从礼貌原则看英语委婉语的社会功能,英语论文.docx

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1、从礼貌原则看英语委婉语的社会功能,英语论文英语委婉语广泛地存在于社会中，在语言学和文化中特别常见。它蕴含了很多文化元素，在英语中也有着至关重要的地位。人们在沟通时经常避免使用严厉和令人不安的语言，以此来进行更好的沟通。因而英语委婉语是一种在人类社会中普遍存在的语言现象，有其本身的社会功能。礼貌原则是语用学的重要理论之一，也是语言学的重要组成部分，它与委婉语严密相连。本文基于礼貌原则，从四个方面阐述了英语委婉语的社会功能，包括其在人类日常沟通中的常用功能、在对话表示出中的积极功能、在掩饰事实时的欺骗功能和在抨击社会时的挖苦功能。在日常交际中，我们要熟知委婉语的社会功能，以此来缩短人与人之间的距离

2、，营造和谐的社会关系。 本文关键词语：英语委婉语；礼貌原则；社会功能 Social Functions of English Euphemism from Politeness Principle ABSTRACT English euphemism exists in every aspect of society. It is very common inlinguistics and culture. Thus, it implies many cultural ingredients. English euphemismportrays a vital part in the Engl

3、ish language. People are used to using less harsh anddisturbing language when they communicate with each other so that they can dobetter in communication. Euphemism is a wide-spread language phenomenon at homeand abroad. It has its own social functions. Politeness principle which is a significantthe

4、ory of pragmatics is also a key component of linguistics. It is linked nearly toeuphemism. This article classifies the social functions of euphemism from fourdifferent ways based on politeness principle, which include formal function inhuman s daily chats, positive function in everyday expression, s

5、purious function inrevealing the truth and ironic function in denouncing the society. In daily life, weshould be familiar with social functions of English euphemism to make the distancebetween people closer and establish a friendly social relationship. Key words: English euphemism; politeness princi

6、ple; social functions TABLE OF CONTENTS 摘 要 ABSTRACT Chapter One Introduction Chapter Two Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 2.1 Literature review 2.2 Theoretical framework 2.2.1 Definition of euphemism 2.2.2 Definition of the Politeness Principle 2.2.3 The relationship between English euph

7、emism and the Politeness Principle Chapter Three English Euphemism and the Politeness Principle 3.1 A brief introduction to English euphemism 3.1.1 The Origins of English Euphemism 3.1.2The Classification of English Euphemism 3.1.3 The Significance of English euphemism 3.2 Leech s Politeness Princip

8、le 3.2.1 Development of Politeness Principle 3.2.2 Maxims of Politeness Principle Chapter Four Social Functions of English Euphemism Based on Politeness Principle 4.1 Formal function 4.1.1 Euphemism about physical behaviors 4.1.2 Euphemism about the vulgar things 4.2 Positive function 4.2.1 Euphemis

9、m for death 4.2.2 Euphemism about appearance 4.2.3 Euphemism about evaluating students 4.2.4 Euphemism about the commercial activities 4.3 Spurious function 4.3.1 The spurious euphemism in society 4.3.2 The spurious euphemism in the politics 4.3.3 The spurious euphemism in the wars 4.4 Ironic functi

10、on 4.4.1 The special euphemism 4.4.2 Euphemism for reflecting social illnesses Chapter Five Conclusion REFERENCES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Chapter One Introduction Language and culture are linked nearly in human society. Language is not only arepresentative of culture but also an important part of culture.

11、(Deng Yanchang, LiuRunqing, 1989) People use languages to communicate with each other in their dailylife. Without the application of language, cultural exchange would not be possible. Itseems that all the cultures have such notions that people should avoid stating taboosdirectly. So people choose to

12、 use another term or phrase to substitute them. Thislanguage phenomenon is known as euphemism. Language contains euphemism andeuphemism, in turn is a component of language. It reflects a social spirit and it hasown social functions. Moreover, as a key part of linguistics, politeness principle islink

13、ed to euphemism closely. Meanwhile, the origin and progress of euphemism arealso vital. Some former studies have shed light on English euphemism and social functionsof English euphemism. Enright (1986) stated that the word euphemism comes fromthe Greek word euphemos which means good fortunate. It is

14、 viewed as the origin ofEnglish euphemism widely. Based on the researches which have been finished byformer scholars, other researchers, such as Della Summers(2004) , putting forward thedefinition of euphemism in his book Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English. The relationship between language,

15、 culture and the social functions of Englisheuphemism are explained later in Euphemism in English written by Li Guonan(1989). Regretfully, most former studies on the social functions of English euphemism frompoliteness principle are not thorough. Therefore, it is necessary to depend on the studyof t

16、he English euphemism and politeness principle to make a clear understanding ofthe social functions of English euphemism from politeness principle. In this paper I probe all the questions into detail. The first chapter makes anintroduction. As the initiation and basis, the fundamental concepts of key

17、 words andthe relationship between Englisheuphemism and Politeness Principle are explained in chapter two. And in chapterthree, the general ideas about English euphemism as well as Politeness Principle areincluded. Chapter four introduces social functions of English euphemism fromPoliteness Principl

18、e. Finally, a conclusion is reached in chapter five. What s more,practical significance of the study is pointed out at the end of the paper. Chapter Two Literature Review and Theoretical Framework 2.1 Literature review Some former studies have shed light on English euphemism and social functionsof E

19、nglish euphemism, just as I mentioned in introduction part. Such as Enright(1986), Li Guonan(1989),Summers(2004) and other investigators. As is known to all,the contact among people around the world is closer and closer in modern life. As aresult, it is more important for people to talk with each ot

20、her. Euphemism, as amember of language, contains many important cultural constituents. Therefore, therelationship between language and culture must be coped with carefully in order tohave a clear idea about euphemism. Meanwhile, Politeness Principle, put forward by Leech, has been researched onfor l

21、ots of years. Just as Michael (1980) mentioned in his book Practical EnglishUsage , Politeness Principle is a practical pragmatic theory. Leech (1983) put forwardthe principles of pragmatics in former researches. 2.2 Theoretical framework Before starting actual analysis of social functions of Englis

22、h euphemism, it isindispensable to state several basic concepts and relations which are to be used assynthetic frames of the study. 2.2.1 Definition of euphemism The word euphemism comes from the Greek word euphemos which means goodfortunate speech. (Enright, D. J., 1986:210) The prefix eu means sou

23、nding welland the etymon means speech or saying. The literal meaning of euphemism is tospeak with good words or in a pleasant manner. (Enright, D. J., 1986:210) Thedefinition of euphemism in LongmanDictionary is a polite word or expression that you use instead of more direct one toavoid shocking or

24、upsetting someone. (Della Summers, 2004:96) In the Englishlanguage, euphemism has been applied since ancient times. People use euphemismwhen they want to show politeness and express kindness. 2.2.2 Definition of the Politeness Principle G. Leech proposed the concept of Politeness Principle (PP) in 1

25、983 because hethought the Cooperative Principle (CP) and its maxims proposed by Paul Grice werenot sufficient enough to explain why people violate CP intently. (Michael Swan,1980:156) The PP is a set of maxims. It classifies how politeness is realized incommunications. That is to say, politeness is

26、the ability that people own in socialinteractions. It can make participants closer. 2.2.3 The relationship between English euphemism and the Politeness Principle English euphemism and Politeness Principle are connected with each other. Onthe one hand, euphemism appears because people tend to follow

27、the politenessprinciple in daily life. On the other hand, with the assistance of euphemism, peoplecan talk about embarrassing or uncomfortable facts freely and politely, so as to makelanguage communicative activities to be carried out favorably. At the same time, thehumor and irony that euphemism po

28、ssesses can make language colorful. Chapter Three English Euphemism and the Politeness Principle 3.1 A brief introduction to English euphemism Before we start our actual analysis of social functions of English euphemism, itis indispensable to state the origins, classification and significance of Eng

29、lisheuphemism. 3.1.1 The Origins of English Euphemism The record use of euphemism had not been found until the 11th century, B. C.By the early 1580s, it is George Blountto who first pointed out that the termeuphemism refers to a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word. (Hu Aiping,2004:79-80)

30、In that age, people divided words into two categories: ObsceneVocabulary , and Genteel Vocabulary , which refers to the pre-existence of Englisheuphemism. 3.1.2The Classification of English Euphemism English euphemism can be divided into two categories, which are regarded aspositive euphemism and ne

31、gative euphemism. The positive euphemism, which is also viewed as stylistic euphemism, uplifts themeaning of words and makes the speech pleasant and acceptable. They are used toshow respect and politeness to other people in some occasions, as well as makingtheir ideas more acceptable to other people

32、. For example, dust man is sanitaryengineer now. Because of the development of human society, the number of positiveeuphemisms will increase from day to day. The negative euphemism, which is also viewed as traditional euphemism, islinked to taboos such as diseases, death and sex. The negative euphem

33、ism substitutestaboos and convey meanings in indirect manner so as to avoid and decreaseembarrassment and offence. For example, the word excretion is also expressed as toanswer the nature s call and so on. As the social event taken by modern people isquite different from that in ancient times, lots

34、of traditional euphemisms have beenout of fashion and some of them even have gradually disappeared. 3.1.3 The Significance of English euphemism Euphemism is not only a language phenomenon but also a cultural one. Euphemism is a common phenomenon when people use language. It is widely used inhuman li

35、fe. (Michael Swan, 1980:156)From the folklore, we can see that Englisheuphemism is a special phenomenon in taboo s behavior folk-custom. Generally speaking, English euphemism is a figure of speech, as well as acultural phenomenon. (Ma Songmei, 2000:56)We all need to communicate with eachother in our

36、 daily life or in diplomacy. However, due to the difference of life habitsand the taboo of different cultures, we should know how to use euphemisms so as toavoid or decrease embarrassment. English euphemism is a rhetorical technique fromthe perspective of rhetoric. (Wang Fuxiang, 1994:315) And it ca

37、n be classified intotwo parts from the form of the euphemistic diction: words euphemism and sentences euphemism. Moreover, these parts are fundamental to both human language andculture. In spite of euphemism is only a kind of rhetoric, its momentous socialfunctions are able to reflect kinds of socia

38、l values, as well as advocatingpsychological in flank. English euphemism is widely used in every social area, andits Significance is immeasurable. (Zhang Limin, 2005:289) 3.2 Leech s Politeness Principle Before we start our actual analysis of the social functions of English euphemism,it is indispens

39、able to state the definition and maxims of Politeness Principle putforward by Leech. 3.2.1 Development of Politeness Principle G. Leech proposed the concept of Politeness Principle (PP) in 1983 because hethought that the Cooperative Principle (CP) and its maxims put forward by Paul Gricewere not suf

40、ficient enough to explain why people violate CP intently. The PP is a series of maxims, which explains how politeness operates inconversational exchanges. (Leech, 1983:470-471) Leech defines politeness as formsof behavior that establish and maintain comity. That is, the ability of participants insoc

41、ial interaction to make their interpersonal relationship harmonious. 3.2.2 Maxims of Politeness Principle Leech stated that the maxims of PP are Tact maxim maximize benefit to other,Generosity maxim maximize cost to self, Approbation maximmaximize praise ofother, Modesty maximmaximize praise of self

42、, Agreement maximmaximizeagreement between self and other and Sympathy maximmaximize sympathybetween self and other. Leech classified that the maxims are on minimization and maximization. Thedegrees of politeness depend on how people communicate in daily life. So the moreindirect a speech is, the po

43、liter it will be. In order not to dissatisfy the others, people tend to understate their weak points. Onthe other hand, they exaggerate other people s strong points to make themselvesaccepted and liked by the public. Because English euphemism understates the bad events, replaces strident andunpleasa

44、nt expressions, talks about things indirectly and makes the speeches kinderand more pleasant, people are able to use English euphemism to achieve theinfluences of minimization. Leech s six maxims ask the speakers to praise and talk good about the others. These maxims are closely connected to English

45、 euphemism. The main effect ofEnglish euphemism is to give a kind and polite impression to others. Chapter Four Social Functions of English Euphemism Based on Politeness Principle 4.1 Formal function The extensive use of euphemism in our daily life makes us rely on and be used toit unconsciously. Th

46、erefore, we haven t totally realized that conversation is a kind ofritual which most people haven t really understood. The formal function ofeuphemism is to hide unpleasant facts, as well as avoiding the embarrassment and theoffensive phenomenon during the communications. It conforms to the Tact max

47、im of Politeness Principle as the Tact maxim minimizes cost to others. It is beneficialto People who are in embarrassing situations. We can see the social formal functionsof English euphemism about physical behaviors and vulgar things from this maxim. 4.1.1 Euphemism about physical behaviors It is c

48、ommon to use euphemisms to express physical behaviors in the Englishlanguage. For example, people do not say toilet directly, so there are manyeuphemisms for toilet in English, such as power room, convenience, restroom, menor men s, women/ladies or women s/ladies . (Zhuyue, 1999:326)Meanwhile, there

49、 area lot of euphemisms for excretion in English. People go to the toilet to urinate anddefecate. should be expressed more implicitly. As defecate and urinate are nottaboo words, they are used uniquely in a clinical sense. The well-known Anglo-Saxonwords piss and shit are considered uncouth, so people always say that in anotherway so