a study of taboos in the western cultures from the perspective of english euphemisms 《從英語委婉語看西方文化的禁忌》

1、<p>　　A Study of Taboos in the Western Cultures from the Perspective of English Euphemisms</p><p>　　從英語委婉語看西方文化的禁忌</p><p><b>　　Contents</b></p><p>　　Abstract in Eng

2、lishI</p><p>　　Abstract in ChineseII</p><p>　　I. Introduction1</p><p>　　1.1. The definition of euphemisms1</p><p>　　1.2. The origin of English euphemisms1</p>

3、;<p>　　II. Taboos of English euphemisms and their connotation3</p><p>　　2.1. The classification of English euphemisms3</p><p>　　2.2. The function of English euphemisms3</p><

4、p>　　2.2.1. Function of taboos3</p><p>　　2.2.2. Function of politeness4</p><p>　　2.2.3. Function of beautification4</p><p>　　2.2.4. Function of concealment5</p><p&g

5、t;　　2.3. An analysis of taboos of Western culture through understanding the</p><p>　　incentives of English euphemisms5</p><p>　　2.3.1. The use of English euphemisms as a result of worry and fea

6、r5</p><p>　　2.3.2. The use of religious euphemisms as a result of worship6</p><p>　　2.3.3. The use of shyness euphemisms as a result of shy psychology6</p><p>　　III. Application

7、of English euphemisms and its revelation on</p><p>　　cross-cultural communication8</p><p>　　3.1. Characteristics of English euphemisms in cross-cultural communication8</p><p>　　3.

8、1.1. Time differences of English euphemisms8</p><p>　　3.1.2. Regional differences of English euphemisms8</p><p>　　3.1.3. Register differences of English euphemisms8</p><p>　　3.1.

9、4. Nationality of English euphemisms9</p><p>　　3.1.5. Gender differences of English euphemisms9</p><p>　　3.2. More examples for English euphemisms and their specific applications10</p>

10、<p>　　3.3. Revelation of English euphemisms on cross-cultural communication10</p><p>　　IV. Conclusion13</p><p>　　Bibliography14</p><p>　　A Study of Taboos in the Western Cu

11、lture from the Perspective of English Euphemisms </p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　A euphemism is a kind of linguistic phenomenon used in the process of human communication, which i

12、s, in a sense, a roundabout way of speech when the user does not want to offend the recipient of the message. In human communication, euphemisms can help people express their meaning in an abstract way without losing the

13、ir original intentions. Since many subjects in human life are inappropriate to be expressed directly, euphemisms would be ideal for people to exchange thoughts without feeling guilty</p><p>　　Keywords: Engli

14、sh euphemisms; taboo; culture</p><p>　　從英語委婉語看西方文化的禁忌</p><p><b>　　摘 要</b></p><p>　　英語委婉語是人類語言使用過程中不可缺少的一種語言現(xiàn)象。使人們談?wù)撃切┝钊瞬豢旎蛘邔擂蔚氖虑闀r(shí)，所使用的較為禮貌的說法，是人們在交際中，用來表達(dá)不宜直說的人或事物的言語。其

15、重要的特征就在于運(yùn)用比較抽象、模棱兩可的概念或比喻的、褒義化的手法，使談話的雙方能夠采取一種比較間接的方式來談?wù)摬灰酥苯诱f的事，而且不必為談?wù)摯耸露械絻?nèi)疚、感到窘迫。英語委婉語作為一種文化現(xiàn)象，源自禁忌，是指人們在交往中對(duì)于一些特定話題進(jìn)行不約而同地以委婉性的語言來代替，這不僅是語言上的進(jìn)步，更是文化層面的進(jìn)步。本文通過對(duì)英語委婉語進(jìn)行歸類、功能分析，以及其在生活中個(gè)各個(gè)方面發(fā)揮的委婉性作用來探討西方國家的文化禁忌。</p>

16、;<p>　　關(guān)鍵詞：英語委婉語；禁忌；文化</p><p>　　A Study of Taboos in the Western Cultures from the Perspective of English Euphemisms </p><p>　　I. Introduction</p><p>　　1.1. The definition of

17、 euphemisms</p><p>　　A euphemism is a kind of universal social phenomenon. Specifically, the word originally comes from Greek, with the prefix "eu" meaning "good" and the root "phemi

18、sm" meaning "speech". So the literal meaning of a euphemism refers to the use of a mild, vague or roundabout expression to substitute harsh, blunt or direct one. </p><p>　　Anyway, so far, the

19、definitions of the euphemisms are quite numerous, and there are two definitions of the euphemism from the reference books: (1) "using a statement of vague, and making people feel happy or ambitious, instead of the e

20、xpression of an unhappy meaning or with not respect." (Dictionary of language and linguistics, Stockton and Hartmann et al.) (2)"an indirect word or phrase that people often use to refer to something embarrassi

21、ng or unpleasant, sometimes to make it seem more accept</p><p>　　1.2. The origin of English euphemisms</p><p>　　English euphemisms can be traced back to the time when the United Kingdom was occu

22、pied by the Normans in 1066. The euphemism was used at that time primarily because the language used by the conquerors was derogated and considered as vulgar, offensive and scandalous. In order to avoid so called vulgari

23、zation, the local upper class began to learn the conquerors' language and tried to be gentle by using gentle words which came from the Latin. In later days, these words were gradually added into Eng</p><p&

24、gt;　　II. Taboos of English euphemisms and their connotation </p><p>　　2.1. The classification of English euphemisms</p><p>　　English euphemisms are generally classified into two main types, one

25、is traditional English euphemisms and the other style English euphemisms. As for traditional euphemisms, they usually refer to those which are not elegant words or behaviors that make people feel ashamed to talk about in

26、 public, so they substitute those words for more acceptable expressions. Because direct expressions may make us feel uncomfortable, annoyed or frightened. For example, when a person we are familiar with dies, we</p>

27、;<p>　　2.2. The function of English euphemisms</p><p>　　2.2.1. Function of taboos</p><p>　　In ancient times, people believed that God existed in nature, and the God was in charge of every

28、thing in the world. To escape from disasters, people held fete activities and gave good names to Gods. The example of losing a person that we are familiar with has been listed above. Besides, euphemisms about illness are

29、 common. People replace venereal disease with social disease; pizza face is called skin problem. Euphemisms about aging are also a sensitive topic in western countries because of the f</p><p>　　2.2.2. Functi

30、on of politeness</p><p>　　This function is very important in English euphemisms. From the perspective of dignity, people usually judge a person with implied words. In daily communication, appropriate applica

31、tion of euphemisms can create polite association for two sides to communicate smoothly. Such a function also helps to take care of the dignity of others. Such words as slender, slim can be used for the word skinny, when

32、we try to refer to a skinny woman.</p><p>　　2.2.3. Function of beautification</p><p>　　In many Western countries, the application of euphemisms can be used to beautify jobs of low social class.

33、If you see a dustman, remember to call him a sanitary engineer. Besides, in order not to hurt those who have personality defects or physiological defects, a euphemism is used in communication, too.</p><p>　　

34、2.2.4. Function of concealment</p><p>　　The function is generally used to cover up serious social problems like poverty and crime or hide the essence of war, scandals of policy and diplomacy. Since a euphemi

35、sm is a replacement of another meaning, it would be easy for people, especially politicians, to lie. They can say action rather than violence, plumbers rather than a person whose job is to gather intelligence. In fact, w

36、e can see this function in Western policy when they launched the Iraqi War ten years ago. </p><p>　　2.3. An analysis of taboos of Western culture through understanding the incentives of English euphemisms<

37、;/p><p>　　2.3.1. The use of English euphemisms as a result of worry and fear</p><p>　　The basic principles of social psychology tell us that an absolute danger in front of a person can invoke the f

38、eeling of fear and and when the danger is not so clear, then a feeling of worry arises. In euphemisms, most situations are that people will have a feeling of fear and worry about something dangerous. Due to people's

39、ignorance in ancient times and blind faith in those days, they always connected a word or a phrase with a specific thing and this happened mostly in bad things. So, a euphem</p><p>　　2.3.2. The use of religi

40、ous euphemisms as a result of worship </p><p>　　In ancient times, because of the low social productivity level, people kept living in awe of nature, so euphemisms were first created in religious language. Pe

41、ople worship God because they don't have the power to conquer nature, nor can they explain many phenomenon of nature. So any phenomenon can be imagined as supernatural power which can arouse people's feelings of

42、fear. In many Christian countries, the names of Gods can not be said casually otherwise one will be thought as impious. And when </p><p>　　For those devil Gods, when people also say their names, they will re

43、place them with others because they are afraid of his happening when speaking of the devil. The following are some examples: people don't say Satan' name, instead, they call him Goodman, the Dickens, Prince of Da

44、rkness because he would not understand this so that he would not appear while people are talking about him. </p><p>　　2.3.3. The use of shyness euphemisms as a result of shy psychology</p><p>　　

45、People feel shy mostly because they think sex is not a comfortable topic to talk about with each other. On the one hand, they regard sex as nasty so that they are to blame to talk about it; and on the other hand, people

46、are not satisfied with their sexual life. Nowadays the topic of sex is totally open in Western cultures and people can talk about this topic like the most normal thing in life. Now even an eight-year-old girl knows that

47、she came to this world because her parents made love eight y</p><p>　　About the names of dirty or disgusting things, people prefer to replace them with more acceptable words. For example, there are hundreds

48、of descriptions of making sex like connubial rites, art of love, amorous congress, conjugal rights, conversation and so on. From the 1960s to the 1907s, the Gay Liberation greatly liberated people's thoughts. People

49、can no longer call them pansy or fruit today. By the way, the same gender marriage is legal in some Western countries, and we do have reasons to be</p><p>　　Anyway, with the development of social civilizatio

50、n, the application is also a lift from Gods to human relationships; people are used to avoiding those embarrassing topics which may make them feel ashamed or embarrassed, especially those that are related to the parts of

51、 body, bodily functions and sex, so euphemisms can help them reduce the feeling of awkwardness.</p><p>　　III. Application of English euphemisms and its revelation on cross-cultural communication </p>

52、<p>　　3.1. Characteristics of English euphemisms in cross-cultural communication</p><p>　　3.1.1. Time differences of English euphemisms</p><p>　　The same thing may have quite different mea

53、nings in different times. According to scientific statistics, the word "pregnant" has the following meanings in different periods of time. She is in an interesting condition (1880). She is in a delicate conditi

54、on (1895). She is in a family way (1920). She is expecting (1935). She is pregnant (1956). We can see clearly that the five sentences all mean being pregnant with different expressions with time changes.</p><p

55、>　　3.1.2. Regional differences of English euphemisms</p><p>　　Different regions have different histories and cultural backgrounds as well as traditional taboos. This difference is typical of languages’ re

56、gional differences. For example, an American may understand the following sentence "He is in the bathroom" as he is in the toilet while an Englishman may understand it as he is taking a bath. In British English

57、 the word "bathroom" means taking a bath while in American English it is the same as a toilet.</p><p>　　3.1.3. Register differences of English euphemisms</p><p>　　In different situatio

58、ns and different contexts, people can hardly have the exactly same expression of the same meaning because of their different educational backgrounds, ages and social status. Take having a meeting for example, if someone

59、is to wash his hands, the expression ‘Sorry! I have to go to the toilet’ will be regarded as quite impolite. Instead, if he quietly says " Sorry, I have to do my duty " or" Sorry, I have to fix my face &qu

60、ot; or" Sorry, I have to give myself ease". Similarly, when</p><p>　　3.1.4. Nationality of English euphemisms</p><p>　　Some of English euphemisms are commonly used while some others of

61、 them are used with a strong national feature. For example, the English word" old " and Chinese word" 老 " have the same literal meaning but still differ from each other. In Chinese, " 老" is

62、a comparatively good expression. In their communication, to extend one's respect to others, he usually adds the word to his greeting. But this does not work in Western cultures. If your greeting has an ‘old’ in front

63、 of one's name, you are proba</p><p>　　3.1.5. Gender differences of English euphemisms </p><p>　　The two genders can use different expressions for the same thing. For example, a woman may us

64、e" to powder her nose" or " to fresh herself up " to replace "go to toilet " while a man may say " to relieve himself because nature calls " or" nature is urgent".</p&

65、gt;<p>　　From above characteristics, we can see that it is not enough to follow the Cooperation Principle. To achieve the original goals, people usually follow Politeness Principle to save others' face, which

66、is exactly what we call communicative function.</p><p>　　3.2. More examples for English euphemisms and their specific applications</p><p>　　In Western countries, many jobs are given decent names

67、 so that the whole society will respect people doing these jobs. Engineer is at first a word used to describe a particular technique which wins people's respect. Nowadays, any kind of job can be added with the word&q

68、uot; engineer ". For example, footwear maintenance engineer means a person whose job is to polish shoes; sanitation engineer means a person what we usually call a dust man; vision engineer; sleep engineer means a pe

69、rson whose job is to</p><p>　　There are also many expressions about love like ‘being in love’, which means that a man and a woman fall in love; when a boy sets his sights on a girl, it means he likes the gir

70、l; to take a fancy on, to cut his or her eye at, to look sweet on, to make eyes at, to be gone on and to be taken with are all expressions of love between a boy and a girl who love each other. Getting married is a common

71、 expression of a couple becoming a family, but there are some other related expressions about marriage </p><p>　　3.3. Revelation of English euphemisms on cross-cultural communication</p><p>　　No

72、wadays the cross-cultural communication is becoming more and more frequent with the deepening of international cooperation. A large number of Chinese people go abroad to Western countries for further chances and opportun

73、ities. To live in a country is an easy thing while it is definitely not easy to incorporate into local people's life. Then at this time, it might be very important to learn the culture of that country because you sho

74、uld at least understand what he says when a salesman in a supe</p><p>　　An English euphemism is a beautiful art for English learners to take in since it weighs a lot in the communication with foreigners. For

75、 example, an exchange student should know English euphemisms in order to get familiar with the local students and avoid making some unnecessary errors which may lead to misunderstanding. Even sometimes you don't mean

76、 to hurt one's feeling but you do because you express your thoughts in a way which is inappropriate for them. For a businessman, getting a good under</p><p>　　For diplomats, it is a required course to ge

77、t a better understanding of the host country's euphemisms. Anyway, every detail movement of two countries' diplomatic activities will be magnified by the mass media. And every move of representatives of the two c

78、ountries is closely monitored. Once you don't behave appropriately, you are to blame. Recently, Bill Gates' greetings to Korean president Park Geun-hye have aroused Korean people's strong unpleasant feelings.

79、 The story is that Bill did not exte</p><p>　　IV. Conclusion</p><p>　　English euphemisms are both a language phenomenon and a social phenomenon. After a long period of social progress, people ha

80、ve learned how to express their thoughts in an appropriate way which may help extend original meaning without hurting other's feeling or causing an embarrassing condition. English euphemisms are applied in many aspec

81、ts of life and Western people can not communicate with each other smoothly without English euphemisms. From the president to a pupil, nobody can say anything ou</p><p>　　Bibliography</p><p>　　[1

82、] 涂朝蓮，程建山.Thesis Writing Guide for English Majors[M]. 華中科技大學(xué)出版社，2011.</p><p>　　[2] 唐穎,曲晶.English Rhetoric[M].長春：吉林大學(xué)出版社，2004.</p><p>　　[3] 姜怡,姜欣.English for Culture exchange[M].北京：高等教育出版社，2006.&

83、lt;/p><p>　　[4] 李玉平.English Idioms and their Cultural Origin[M].天津：南開大學(xué)出版社，2008.</p><p>　　[5] 王佳藝.趣味英語委婉語[M].上海：上?？茖W(xué)技術(shù)出版社，2003.</p><p>　　[6] 劉新法，劉浩.體味西方禮儀[M].西安：西安交通大學(xué)出版社，2010.</p&g

84、t;<p>　　[7] 胡文仲.英美文化辭典[Z]. 北京：外語教學(xué)與研究出版社，1995. </p><p>　　[8] 鄭立信.從委婉語的應(yīng)用看英美社會(huì)的文化價(jià)值觀[M].上海：上海外語教育出版社，1990.</p><p>　　[9] 鄭群.Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics [J]. 2010, (05):40-51,124-