浅谈英语委婉语的分类、构成方式及社会功能((6)
2016-09-30 01:02
导读：(24) He was quite rich. ---He was a man of no mean wealth. In sentence (23), “not particularly good-looking” is more neutral and vague than “ugly”, so the employment of this euphemism successf
(24) He was quite rich. ---He was a man of no mean wealth.
In sentence (23), “not particularly good-looking” is more neutral and vague than “ugly”, so the employment of this euphemism successfully avoids annoying the person concerned. Sentence (24) has something to do with personal affairs. Westerners don’t like others to talk about their private affairs. Wealth belongs to one’s privacy, so it is more polite to use a roundabout way to talk about it when you have to.
“Meiosis is merely understatement without the use of negatives”[18]. Examples:
(25) Her daughter is in prison. ---Her daughter lives under the government’s expense.
(26) I can’t promise. ---Sorry, this is in fact more than I can promise.
“prison” in sentence (25) is an unpleasant word. General speaking, people are sensitive to the word “prison” if one is in prison, you had better avoid mentioning “prison” in front of his relatives. Sentence (26) is a refusal. When you refuse someone, indirect words will get a better result, for they will not make him lose face.
By using understatements, the speakers do not seem to be so cruel to others whom they speak something upsetting to.
3.5.3 Using metonymy
Metonymy is another very useful rhetorical means to form English euphemisms. It uses the name of one thing to substitute that of another. By using it, some unpleasant expressions can be avoided. Metonymy can be further divided into the following.
(ⅰ) Substituting the typical characteristics of a person for the person
For example,
(27) Gray hairs should be respected.
In the above sentence, “Gray hairs” is employed to replace “old people”, for gray hair is one of the typical characteristics of old people. Since “old” is a taboo in English-speaking countries people express it with euphemistic words.
(ⅱ) Substituting the whole for the part
For example,
(28) She has a good chest .
In sentence (28), “chest” means “breast”. People consider “breast” as an ungraceful word, so they use roundabout way to mention it.
（转载自http://www.ＮＳＥＡＣ.com中国科教评价网） (ⅲ) Substituting the tools for the action or the thing
For example,
(29) During the World War Ⅱ Hitler attended to carry fire and sword into Every part of the world.
In sentence (29), “fire and sword” has the same meaning with “war”. In westerners’ eyes, fire is the symbol of hope and sword is the symbol of justice. As war makes people think of misery, they usually don’t mention it directly. Here, “fire and sword” is used to create a sense of satire.
(30) Selling cards is forbidden.
“cards” in sentence (30) means “drugs”. “drug” is a sensitive word as it has something to do with crime and decadence, so it is often euphemized. People use “card” to refer to “drug” for the reason that drug dealers put disposable drugs into folding postcards and send them to drug addicts.
(ⅳ) Substituting the name of a place for the person
For example,
(31) Tom is successful in his career but he was a brostal.
“Brostal” in the above sentence means “young criminal”. “Brostal” is the name of a locality in Britain. Because the famous young criminals center is located there, people use the name of it to replace “young criminal”.共2页: 1 [2] 下一页 论文出处(作者):
