浅谈英语委婉语的分类、构成方式及社会功能((5)
2016-09-30 01:02
导读：(12) The man, it seems, is the one who lives next door to Tim. (13) This, I think, is a very good way to improve your English study. With “it seems” and “I think” the two sentences sound more
(12) The man, it seems, is the one who lives next door to Tim.
(13) This, I think, is a very good way to improve your English study.
With “it seems” and “I think” the two sentences sound more modest and less righteous.
3.4.5 Using “please”
Out of kindness and politeness, the word “please” is used as a euphemistic device. Examples:
(14) No photos, please.
(15) Close the door, please.
(16) Children, please! I am trying to work.
In sentence (14), “please” is employed on a sign to say that something is not allowed politely. Sentence (15) uses “please” as a polite way of asking somebody to do something. Sentence (16) employs “please” as a mild criticism, to ask somebody to stop behaving badly.
3.4.6 Using tag questions
A phrase such as “isn’t it?”, “won’t it”, or “doesn’t she” is added to the end of a sentence to make it a question or to ask you to agree with the above statement politely. Examples:
(17) Let’s go fishing this afternoon, shall we?
(18) Turn on the light for me, will you?
3.5 Rhetorical devices
Some euphemisms are invented by rhetorical means as follows.
3.5.1 Using metaphor
In English, many euphemisms themselves are vivid and popular metaphors, so it is necessary to find out what “metaphor” means. A metaphor employs a word or a phrase to indicate something different from the literal meaning. People seldom say “he died” but “he went to sleep forever” or “he went to his long home”. Here, “go to sleep forever” and “go to one’s long home” are both metaphors and euphemisms. More examples are:
(19) He is Hamlet.
(20) His plan is castle in the air.
(21) John is carrying coals to Newcastle.
Sentence (19) means “he is indecisive”, sentence (20) means “his plan is daydream”, and sentence (21) has the same meaning with “John is wasting time and energy”. Euphemisms created by this way also appear in literary works. Here is an example:
(22)“therefore it is better to be a guest of the law, which though conducted by rules, does not interfere too with a gentleman’s private affairs.”[14]
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In sentence (22), “to be a guest of the law” means to “be in prison”, but the former is a pleasant substitution. Soapy would rather spend his winters in prison than get some help from charity organizations, for if he wants to get help from charities, his private affairs will be interfered.
3.5.2 Using understatement
For the sake of politeness and pleasantness, people often use another formation called understatement, which, is not to state something fully or adequately. Understatement, as the word suggests, is “a statement that is not strong enough to express how good, bad, impressive etc something really is.”[15] “Understatement achieves its effect of emphasizing a fact by deliberately understating it.” [16]
“Understatement is usually divided into litotes and meiosis. Litotes is understatement by using a negative statement instead of a positive one”[17]. Examples:
(23) She is very ugly. --- She is not particularly good-looking.
