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浅谈英语委婉语的分类、构成方式及社会功能(

2016-09-30 01:02 [Abstract] As an indispensable and natural part of English language, English euphemisms have existed for a long time. The appearance of everything, including euphemism, has its reasons. The emergence of English euphemisms has a close relation with language taboos and religion. Since English euphemisms play an important role in social communication, they worth careful and thorough study. This paper will mainly deal with the formation, classification and social function of English euphemisms.
Various methods have been used to form English euphemisms, including phonetic devices, spelling devices, vocabulary devices, grammatical devices and rhetorical devices.
The paper also tries to classify English euphemisms according to the content. English euphemisms are almost employed in all fields of life such as in the field of daily life, in the field of education, in the field of law, in the field of politics, and in the field of commerce and industry.
From the day they came into being, English euphemisms play the role of social lubricator. Without them, the world will be full of conflicts and the social order will be in chaos. The function of English euphemisms is diversified. Besides evasion, English euphemisms now are also used for politeness, elegance and disguise.
[Key Words] English euphemism; formation; classification; social function 【摘 要】 委婉语是人类语言中的一种普遍现象，其存在的历史相当悠久。任何事物的出现总有其原因，委婉语当然也不例外。委婉语的出现是与语言禁忌息息相关的。英语委婉语在交际中起着十分重要的作用，因此值得深入的学习和研究。本文主要从英语委婉语的构成方式、分类和社会功能来进行阐述。英语委婉语的构成方式多种多样包括语音手段、语法手段、修辞手段等。论文还试图根据英语委婉语的内容对其应用范围进行归类。英语委婉语涉及生活的方方面面，既有日常生活中的委婉语又有教育和法律委婉语以及政治委婉语与商业和工业领域委婉语。从其诞生之日起，英语委婉语就肩负着社会润滑剂这项重任。可以预见如果没有委婉语人际交往中将会增加许多摩擦和矛盾。英语委婉语具有多样化的功能。除了避讳，它还具有礼貌、求雅、掩饰等功能。 （科教论文网 Lw.nsEAc.com编辑整理）
【关键字】 英语委婉语;构成方式;分类;社会功能
1. Introduction
Euphemisms have existed for a long time. The word “euphemism” comes from the Greek word “Euphemia”. The prefix “eu-” means “good”, the stem “pheme” means “speech” or “saying”. Many people have defined euphemism. Here are some of the definitions.
(1) “(example of the) use of pleasant, mild or indirect words or phases in place of more accurate or direct ones.”[1]
(2) “a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone.”[2]
(3) “a less direct word used instead of one that is harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.”[3]
(4) “Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; Expression thus substituted.”[4]
(5) “a polite word or expression that people use to talk about something unpleasant or embarrassing, such as death and sex.”[5]
(6) “A euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: Either one’s own face or, through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party.”[6]