformsofeuphemismsweshouldselectdependverymuchonthecontextofsituation.

2.3.1.TheNewlyCoinedEuphemism

Nodoubt,theurgetospeakeuphemisticallyisuniversal,buteuphemismsvaryinscopeandmotivesunderdifferentcircumstances,asitisthesubstitutionofamildorvaguewordforaharshorbluntone.

.ImplicativeWordsinOrdertoAvoidExplicitness

Contemporaryeuphemizingisourstrongdesiretoavoidoffendingothers.Thefearofcausingpsychicpainandthedesiretobewellthoughtofguideustouse“kindwords”.Wepreferto“discontinue”ratherthanto“fire”employees.Inoureagernesstoavoiddeflatingouregosandthoseofothers,weoftencreateeuphemismsthatinflatethem,forexample,byconferringoverblowntitlesonpeople,placesandjobs.Thesentimentaltendencyisstillanever-presentforcebehindtheeuphemismswecreatewhenwereferto“thewife”as“thelittlewoman”and“oldage”as“thegoldenyears”.So,nowadayseuphemismhaslostitsreligiousconnotationandbecomeacommonlinguisticstrategyincommunication.

.PositiveWordsinOrdertoAvoidEmbarrassment

Thespeakerconsidersandrespectsthehearerortherelatedpeoplesothattheyusesomepleasantmeansormoreactivewordstopraiseorappealtothem.Forexample:Itisharshtosaysomeoneisdeaf,sopeopleuse“auditory-impaired”toreplaceit.Theysoundmoregracefully.“WhenEnglish-speakersrefertotheappearance,theydon’tusetheword‘ugly’or‘awful’,whichhasstrongderogatorysense.Instead,theyusetheword‘plain-looking’or‘notpretty’.”

.ModerateWordsinOrdertoAvoidExcitation

Metaphorisanotherfigureofspeechinwhichawordorphrasethatordinarilydesignatesonethingisusedtodesignateanother,thusmakinganimplicitcomparison.Manyeuphemismsarevividmetaphors.Forexample,indailylife,peoplearereluctanttomentiontheword“die”,sotheyusealotofmetaphorstobeautifyit.Thus,“todie”becomes“togotosleep”,“togotohislonghome”,and“tobeasleepintheArmsofGod”,etc.

2.3.2.EuphemisticSentences

Thestylisticeuphemismisthe“diplomatic”wayofusingalessoffensiveorlessdirectwordorphraseorsayingtoreplacesomethingunpleasantorharsh.Itiskindoftactfulexpression.

.PoliteandRoundaboutModeofExpression

TenseisaveryspecialwayinformingeuphemisminEnglish.Sentencesinthepasttenseusuallycarryamildersense.Forexample,ifaspeakerusesasentencelike“Iwonderedifyouwouldmindhelpingme.”tomakearequestforhelpeuphemistically,boththehearerandthespeakerwillnotfeelembarrassedifthehearerreallycan’tlendahandforsomereasons.

.UsingModerateWordsDirectly

Pragmaticwayofformingeuphemismactuallyreferstoindirectspeechacts.Forinstance,thesentence“Canyoupassmethebook?”isliterallyaquestionaboutthehearer’sabilitytopassthebook,butitisconventionallyandtypicallyusedtorealizetheillocutionaryforceofrequest.Here,arequestmadeindirectlybywayofaquestionisusedinsteadofthedirectorder“Passmethebook.”

.SofteningtheUnpleasantnessofReality

InAmericanschools,itisoneoftheteachingregulationstouseeuphemisms.Thereisaterm“self-fulfillingprophecy”,whichmeansteacherplaysanimportantroleintheteachingcourse,especiallywhentheteacherevaluatesastudent.Inclass,whenastudentgivesawronganswer,theteacherstillsays“good”,hisreasonis“yoursentenceisnotcorrect,butyouranswerisgood.”Inordernottohurtthestudent’sself-respect,theteacherusesmoreupliftingwordsifastudentispoorinhisstudy,theteacherneverusetheword“bad”or“poor”,instead“heisworkingathisownlevel”.Ifastudentissloworstupid,hewillsay,“hecandobetterworkwithhelp”.Herearesomeeuphemismsforthestudentsintheirfinalreport.

2.4.ComparisonoftheUseofVagueThinking

Vaguenessisanessentialpartofhumanlanguage,whichreflectstheobjectiveworldandhumanthought.Itiswidelyusedinvariousaspectsandareas.In1965,ProfessorL.A.Zadehpublishedthefamous“FuzzySets”,andapplieditintotheareaoflinguistics,resultingintheestablishmentoffuzzylinguistics.Vaguelanguageisnottotallyaccurateorclear.Althoughsomepeoplethinkthisis"bad"English,allnativeEnglishspeakersusevaguelanguagewhentheyareunableorunwillingtogiveaccurateinformation,ortheythinkitiseitherunnecessaryorsociallyinappropriatetodoso.Often,speakersusevaguelanguagenotbecausetheydonothaveaccurateinformation,butbecausetheyfeelitismorepolitetomakealessdefinitestatement.Thatiswrongbecomes:“I’mnotsurethat'scompletelycorrect.”AsshortdefinitestatementssometimessoundtooassertivetonativeEnglishspeakers,theyoftenaddextravaguelanguagetoasentence.Thisextralanguagehasnoextrameaning;itisjustasocialsoftener.It’seuphemisticexpression.AsJoannaChannellputinherbookVagueLanguage“Vaguenessisusedasonewayofadheringtothepolitenessrulesforaparticularculture,andofnotthreateningface.”Itmeansthatinreallife,whenpeoplemeetwithsomeunpleasantthingsorbehaviors,theyusuallychoosesomevagueexpressionstoavoidmakingboldorhurtingother’sfeeling----touseeuphemism.

2.4.1.VagueWords

Vaguewordscanachievethepurposeofeuphemismbecausetheycanblurtheundesirableyetexplicitassociationsthattabooedwordsarouse.Vaguewordsarewidelyusedtocreateeuphemisms.Forexample,“socialdisease”isusedtostandfor“syphilis”,“indifficulties”for“indebt”,“agrowth”for“cancer”,etc.Sometimesaspeakermightstartalistofsomekindandthencannotremembertherestofthelistordoesnotthinktheotheritemsareimportantenoughtomenti