文档语言学-论文

PAGE42011—2012学年第二学期《英语语言学》学期论文OnEnglishEuphemismundertheCooperativePrincipleandPolitenessPrinciple合作原则和礼貌原则下的英语委婉语Abstract：Aeuphemismisanindirectorpleasantexpressionpeopleapplyincommunicationinsteadofamoredirectoneinordertoavoidupsettingothers.Asanindispensablepartofhumanlanguage,euphemismiswidelyusedincommunication.Anditisoftensaidtobeasasortof“lubricatingoil“aswellasthebridgetoestablishharmonioussocialrelationship.ThepaperattemptstoseektherelationsbetweeneuphemismsandCooperativePrinciple(theCP)andthepolitenessPrinciple(thePP).Afterthegeneralunderstandingandintroductiontothedefinitionoftheeuphemism,itscommunicativefunctionsarediscussed.ThenextisthecontentofCooperativePrincipleandthePolitenessPrinciple.TherelationbetweentheeuphemismandCooperativePrincipleandthePolitenessPrinciplewillbeanalyzedbysomeexamples,thatis,howtheeuphemismviolatestheCooperativePrincipleandobservesthePolitenessPrinciple.Keywords:EnglishEuphemism,CooperativePrinciple,PolitenessPrinciple摘要：委婉语是一种人们在交际中采取迂回曲折的方法来表达思想，交流信息从而避免使用引起双方不快从而损害双方关系的语言。作为人类语言不可缺少的一部分，它广泛用于人际交往中并且也一直被视为人类交流的“润滑油”和构建和谐人际关系的桥梁。这篇论文探讨合作原则和礼貌原则下的英语委婉语。首先对英语委婉语的定义做了总体上的介绍，接着介绍了委婉语的交际功能。再次分别阐述合作原则和礼貌原则的内容。最后通过例子说明是委婉语与合作原则和礼貌原则的关系及委婉语怎样违反合作原则和遵守礼貌原则。关键字：英语委婉语，合作原则，礼貌原则1.Introduction:Itiswidelyknownthatlanguagecommunicationisavitalimportantapproachtomaintainsocialrelationship,sopeopleoftentendtousetheindirectorpleasantexpressionsinsteadofthoseconsideredunpleasant,rudeoroffensiveincommunication.Euphemism,anindispensableandnaturalpartofEnglishlanguageandacommonlinguisticphenomenon,hasbeenextensivelyusedinhumanbeing’scommunicationregardedasonekindof“lubricants”tocoordinatepeople’srelationship.Euphemismisacommonlanguagestrategyincommunication.Almosteveryonemakesuseofeuphemismsconsciouslyorunconsciouslyinthesituationswheretheyfeelembarrassedorunsuitabletotalkaboutsomethingsdirectly.Peopleusethemwithvariousintensionsandforvariouspurposes.Alanguagewithouteuphemismwouldn’tbeanefficientinstrumentincommunication.Sinceeuphemismplaysanimportantpartinhumancommunication,thestudyofitbecomessignificant.Thestudyofeuphemismhasalonghistory.EarlyintheAnglo-Saxonperiod,theywereusedsoasnottooffendpoliticalorreligiousleadersorthegod.Andnowadays,thestudyofresearchhasbeenconductedinthefieldofeuphemismsandeuphemisticexpressions.Themajorityofthepreviousstudiesfocusedonthetopicsofhistory,origin,scope,categorization,characteristics,waysofformation,evolution,aswellasculturalimplications.Inspiredbythepriorachievements,thisthesiswillconductapragmaticanalysisofeuphemismsintheEnglishlanguage.Thisthesisfallsintosixparts.Theyare:introduction,literaturereviewofstudiesontheeuphemisms,definitionoftheeuphemism,communicativefunctionsoftheeuphemism,therelationsbetweenthetwoprinciples,theCooperativePrincipleandPolitenessthePrinciple,andtheeuphemism,andtheconclusion.TherelationsofcognitivelinguisticsinherCategorizationTheoryofCognitiveLinguisticsandEuphemism.Categorizationcanbeemployedtoillustrateeuphemisticphenomena.XieYajun(2008:148-151)analyzedthemotivationofeuphemismfromthecognitivelinguisticsinhisMetaphorMechanicinEnglishEuphemism.Tosumup,alltheresearchesmentionedabovehavenotonlymadeextensiveandprofoundstudiesofeuphemism,buthavemaderesearchesfromdifferentanglesinthisfield.Therangeofthepreviousstudyhasbeensofarconfinedtotheleveloflexicon,rhetoricandmoreover,pragmaticfeaturesandfunctionsandsoon.Inaword,thispaperwilltrytoresearchintothedefinition,thecommunicativefunctionofEnglisheuphemismandtherelationbetweeneuphemismandCooperativePrincipleandPolitenessPrinciple.3.GeneralIntroductiontotheEuphemism3.1DefinitionofEnglishEuphemismsEuphemisminEnglishisawordderivedfromGreeklanguage．InGreek．“–eu”means“good’’and“–phemism”standsfor“speech”andincombinationeuphemismmeans“wordofgoodomen”．Euphemismisanindirectwordorphrasethatpeopleoftenusetorefertosomethingembarrassingorunpleasant,sometimestomakeitmoreacceptablethanitreallyis．(OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish—ChineseDictionary，581)．Therearesomedefinitionscitedasfollows:(1)Useofpleasant,mildorindirectwordsorphrasesinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectones(OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish-ChineseDictionary(FourthEdition),1993)(2)Word,etc.usedinplaceofoneavoidedase.g.Awordfor“girl”usedofprostitutesinplaceofthespecificwordfor“prostitute”(P.H.Mathews:OxfordConciseDictionaryofLinguistics,2000)(3)Substitution,restraint,softenedexpression,mockmodesty,metaphoricalspeech,verbalextenuation,wordinverbalgoodtaste,overdelicacyofspeech,affectedrefinementoflanguage.(Webster’sNewWorldThesaurus,MeridianBook,1971)(4)Apolitewordorexpressionthatyouuseinsteadofamoredirectonetoavoidshockingorupsettingsomeone(LongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglish1995)Fromabovedefinitions,itcanbeeasilyconcludedthattheeuphemismistoavoidoffensivebyusingmorepolite,pleasant,mild,indirect,orlessbluntwords.3.2TheCommunicativeFunctionsofEnglishEuphemism(1)Toavoidsomethingpeopledon’twanttomentionorsomethingtheyfeartomention.Indailylife,peopleoftenencountersomethingtheydon’twantorsomethingwhichmakesthemfear．Inthissituation，theyprefereuphemism．Asweknow，deathisatopicpeoplefeartomention．Peopleusesomeeuphemismstoexpressdie，suchastopassaway，todepart，togotosleep，togotoheaven,sleep，tokickthebucket，andsoon．(2)TobemoreurbanePeopleuselanguagetocommunicate．Sometimes，theymayfeeluncomfortabletalkingaboutthingsdirectlylikesexualbehavior，defecationandbirthing．Ifpeopletalkaboutitdirectly，theymaygivetheimpressionofbeingvulgarandbluntandtheythemselvesmayfeelembarrassed,sotheyadapteuphemisminstead．Forexample，it’simpolitetosayinthepublic：Sorry，Ihavetogotothetoilet．Itwouldbebettertosay：Sorry，IhavetomydutyorIhavetogivemyselfease．(3)Toshowrespect,politenessandsavefaceOnsomeoccasions，whenpeoplewanttoshowrespecttoothersoravoidhurtingothers，theymaytalkinaeuphemisticway．Asweknow，agingisatopicpeoplemayneverwanttotalk，especiallyforwomen．Sowhenwecometothistopic，peopleuseeuphemismtomakepeoplefeelbetter．Accordingly，wecallthepeopleofoldageseniorcitizen，secondchildhoodorthelongerliving．Wecallpeopleslowofhearinginsteadofdeafvisuallyretardedforblindorcolordeficientforcolorblindsoasnottohurtthosedisabledpeople.(4)Forpolitical，economicandmilitarypurposeManyeuphemismsemergedasaresultofeconomicalandpoliticalpurposes．Anddiplomatsarethesourcesoftheseeuphemisms．Theyoftenattempttominimizethetensesituationandmaketheirrealmotivationorfailurevaguetopeople，sotheytendtouseeuphemismsoften．Ping—Pongdiplomacyisawell-knownphrase，whichisakindofdiplomacybydiscussingthingsinawayofplayingping——pongtopromotetheinternationalrelationships.(5)ForotherreasonsSometimesinwritings,theauthoruseeuphemismsforrhetoricpurposes．A：Isaywaiter!How1ongwillmypizzabe?B：Wedon’tdolongones,sir．Onlyround．Inthisconversation，thewaitergetridofthecustomer’sunpleasantfeeinginahumorousway．4.TheCo-operativePrincipleandEuphemism4.1TheCo-operativePrincipleAccordingtoGrice’sobservation，ourtalkexchangesareorientatedtoacommonpurpose,andinordertofulfillthepurpose,theparticipantsatleastshouldmutuallycooperatewitheachother.HelabelsthistheCooperativePrinciplewhichreads:“makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasitrequired,atthestageatwhichitoccurs,bytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged”(Grice,2002:26).TomaketheCPmoreexplicit,Gricedistinguishesfourcategories:Quantity,Quality,Relation,andManner.(1)TheMaximofQuantity:a.Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequired(forthecurrentpurposeoftheexchange).b.Donotmakeyourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired.(2)MaximofQuality—Trytomakeyourcontributiononethatistrue,a.Donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalse.b.Donotsaythoseforwhichyoulackadequateevidence.(3)TheMaximofRelation—Berelevant:(4)ThemaximofManner—Beperspicuous.a.Avoidobscurityofexpression.b.Avoidambiguity.c.Bebrief(avoidprolixity)d.Beorderly.(胡壮麟，姜望琪,2002)Inshort,thesemaximsspecifywhatparticipantshavetodoinordertoconductcommunicationinamaximallyefficient,rational,cooperativeway.Todoso,theyshouldspeaksincerely,relevantlyandclearly,whileprovidingsufficientinformation.4.2TheviolationofCP(1)TheviolationoftheMaximofQuantityAccordingtothefirstmaxim,themaximofQuantity，thespeakershouldprovideasmuchinformationasisrequiredincommunication.ButmanyEnglisheuphemismsviolateit.E.g.①A：Howismymid-termexam?Whataboutmygrades?B：Don’tworry，youpassedtheexam．Fromthisconversation，Aproposestwoquestions，whileBanswersonlyone,thatistosay,Bviolatesthemaximofquantity.Bdoesn’ttellenoughinformationwhatAwants.Infact,BwantstotellAinindirectway,whichheonlypassedtheexam,notgothighmarks.②A：Howismyfinalexam?B：Iamsorry．Butweallknowthatyouwereilltheday，andtheteachersaidthatyoudidprettywellinthewritingpart．Don’tworry，webelieveyoucangetaveryhighscorenexttime．InthisconversationBpresentsmorethanenoughinformation.B’saimistocomfortandencourageA.Infact,therearemanyacronymsandabbreviationsthatallviolatethemaximofquantity.Forexample:usingTBreplacetuberculosis,BSforbullshit,vampforvampire,JSforJesusChrist,WCforwatercloset,SOBforsonofbitch.(2)TheviolationoftheMaximofQuality.TheMaximofQualitydemandspeopletostateasfactsonlywhattheybelievetobetruthandfacts.However,manyeuphemismsareemployedlikeashiedagainstthefearedandtheunpleasant.Inthe1960s,withthedevelopmentofthecivilrightsmovementandwomen'sliberationmovement,morepeopleintheWestfocusoncivilrightsandequality.Euphemismshaveemergedrelatingtooccupation.Thepoor,womenandpeopleinthehumbleworkweretobeknownasadecenttitle,eventhoughtheiractualpositionwasnotimproved.Thewordengineeriswidelytorefertomanyjobs,forexample,usingautomobileengineertorefertomechanic,drycleaningengineerfordrycleaner,exterminatingengineerforratcatcher,pipeengineerforplumber。Theseeuphemismsintentionallyoverstatingthefactssoitviolatesthemaximofquality.Theuseofeuphemismmakesthehumbleworkssounddecent,evennoblesome,soastoraisepeople’ssocialstatus.(3)TheviolationtheMaximofRelationTheMaximofRelationrefersto“Berelevant”andtheviolationofRelationMaximmeansthattheutteranceofaspeakerisirrelevanttotheconversationorthespecificcontextforsomereasonsorsomepurposes.SometimeswemayfindEnglisheuphemismsaretouseirrelevantutterancesonthesurfacetoexpresssomethingthatthespeakerswanttosayandcannotsay.E.g.A:Let’senjoythebeautifulmusictogether.B:Iwanttosleep.B’sanswerisnotpertinenttoA’squestion.ButweknowBsayssomethingthathasthefunctionofrefusingtheproposalbyusingtheeuphemismexpression.(4)TheviolationoftheMaximofMannerViolationofMannerMaximmeansgivingobscureandambiguousinformationetc.Sometimesunderthecommunicativecircumstances,thespeaker,inordertoavoidmentioningunpleasantandembarrassedthingsinadirectway,saysomethingambiguously,thenthehearersshouldcarefullyinfertheconversationalimplicatureofthespeakerandwhatistherealintentionandmeaningaccordingtothespecificcontext.SowemayfindmanyeuphemismstendtoviolatetheMaximofMannersoastoachievethemild,agreeableeffects.E.g.:Aneducatorcannotsayastudentislazy,idle,orstupid.Thesestudentsshouldbecalledtheeducationallyandsociallydisadvantagedgroups,underachieved,thoseonthelowerendoftheability-scale,highverbal-abilitysubjects,disadvantagedhomeenvironments,underprivilegedchild.Obviously,thesewordsviolateMannerMaximofbeingbrief.

Infact,Grice'sfourcriteriaoverlapmutuallytosomeextent.Inotherwords,whenthespeakerusesaeuphemism,hemaynotonlyviolateonerule,butalsoviolatethecriteriaofanother.Atypicalexampleis“Astudentisapplyingforajob,whichhascertainrequirementsaboutphilosophydegree,soheinvitedtheformerphilosophyprofessortowritehimalettertoprovehisdegreeinphilosophy.Theprofessorwrote:DearSir,Mr.XhasagoodcommandofEnglishandhisattendanceattutorialshasbeenregular.YoursfaithfullyInthisletter,theprofessorgavesomeirrelevantinformation.Ontheonehand,heviolatesthemaximofberelevant;ontheotherhand,heviolatesthemaximofquantityfornotprovidingenoughinformation.5.ThePolitenessPrinciple(PP)andEuphemismManytaboosdoexistintoday’slife．Buttheyaremainlyfromthepurposeofpoliteness．Infact，inmoderneuphemisms，thefunctionofavoidingtabooisincludedinthefunctionofpolitenessgradually．LeechproposedthePolitenessPrinciple，asetofpolitenessmaximsthattheinterlocutorsfollowtokeeptheirfaceintheprocessofcommunication.5.1ThePolitenessPrincipleLeechpatternsonGrice’sCo-operativePrincipleanddividesthePolitenessPrincipleintoanumberofmaxims.i.e.,TactMaxim,GenerosityMaxim,ApprobationMaxim,ModestyMaxim,AgreementMaxim,andSympathyMaxim.(1)TactMaxim:(a)Minimizecosttoother.(b)Maximizebenefittoother.(2)GenerosityMaxim:(a)Minimizebenefittoself.(b)Maximizecosttoself.(3)ApprobationMaxim:(a)Minimizedispraiseofother.(b)Maximizepraisetoother.(4)ModestyMaxim:(a)Minimizepraiseofself.(b)Maximizedispraiseofself.(5)AgreementMaxim:(a)Minimizedisagreementbetweenselfandother.(b)Maximizeagreementbetweenselfandother.(6)SympathyMaxim:(a)Minimizeantipathybetweenselfandother.(b)Maximizesympathybetweenselfandother.（何自然,冉永平，2009）5.2TheobedienceofthePolitenessPrinciple(1)TheobedienceoftheTactMaximInthewesterncountries,manysignswhichsayinindirectwaycanbefound,likeThankyoufornotsmokinghere.Itcanbeeasilyunderstandthatthiskindofsignistominimizecosttoother.(2)TheobedienceoftheGenerosityMaximIamanunderachieverwhileyouareatopstudent.Inthissentence,underachieverisanindirectwaytoexpresssomeoneisnotgoodatstudyandhasbadachievementinstudy.Thiskindofexpressionnotonlyminimizesbenefittoselfincommunication,butshowrespecttoandleverothers.A:Whatabrightboyyouare!Youalwaysgetfullmarks.B:Thankyou.That’sbecauseIhavegotverygoodteachers.Inthisconversation,Bcontributeshissuccesstohisteacher.Inthisway,heminimizesbenefittoself.ManyEnglishsentencespatternarealsousedtoshowrespectandmodesty,likeMayI,Couldyou,Wouldyou,etc.(3)TheobedienceoftheApprobationMaxim:Awomanwhoisverythinisoftencalledslenderorsliminsteadofaskinnywoman.Awomanwhoisoverweighisoftencalledplumpnotfat.Awomanwhoisnotbeautifulisoftencallednotprettyorplainnotugly.Fromthesethreesentences,somepositiveexpressionsareused,soastominimizedispraiseofother.Foranotherexample，ineducationworld，wetendtousepositivewordstoevaluateoilystudentsratherthannegativeones，soasnottohurtstudents．Weoftencallstudentswhohavepoorgradesbelowaveragestudents．Whenwetalkaboutthesekindsofstudents，wesay：She/Heisworkingather／hisownlevel．similarexamples：aslowlearnerorunderachieverforastupidstudentdependsonotherstodohis／herwork=cheatsinclasshasatendencytostretchthetruth=sometimesliestakeotherpeople’sthingswithoutpermission=stealEuphemismshelpstudentssavefaceandtheymaynotfeelbehurt(4)TheobedienceoftheModestyMaximAnti-euphemismisthespecialkindofeuphemism.Thespeakerdeliberatelylowhis/heridentitytoshowrespectandmodesty.Forexampleyourhighness,yourmajesty,etc.areoftenusedtomaximizedispraiseofself.(5)TheobedienceoftheAgreementMaximA：Ithinkthesepicturesareverybeautiful.B：Idon’thaveeyeforbeauty.I’mafraid．B’sanswerseemsnotpertinenttoA.Buttherealmeaningisthatthesepicturesarenotverybeautiful.BexpressesindirectlyandsavesA’sface.SoBminimizesdisagreementbetweenselfandother,andmaximizesagreementbetweenselfandother.(6)TheobedienceoftheSympathyMaximInordertoshowoursympathytothosepeoplewhoareblind,wecallthemunabletoseeclearly.Astothedeaf,wecallthemhardofhearing.Moreexamples：takethingswithoutpermission=stealtheoldestprofessionintheworld=prostitutionaladyofthetown=prostituteself—termination=suicide6.ConclusionEnglisheuphemismsareexpressionsinanindirectandvaguewaytosubstitutethoseexpressionswithlessrespectfulmeaning.Fromtheperspectiveofpragmatics,EnglisheuphemismsresultfromtheintentionalviolationofthemaximsoftheCooperativePrincipleandtheobservationofthePolitenessPrinciple.However,withthedevelopmentofthesocietyandeconomy,theworldisgettingsmallerandwehavemuchmoreopportunitiestointeractwithpeoplefromdifferentcountriesandculture.Andeuphemismplaysanimportantroleinourdailycommunication.Itisu