AContrastiveStudyofEuphemismbetweenEnglishandChinesefromthePerspectiveofthePoliteness

1、2015届毕业生毕业论文题 目:A Contrastive Study of Euphemism betweenEnglish and Chinese from the Perspective of thePoliteness Principles院系名称：外语学院 专业班级:英语F1003班学生姓名： 学 号： 201119010425指导教师：教师职称：副 教 授2015年05月24日A Contrastive Study of Euphemism betweenEnglish and Chinese from the Perspective of thePoliteness Princi

2、plesSchool of Foreign LanguagesofHenan University of TechnologySupervisor: Cheng XiongyongMay 24, 2015AcknowledgementsI would like to give my tha nks to my supervisor, Dr. Che ng Xiongyong. His in dustrious attitude towards academic research and dist in ctive in sight on my topic has a deep in flue

3、nee on my thesis and study, and his instruction gives me endless inspiration and motivation on my work. The whole process of select ing the topic of the thesis, collect ing data, correct ing the layout of thesis, guided by my supervisor, Dr. Che ng Xiongyong has made me accomplish this thesis. I wou

4、ld like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Cheng Xiongyong . I finished my thesis successfully un der the teachers scrupulous guida nee and strong support. I cannot submit such a perfect paper without the help of my supervisor Dr. Cheng Xiongyong, equipped with specialized knowledg

5、e, rigorous research attitude, professional dedication and broad vision, who tries his best to help me complete my task.Moreover, I would appreciate these abundant resources provided by my faculty. I obta ined a great amount of information from library when I did not know how to accomplish this trem

6、e ndous task. Fin ally, I express my tha nks to my pare nts, classmatesa nd my frie nds who gave me continu ous support and impetus.3AbstractWith the increasing development of society and the process of obtaining the theoretical kno wledge of euphemism, we must lear n how to use euphemism in an appr

7、opriate way in order to show our respect for others, reflect the pers onal cultivati on of Ian guage, avoid com muni cati on barriers, and fin ally promote mutual excha nges.The first part of this thesis briefly in troduces the related kno wledge of En glish and Chin ese euphemism and the research s

8、tatus of euphemism from the perspective of the politeness principles. The second part of this thesis tells us the information of euphemism from the concept, emerge nee, developme nt, structure and classificati on, as well as the relati on ship betwee n euphemism and the politeness principles in prag

9、matic domains. In the third part, this thesis uses the con ceptual research, the methods of comparis on research and example an alysis. The fourth part mainly discusses how euphemism reflects and complies with the six maxims of the politeness principles. However, euphemism, either in Western countri

10、es putting stress on the in dividuality or in orie ntal coun tries like Chi na deeply in flue need by hierarchical system, in flue nces peoples com muni cati on. This thesis from the cultural and pragmatic perspectives and the politeness principles as the theoretical basis, discusses the use of Engl

11、ish and Chinese euphe mism in political, commercial, social status and peoples daily life.Through the above analysis, we can see that the appropriate use of euphemism in compliance with the politeness principles can minimize the damage to others to the lowest level and achieve the purpose of success

12、ful com muni cati on.Key words: application; euphemism; linguistics; principle内容摘要在日益发展社会里，为了提高跨文化交际和日常交流能力 ，我们在了解委婉语理论知识的同时 ，也必 须要在交际中恰到好处地运用委婉语 ，做到既尊重他人又体现个人的语言修养 ，避免造成交际障碍，促进 相互交流。本文第一部分简要介绍了中英委婉语的相关知识以及在礼貌原则视角中委婉语的研究现状。本文的第二部分告诉我们委婉语的概念，产生，发展，结构和分类信息，以及委婉语与语用学领域的礼貌原则相互关系。本文的第三部分是采用概念研究，以及比较研究方法，

13、举例分析法完成的。第四部分主要论述委婉语是如何体现及遵守礼貌原则的六大准则的。然而，无论是在强调个性的西方国家或在神受等级制度影响的东方国家如中国都影响着人们的沟通，委婉语都在左右着人们谈话、交流的思维。本文从文化和语用学的角度，以礼貌原则为理论基础，论述了在礼貌原则下中英委婉语在政治、商业、社会地位及人们日常社交方面中的广泛运用。通过以上分析可以看出，遵循礼貌原则恰当的使用委婉语能够把对方的伤害降到最低限度，进而达到成功的交际目的。关键词：委婉语；原则；研究；应用河南工业大学毕业论文ContentsAck no wledgeme nts .iAbstract(E nglish) .iiAbs

14、tract(Chi nese) .iii1. Introduction 12. Literature review 12.1. The defi niti on and functionof euphemism 12.2. The types and formati on of euphemism 32.3. The politeness principles 42.4. Previous studies on euphemism and the politeness principles 53 Methodology 54 Findingsand discussiort 64.1. Euph

15、emism and tact maxim 64.2. Euphemism and gen erosity maxim 74.3. Euphemism and approbati on maxim 84.4. Euphemism and modesty maxim 84.5. Euphemism and agreeme nt maxim 94.6. Euphemism and sympathy maxim 95. Con clusi on 105.1. Major findings . 105.2. Limatati ons and suggestions 10.11Works cited1 I

16、ntroductionEuphemism in the con text is a com mon lin guistic phe nomenon in differe nt Ian guages. Euphemisms in English and Chinese are plentiful, and they have not only similarities but also differences in cultural connotations and expressions. The study of English and Chinese euphemisms can help

17、 people to un dersta nd the deep meaning in En glish and Chin ese Ian guages and get rid of the obstacles com muni cati ons correctly. Euphemism is a kind of Ian guage phe nomenon among differe nt culture and has bee n studied by many scholars at home and abroad from different angles. Thus we have a

18、 better understanding of it and it can help us to interpret and use euphemism appropriately in com muni cati on. Besides, this paper states the defi niti on of euphemism, the writing motivation and purpose. The contrast between English and Chinese euphemism research from the perspective of the polit

19、e ness prin ciples, discusses the relati on ship betwee n euphemism and the polite ness prin ciples. At the same time, we can con duct a task about the an alysis of several main types of En glish and Chin ese euphemism from daily life, such as social politics, economy, military fields, professions a

20、nd education. Furthermore, by exploring the basic com muni cative fun cti ons of euphemism, we can obta in new kno wledge about euphemism depe nding on the social en vir onment, such as the restrict ion and applicati on of euphemism com muni cati on prin ciple of euphemism in cross-cultural com muni

21、 cati on and the con trast research of non-verbal com muni catio n in En glish and Chin ese euphemism.By an alyz ing the similarities and differe nces of euphemism betwee n En glish and Chin ese, we can solve questi ons as followed:Why it is so importa nt in huma n com muni cati on?How it in flue nc

22、es peoplelife from the perspective of polite ness prin ciple?How it is applied to our life and makes the com muni cati on smoothly con ti nue?2 Literature review2.1 The definition and function of euphemismEuphemism is an appropriate Ian guage style and in dispe nsable lubrica nt that people seek for

23、 in daily com muni cati on for the sake of reach ing an ideal com muni catio n effect. Euphemism can avoid and softe n sen sitive or awkward topics or taboos. In each coun try, euphemisms are widely used. Thus, the gen erati on and usage of euphemism is a gen eral phe nomenon in huma n Ianguage. As

24、a special language phenomenon, euphemism not only includes euphemistic expressi ons accepted by com mun ity members, but also covers the euphemistic com muni cati on style that people adopt in specific environment. The use of euphemism varies with the gender, age, social status and occupati on, as w

25、ell as social conven tio ns, traditi onal morality, religi on, social values, etc. Thus, it shows euphemism is rooted in social culture deeply.Euphemism in the con text is a com mon lin guistic phe nomenon in differe nt Ian guages. By using euphemisms, people can express their ideas in directly and

26、politely, without making the liste ners feel un pleasa nt and awkward. As a mirror of culture, the product ion and developme nt of euphemisms are closely bound up with culture. Euphemisms in En glish and Chin ese are also plentiful, and they have not only similarities but also differences in cultura

27、l connotations and expressi ons. The study of En glish and Chin ese euphemisms can help people to un dersta nd the deep meaning in En glish and Chin ese Ian guages and get rid of the obstacles com muni cati ons correctly.Euphemism stems from Greek Ianguage“ Euphemos,” or roots from Greek wordsand ph

28、em which refers to auspicious and pleasant speech. The prefix of euphemism stands for good ome n and the meaning of the stem of this word phemism is speech. That is, Euphemism is a good or favorable in terpretati on of a harsh word. It is widely ack no wledged that speeches expressed in an in direct

29、 and circuitous way bel ong to euphemism.Euphemism is an exalted term used in replacing a down-to-earth term, or “ arattempt to give prettier term to an uglier reality, is one of the most fun dame ntal and importa nt items of rhetoric in English and is defined in the new edition of the oxford concis

30、e dictionary as substituti on of mild or vague or roun dabout expressi on for harsh or direct one, substituti on of an inoffen sive or agreeable expressi on for one that may suggest someth ing un pleasa nt offen sive harsh and blunt to the receiver, or to make it less troublesome for the speaker. Th

31、ey are often used for the sake of courtesy or consideration of other people s feelilngsrder to avoid some obverse con flicts and dispe nsable misun dersta ndin gs, we ofte n use some mild and in direct words in stead of the rude and forbidde n on es. This is a feature of speech that can achieve an i

32、mplied and tactful aim. Euphemism is a com mon skill that we use in En glish. Especially whe n our friends and relatives suffer from disaster, death illness or some other sorrows, we usually use certa in mild and implied words to express ourselves but not the direct and abrupt ones in order to show

33、polite ness, comfort the tone and coord in ate the pers onal relati on ships.2.2The types and formation of euphemismsWith the development of Ianguage, euphemism is evoIving from day to day, new expressions being took shape. Euphemismsmay be shaped in various ways. The formation of euphemism, to a ce

34、rtain degree, complies with some principles, although some Ianguage phe nomena are not reas on able but used freque ntly. Some Euphemisms show treme ndous inven tive ness of either figure or formati on and some are un doubtedly playful. Euphemism can be formed through an tithetical ways, e.g. by com

35、plete omissi on or eve n acronym abbreviatio n and circumlocutio n and also by one- for-one substituti on; by part-for-whole and gen eral-for-specific substituti on; by the use of colloquial in stead of formal terms; by un derstateme nt and hyperbole; and by the use of jarg ons or learned terms in s

36、tead of com mon terms. Some learned terms and many technical jargons are either borrowed from another Ianguage of other community, for example, a lot of euphemisms are mostly derived from Ancient Greek or Latin.Lin guistic patter ns of forming euphemism have gained wide public atte nti on, En glish

37、and Chin ese euphemism not only have some features in com mon but also have their own inten ti ons. Chin ese is a Sino-Tibeta n while En glish bel ongs to the In do-Europea n. On the one hand, we can study the formation of the English and Chinese euphemism from lexical device, rhetorical device, and

38、 phon etic device. On the other hand, the differe nces in En glish and Chin ese euphemism are mainly the result of the culture. Different culture has different religions, practices and conno tati ons. Euphemism is conn ected with the culture. Differe nt cultures have diverse attitudes towards the sa

39、me thing, deeply rooted in a country s culture, having an intrinsic associationthe country s history, national character, customs values, etc. The cultural features of euphemism remi nd us that a certa in familiarity of cultural backdrop of euphemism is importa nt to the cod ing of euphemism. There

40、are many ways to form euphemism.a. Compo unding: like gezud na (goes+un der)b. Acronym: for example, BM(bowel moveme nt) the big c.c. Respelling of initials: like dee (damn)d. Punctuation: like d-(damn), son of a-(son of a bitch)e. Synony ms: like slim (sk inny)f. Borrowi ng: like lin gerie (un derw

41、ear)g. Fuzzy words: like affairh. Metaphorical tran sfer: like the phrase go to sleep forever.(die)i. Un derstateme nt: like smelly (st inking)2.3. The politeness principleWe have learned six maxims from leech, a distinguished linguist, named as tact maxim, gen erosity maxim, modesty maxim, approbat

42、i on maxim, agreeme nt maxim and sympathy maxim accord in gly.In lin guistic com muni cati on, euphemism is a lubricati ng fun cti on, while the polite ness principle is a standard of moderating linguistic behavior.From the above prin ciples, we can easily get the con clusi on that the objective of

43、the polite ness prin ciple is to reduce the impolite ness to the lowest level. It also can be used into the Chin ese culture. As we all know, the politeness is deeply rooted in the Chinese culture. They are usually used to ben efit others and cost self as well as praise others and dispraise ourselve

44、s.Because of the social status and different relationship, the speakers use different polite strategies whe n they are going on a com muni cati on. Polite ness is very of importa nce in huma n com muni catio n. It is a defi ning point in putt ing stress on the com muni cati on and in terpers onal re

45、lati on ship. The Polite ness Prin ciple plays a sig nifica nt role in huma n com muni cati on. If people can comply with this principle, they can make their expression more skillful; whereas, if people run counter to the Politeness Principle, they may make the hearers feel not good.The feelings of

46、face for Chinese people put emphasis on profit and loss of sensibility, and it is need of dignity and esteem, not directing to the freedom of behavior and self-determination. In Chinese culture, hindering the behavior of freedom is not the defining factor that constitutes the loss of face. This is d

47、ifferent from negative face in western culture based on the freedom of behavior and self-determ in atio n. Chin ese culture especially puts stress on collective spirit, in dividuals want to in tegrate into the group, uni ess he is harm onious with the group, he will lose the basic stone to live. The

48、refore, Chinese put social value and the ability to dealing with affairs on the first place. A say ing that huma n beings n eed a face to live, and trees n eed a skin to survive, dem on strates the importa nce of ide ntity and being respected.As an old say ing goes, one should lear n about the forbi

49、dde n thi ngs of the boarder one goes to, lear n about customs and habits of the country one goes to and lear n about the taboos of the family one goes to. This puts stress on the sig nifica nee of avoid ing taboos in com muni cati on. Because of the role that speech plays in social and in terpers o

50、nal relati on ship, huma n beings usually try their best to avert situation where unpleasant things would happen, to avoid calling a spade a spade, and to use some gilded words.2.4 Previous studies on euphemism and the politeness principlesEuphemism as a com muni cative tool reflects huma nity and t

51、ells us the value of culture, and it has been a natural part of the social field and is applied everywhere in all human societies and used in all huma n com muni cati on. From the above an alysis, we can know that the En glish and Chinese euphemism has many differences due to the cultural difference

52、s. Society is developing and cha nging con sta ntly, so is Ian guage.As a socioli nguistic phe nomenon, euphemism is also cha nging en dlessly. Euphemism may bring about cross - cultural barriers. Thus, it is very important to know the appropriate ways to use the euphemisms in social com muni cati o

53、n. Though the study is about the comparis on of En glish and Chin ese euphemism and the relatio nship betwee n euphemism and the polite ness prin ciples, we can lear n a lot of thi ngs from the two Ian guages.3 MethodologyBy using the means of conceptual research, we can easily understand the concep

54、tion of euphemism; from the points of the lin guists and the studies con ducted by ourselves, we can an alyze and research the euphemism deeply and widely; by using the qua ntitative research and qualitative research, we collect many examples to explain the euphemisms in different countries and diff

55、ere nt com mun ities speak ing differe nt Ian guages. The sources of the data are mainly from the library, electro nic database, and the In ternet.Besides, the accomplishment of this thesis mainly attributes to the collectives and comparis on of euphemism betwee n En glish and Chin ese from the an g

56、les of daily life. With the help of the data, the thesis is fini shed clearly and orderly.4. Findings and discussionEuphemism as a linguistic phenomenoncan occur in all nations of the world, some of which are com mon, and some with a dist inct n ati onal ide ntity. Differe nt social backgro unds eit

57、her in East or West, as well as political, historical, economic, moral and character structure, will bring disti ncti ons to Chin ese and En glish euphemism .In turn, the disti ncti on s can reflect cultural differe nces, social values and social fashi ons. Euphemism differe nee is mai nly reflected

58、 in the following three aspects: first, under the same circumstances, one use euphemisms, and the other is outspoke n.Certa in topics in the part of se nsitive positi on, gen erate a lot of euphemisms; and on the other hand, they cannot bring any feeli ngs to some people. For example, Chin ese tradi

59、ti onal hierarchy system as a kind of taboo in Chinese culture from the art can be seen. There are national taboo, the so-called national taboo, mainly to avoid the emperor himself canning and cloth ing in the feudal society. For example, the emperor sur named same pronun ciatio n should be avoided. In addition