从语用学的礼貌原则看英语中的委婉语(1)(2)
2017-08-23 01:51
导读：“Euphemism is defined in the New Edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary (1976) as ‘Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted.’
“Euphemism is defined in the New Edition of the Oxford Concise Dictionary (1976) as ‘Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted.’ IN Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1973) the definition reads, ‘Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant.’”[1]
Euphemism is an important rhetorical means in English. It plays an important role in people’s daily communication. It is not only a cultural phenomenon, but also a social phenomenon. It just likes a mirror, which reflects some social and psychological phenomena. 2. Features of euphemism
2.1 Indirect and implicit
The most important character of euphemism is indirect and implicit. Euphemism always gives people hints in a roundabout way. We can infer the deeper meaning and intention from the context. For example, when someone is ill, we always say he is under the weather. If someone is mad, we say he is soft in mind.
2.2 Universality
Universality is something that is well-known and accepted by all of the people. Though euphemism is indirect and it doesn’t come straight to the point, people can easily infer its deeper implication. Some taboos connected with sex, death, or body functions are replaced by euphemisms. And the public has accepted this kind of use. For example, when we refer to death, we seldom say “die”. We use the expression “pass away”.
2.3 The feature of times
The changes of language depend on the need and changes of the society. And euphemism undergoes a process of metabolism. It bears a marked brand of times.
For example, “‘She is pregnant’ has many different euphemistic expressions in different eras.
(1) She has canceled all her social engagements. (1856)
(2) She is in an interesting condition. (1880)
(3) She is in a delicate condition. (1895)
(4) She is knitting little bootees. (1910)
(5) She is in a family way. (1920)
(6) She is expecting. (1935)
（科教作文网http://zw.ΝsΕAc.com发布） (7) She is pregnant. (1956)” [2]
But after 1960s, euphemisms of pregnant develop slowly because in modern times, people are not so implicit. They always mention things directly. And now, the phenomenon of pregnant is a cheerful thing. People will not be shy when mentioning it.
“The word ‘gay’, at first, it means happy and homosexuality. But as euphemism develops, the word ‘gay’ only reminds us the meaning of homosexuality. Thus, people don’t use the expression ‘We are young and gay.’”[3]
2.4 Regional feature
In euphemism, there are some regional differences. An Australian woman married to an American man. They spent their honeymoon in America. And one day, the couple intended to go to a party together. But the bridegroom couldn’t find a suitable full dress. The bride took out a birthday suit that she gave him as a present few days ago and said: “Why not wear your birthday suit?” However, the whole family all astonished because in American English, “in one’s birthday suit” [4] is the euphemistic expression of “naked”. So this embarrassing situation resulted from the regional differences in euphemism.
