浅谈英汉委婉语的文化差异

PAGE14第17页科技学院毕业论文（设计）PAGEContentsAcknowledgements……………………..…………..…IEnglishAbstract……………….……IIChineseAbstract…………….……….IIIChapter1Introduction………………….……..………11.1Thedefinitionofeuphemism……….……11.2Thefeaturesofeuphemism……….………21.2.1Nationalcharacteristic………………21.2.2Regionalfeature……………….……21.2.3IndirectandImplicit………………31.2.4Universality…………31.2.5Humor………….……31.2.6Vagueness…………………….……Chapter2Euphemism,LanguageandCulture…………………..……52.1Thedefinitionofculture………..…………52.2Languageandculture……………..………62.3Euphemismandculture……………..……6Chapter3AComparisonAboutEnglishandChineseEuphemism…………..………83.1Euphemismsfordeath……………………83.2Euphemismsforoldage…………….……93.3Euphemismsforpoverty…………...……103.4Euphemismsformarriageandpregnancy………………113.5Euphemismsfordisease…………………12Chapter4Conclusion………………14References……………15Acknowledgements Thisthesisisaresultofcontributionsfrommanysupportingindividuals.Duringtheprocessofwriting,Ihavereceivedvariouskindsofhelpfrommanypeople.Becauseoftheirhelp,Ihavefinishedwritingthisthesissosmoothly.Here,Iwanttorendermysincerethankstoalltheteachersandclassmateswhohavegivenmetheirhelpinthelastfouryears.Thehelpisnotonlyoneofthemostimportanttreasuresdeservingcherishingallmylife,butalsowillbeaperfectguideinmylifeinthefuture.Mydeepestgratitudegoesfirstandforemosttomysupervisor–Ms.PengQiying.Inthisshortbutsufficientperiod,shehasgivenmemanygoodsuggestionsforthematerialsandthewaysoforganizingideas.Withoutherconsistentinstructions,thisthesiswouldnothavereacheditspresentform.Mysincerethanksarealsoowedtoalltheteacherswhohavetaughtmeduringthefouryearsofmyuniversitystudy.IalsothankthelibraryofGuizhouUniversityandthelibraryofourcollegeforprovidingmewiththefacilitiesandsourcesthatIneededformyresearchandwriting.Ialsoacknowledgemysincerethankstoallmyclassmatesandfriendswhohaveenrichedmylifewiththeirgeneroushelpandpreciousfriendship.Thefinishingofmythesisisnotanendbutanewbeginning.IbelievethatIcandobetterandbetterinmyfuturelife.Thankyouagain,mysupervisor,myclassmatesandmyteachers.AbstractOneofthemostimportantwaysforourhumanbeingstocommunicatewithothersislanguage.Languageisanimportantmeansforpeopletomaintaintheirsocialrelationship.However,therearemanythingswhicharesupposedtobeunspeakable.Manywordsalsomakepeopleembarrassedandunhappy.So,inordertoavoidtheoffensivenessandmisunderstandings,peopleusuallyusetheindirectorpleasantexpressionstoreplacewiththoseunpleasantandrudewordsincommunication.Wecallthateuphemism.Euphemismplaysanimportantroleinpeople’ssocialcommunicationandexistsinalmosteverycultureandsociety.Inordertohelpthelanguagelearnertounderstandeuphemismbetter,thisthesismainlyexplorestheculturaldifferencesbetweenEnglishandChineseeuphemisms.Inchapterone,theauthorintroducesthedefinitionandfeaturesofeuphemism.Inchaptertwo,theauthorintroducestherelationshipbetweeneuphemism,languageandculture.ChapterthreeismainlyacontrastivestudyofEnglishandChineseeuphemismfromtheseaspects:euphemismsofdeath,poverty,marriage,pregnancyanddisease.Thentheauthorbringstotheconclusionthatifthelanguagelearnerswanttolearnaforeignlanguagewell,itisbetterthathehasagoodknowledgeofitsculture.KeyWords：euphemism,definition,feature,culture,difference摘要语言是人与人交流的最重要的方法，也是保持社会关系的重要方法。然而又很多东西是不能直接说的，有很多词语会让人尴尬和不愉快。因此，为了避免冒犯以及误会，人们在交流的时候通常用一些间接的以及令人愉快的表达来代替那些令人不高兴的粗鲁的词语。那些词语就叫做委婉语。委婉语在人们的日常交流中扮演着重要的角色。委婉语是为了避免禁忌语，且存在于各种文化和社会中。为了帮助语言学习者更好的了解和掌握委婉语，这篇论文主要讨论了英语委婉语和中国委婉语在文化上的不同。在第一章，作者介绍了委婉语的定义和特点。在第二章，作者介绍了委婉语，语言以及文化三者的关系。第三章主要是对比有关死亡，贫困，婚姻，怀孕和疾病方面的中英委婉语。由此得出结论，如果想要学好一门语言，就有必要了解这门语言的文化。关键词：委婉语；定义；特点；文化；差别Chapter1Introduction1.1ThedefinitionofEuphemismVerbalcommunicationisoneofthemostimportantmethodspeopleapplytomaintainthesocialrelationship.Inordertoavoidtheoffensivenessincommunication,peopleusuallyusesomepoliteorpleasantwordstoreplacetherudeorembarrassingones.Therefore,euphemismemerges.Euphemismisacommonlinguisticphenomenoninallcultures,ittakesanveryimportantroleinpeople’sdailycommunication.EuphemismisoriginatedfromtheGreek.Itsprefix“eu”meansgood,pleasant,anditsroot“pheme”meansspeech.Thus,euphemismliterallymeans“tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner”(NeamanandSilver,1990:32).AccordingtoAllanandBurridge(1991:11),thedefinitionofeuphemismis:Aeuphemismisusedasanalternativetoadispreferredexpression,inordertoavoidpossiblelossofface:eitherone’sownfaceorthroughgoingoffense,thatoftheaudience,orofsomethirdparty.Manypeoplehavedefinedeuphemism.Therearesomedefinitionsofeuphemismbelow:(1) mildorvagueexpressionsubstitutedforaharsherormoredirectone.(PocketOxfordEnglish-ChineseDictionary,OxfordUniversityPress,1996)(2) thesubstitutionofamild,indirect,orvagueexpressionforonethoughttobeoffensive,harshorblunt.(Webster’sDictionaryofAmericanEnglish,RandomHouse,Inc.1997)(3) (anexampleof)theuseofamorepleasant,lessdirectnameforsomethingthoughttobeunpleasant.(LongmanEnglish-ChineseDictionaryofContempo-raryEnglish,LongmanGroupUKLimited,1988)(4) Aeuphemismisapolite,pleasant,orneutralwordorexpressionthatisusedtorefertosomethingwhichpeoplemayfindupsettingorembarrassingtotalkabout,forexample,sex,thehumanbodyordeath.(CollinsCobuildEnglishDictionary,SFLEP,2000)(5) Rhetoricaltrope:apleasantreplacementforanobjectionablewordthathaspejorativeconnotations.(RoutledgeDictionaryofLanguageandLinguistics,FLERP,2000)InChina,ChenWangdao(1997)definedeuphemismasafigureofspeechinwhichroundaboutandimplicitwordsandexpressionsareusedtosubstitutedirectexpressionstohintthemeaning.“Weiwan(委婉)”isafigureofspeechinChinese.Itisalsocalled“wanqu(婉曲)”or“wanzhuan(婉转)”.AnotherfigureofspeechinChineseiscalled“bihui(避讳)”or“huishi(讳饰)”.Thecombinationofthefigureofspeech“weiwan(委婉)”andthefigureofspeech“bihui(避讳)”inChineseisequivalenttothefigureofspeech“euphemism”inEnglish(LiGuonan,2001:190).1.2ThefeaturesofEuphemism1.2.1NationalcharacteristicEuphemismisacommonlanguagephenomenonintheworldculture.However,differentcountriesanddifferentnationsindifferentsurroundingsandsocialenvironmenthavedifferentproductionandlivingmanners,andtheirculturedepositionsarealsodifferent.Soeuphemismindifferentlanguagehassomedifferenceseither.Thedifferencesaretherepresentationofthenationalcharacteristic.Thereisatypicalexampleabouttheword“poor”,itdescribedanyoungwomanwholivedwithhardcondition.Theparagraphusesseveraleuphemismsofpoor:“IusedtothinkIwaspoor.ThentheytoldmeIwasnotpoor,Iwasneedy.Thentheysaiditwasself-defeatingtothinkofmyselfasneedy,thatIwasculturallydeprived.Thentheytoldmedeprivedwasabadimage,thatIwasunderprivileged.Thentheytoldmethatunderprivilegedwasoverused,thatIwasdisadvantaged.IstilldonothaveadimebutIhaveagreatvocabulary!”Needy(lackofcommodity),culturallydeprived(losetheopportunityofeducation),underprivileged(havinglessmoneyandfeweropportunitiesthanmostpeopleinsociety),disadvantaged(humble).Thosefourwordsaretheeuphemismsfor“poor”whichthegovernmentusedtocheatthepublic.1.2.2RegionalfeatureDifferentregionshavedifferentcustoms,sodothelanguage.Forinstance,breadisakindofdailyfoodinBritish,andthephrase“takebreadoutofsomeone’smouth”meanstogooffwithsomeone’sjob.Andthereisanotherexample.AnAustralianwomanmarriedtoanAmericanman.TheyspenttheirhoneymooninAmerica.Andoneday,thecoupleintendedtogotoapartytogether.Butthebridegroomcouldnotfindasuitablefulldress.Thebridetookoutabirthdaysuitthatshegavehimasapresentafewdaysagoandsaid:“Whynotwearyourbirthdaysuit?”However,thewholefamilywereallastonishedbecauseinAmericanEnglish,“inone’sbirthdaysuit”istheeuphemisticexpressionof“naked”.Sothisembarrassingsituationwasresultedfromtheregionaldifferencesineuphemism.1.2.3IndirectandimplicitThemostimportantfeatureofeuphemismisindirectandimplicit.Thepurposeofeuphemismistousesomeindirectexpressionstoavoidsomethingthatmakespeopleunhappy.Andthisistheindirectcharacter.Euphemismalwaysgivespeoplehintsinaroundaboutway.Wecaninferthedeepermeaningandintentionfromtheconversation.Forexample:--“Don’tyouthinkmycookingiswonderful?”Thegirlasked.--“Areyoufishingforcompliments.”Herboyfriendresponded.Intheconversationabove,theboyfriendnotonlyansweredthegirlimplicitly,anddidnotembarrasshisgirlfriend.Similarly,whensomeoneisill,wealwayssayheisundertheweather.Ifsomeoneismad,wesayheissoftinmind.1.2.4UniversalityUniversalityissomethingthatiswell-knownandacceptedbyallofthehumanbeings.Euphemismalmostexistsineverylanguageandculture.Andeachlanguagehasitsowntaboos,suchastaboosconnectedwithsex,death,orbodyfunctions.Hence,thosetaboosarereplacedbyeuphemisms.WhilewesaysomeoneisdeadinEnglish,wealwaysdonotusetheword“die”.Weprefertouse“passaway”or“kickthebucket”.1.2.5HumorUsingeuphemismsmakesthelanguagemoreinterestingandhumorous.Ithelpsthepublicfacesomethingcruelandtheunpleasantrealityfreelyandhappily.Forinstance,“pushupdaisies”replaces“beburied”,“hare-brained”refersto“mad”.“baywindow”isasubstitutionfor“belly”,“weekendworries”for“prostitutes”,“toloseone’slunch”for“tovomit”.Nowadays,insomefamilies,husbandisafraidofhiswife,andthiskindofhusbandiscalled“hen-peckedhusband”.1.2.6VaguenessTheformationofmanyeuphemismsaremadeuseofthevaguenessoflanguage,itmakesthemeaningbroader.Thevaguenessofeuphemismscanconcealthecruel.Justliketheconversationbelow:Devizes:Isthepainworse?Surtees:Itisnogreatpain,sir.Ihavebeentoonespecialist,sir?Yesterday，itis?Devizes:Hecouldn’tbesure.Anoperation?Surtees:Toolate,hesaid,forthat.IfIhadbeenoperatedonlongago,theremighthavebeenachance.Afterreadingtheconversationabove,wemaynotunderstandwhattheydiscussabout,whatdothe“it”and“that”indicate.Itisdifficulttounderstandtheconversationcorrectly.Actually,DevizesandSurteesaretalkingaboutthecancer.Sincecancermakespeopleunhappy,theyuse“it”and“that”toreplaceittactfully.Chapter2Language,EuphemismandCulture2.1ThedefinitionofcultureCultureisalarge,wideandvagueconception.Itisreallyhardtoexplaintheword“culture”clearly.Astheworldandsocietyaredeveloping,thedefinitionof“culture”isalsochanging.AccordingtoGoodenough(1957:167),cultureis“whateveritisonehastoknoworbelieveinordertooperateinamanneracceptabletoitsmembers”.Culture,“Beingwhatpeoplehavetolearnasdistinctfromtheirbiologicalheritage”,mustconsistof“theendproductoflearning:knowledge”.SamovarandPorter(2000:36),intheirbookCommunicationBetweenCultures,definedcultureas“thedepositofknowledge,experience,beliefs,values,actions,attitudes,meanings,hierarchies,religion,notionsoftime,roles,spatialrelations,conceptsoftheuniverse,andartifactsacquiredbyagroupofpeopleinthecourseofgenerationsthroughindividualandgroupstriving”.LinellDavis(2001:246)explained“whatisculture”insimplewordsandwithvividmetaphorinherDoingCulture:Cross-CulturalCommunication.Shepointsoutthatcultureislikeaniceberg.Onlysomeofcultureisvisible.Mostofcultureisbelowthesurfaceofourawareness.Spencer-Oateyententedtheconceptionofcultureandintroducedanumberofadditionalfactorsapartfromvaluesandresultantbehaviorsorartifacts,includingadescriptionofthefunctionsofculture:“Cultureisafuzzysetofattitudes,beliefs,behavioralnorms,andbasicassumptionsandvaluesthataresharedbyagrouppeople,andthatinfluenceeachmember’sbehaviorandhisorherinterpretationsofthe‘meaning’ofotherpeople’sbehavior”(2000:4).Culturechangeswithchangingcircumstances.Cultureisthegrammarofourbehavior.Cultureincludesthoserulesthatapublicneedtoknowinordertobehaveappropriatelyinthesociety.Justanwelearnthegrammarofournativelanguage,welearnournativeculturegrammarunconsciouslyandapplyitsrulesautomatically(LinellDavis,2001:18-20).Differentscholarsdefinedtheculturedifferentlyfordifferentpurposes.Intotal,allthepointsperformthatcultureisallpervasive,includingcustomsandhabits,ideasandbeliefs,theartifactsmadebyhumanbeings.Simplytosay,culturereflectsthewholelifeofthesociety.2.2LanguageandcultureLanguageisarbitrary.Languageisvocal.Languageisasymbolicsystemofhumancommunications.Languageisanimportantpartofcultureanditisthekeystoneofculture.Languageisalsotheprimarytoolofculturetotransmititsvalues,beliefsandnorms.Whenpeoplecommunicatingwithothers,theycandiffusetheirownculturetoeachother,then,getknowledgeofanotherculturefromeachother.Cultureprovidespeoplemeansofthinking,waysofliving,andtheattitudetowardslife,either.Manysocialscientistsinsistthatwithoutlanguage,culturewouldimpossible.Ontheotherside,languagereferstotheculture.Languageisinfluencedandshapedbyculture.Inthebroadestsense,languageisthesymbolicrepresentationofapeople,anditcomprisestheirhistoricalandculturalbackgroundaswellastheirapproachtolifeandtheirwaysoflivingandthinking(DengYanchangandLiuRunqing,1989:3).AccordingtoKramsch(2000:3),whenlanguageisusedincommunication,“itisboundupwithcultureinmultipleandcomplexways”.Languageandculturearecloselyrelated.Humansocietycouldnotbeexistedwithoutameansofsymboliccommunication.Languagegivespeopletheaccessofwhatwasthoughtandexperiencedinthepast,aswellasawayofpassingnewinformationontothenextgenerations.Whenthelanguagelinkisbroken,thecultureislosttousforever.2.3EuphemismandCultureAswementionedabove,languageandculturearecloselyrelated,sodoeuphemisms.Undertheguidanceofcertainculture,peoplewillconsciouslyselecteuphemismtorepresentthe“unpleasantwords”.PatrickHartwell(citedinShaoZhihong,1997:305)pointsoutthateuphemismsare“anaturalpartofthesocialworldofwords”andtheytellus“agooddealaboutthevaluesofaculture”.Hence,culturalvaluesinfluencetheexpressionsofpoliteness,euphemisticwayofspeakingandwaysofavoidingoffensiveness.Ontheotherhand,euphemismsarechangingalongwiththedevelopmentofthesociety.Andtheuseofeuphemismsvarybaseonthevariationsofcontexts.Therefore,evenifpeoplewhocomefromthesamecountry,sameplace,theymayuseeuphemismsdifferentlyaccordingtodifferentsocialcontexts.Inconclusion,euphemisms,languageandculture,thesethreemattersthatarerelatedtoeachother.Euphemismisaformoflanguage,languageisanintegralpartofculture,andcultureistransmittedbylanguage.Thecoinageandapplicationofeuphemismsreflectpeople’sattitude,facts,beliefs,ideas,valuesandknowledgeincommunication.Culturegetsthroughthetaskofdailylifeaswellaslanguage.Peoplecometousetheirlanguagetoreflectwhattheyvalueandbelief.Theyviewtheirlanguageasasymboloftheirsocialidentityandculture.Chapter3ComparisonAboutEnglishandChineseEuphemismsEuphemismisacommonphenomenoninbothEnglishandChinesecultures.ChineseandEnglisharelanguagesystemsthatexistindividually,sotherearemoredifferencesthansimilaritiesbetweenthebothbecauseofthedifferentnatureandsocialenvironments,lifeandlivingstyle,customs,beliefs,valuesofthenations.Andallthedifferencescouldbeseenintheusesandtheexpressionsofeuphemisms.3.1EuphemismsfordeathChristianisthemainreligioninEnglandsomanyEnglisheuphemismsondeathoriginatedfromTheBibleorChristianlegendsandallusionandsomeofthemmanifestthephilosophyofChristianityanditsreligiousinterpretationofdeath.Forinstance,justbecauseGodcreatedpeoplebyclayandpeoplearecreatedequal,“todie”iscalled“toreturntodust/earth”.Besides,“togotoheaven”,“tobecalledtoGod”,“tobepromotedtoglory”,“tolieintheAbraham’sbosom”,“tolaunchintoeternity”,“tocancelone’saccount”areallusedtoreferto“death”.TheChinesedonothaveacommonandunifiedreligion.WecanfindfollowersofTaoism,Buddhism,Christianity,etc.Asaresult,manyChineseeuphemismsrevealstheinfluenceofsuchreligions.Forexample,Taoistsexpecttogainlongevityorevenimmortalitythroughasceticpractices,suchasmeditationandself-cultivation.Thetypicalfairytale“Theeightimmortalscrossingthesea”hasitsorigininTaoism.TheinfluenceofTaoismonChineselanguagecanbeseeninsucheuphemismsfordeathas“xianshi(仙逝)”,“dengx(登仙)”,“huahe(化鹤)”,“jiahexiyou(驾鹤西游)”,etc.TaoiststhinkafterdeaththeybecomeimmortalsandrideawayonthecranetoElysium.BuddhismoriginatedfromIndia.AfteritwastransmittedtoChinainTangDynasty,itbecamethemostpopularandinfluentialreligioninChina.TheeuphemismfordeathoriginatingfromBuddhisminclude“yuanji(圆寂)”,“zuohua(坐化)”,“wuhua(物化)”,“yuhua(羽化)”,“tuihua(蜕化)”,“guixi(归西)”,etc.Deathhasalwaysbeenwhatpeoplefearthroughoutthehistoryinallnations.Astimechanges,theeuphemismfordeathisdeveloped.Theeuphemismsfordeathareawidelyuseditem,especiallywhenitconcernsone’sownfamiliesandfriends.Ithasalotofexpressions.Forexample,“ifanythingshouldhappentome”isequalto“whenIdie”,“die”alsocanbecalled“topassaway”,“todepart”,“togotosleep”,“tobelongerwithus”,“tobeinterred”,etc.“Death”hassomehumorousexpressions:“topopoff”,“topushupdaisies”,“tocashinone’schips”,“tokickthebucket”,etc.InChinese,thereareoveronehundredeuphemizedwaysofsayingdeath.InancientChinese,weused“jiabeng(驾崩)”and“yanjia(晏驾)”torefertothedeathofemperorand“hong(薨)”torefertothedeathoffeudallords,“zu(卒)”torefertothedeathofseniorofficialand“bulu(不禄)”torefertothedeathofjuniorofficials.Andwehave“qushi(去世)”,“shishi(逝世)”,“guqu(故去)”,“yushichangci(与世长辞)”,“qujianmakesi(去见马克思)”andsoon.Throughtheaboveexamples,wecanfoundthateuphemismsaboutdeathinChinesearemorecomplicatedthanEnglish.3.2EuphemismsforoldageTheChineseandEnglishhavedifferentattitudestowardbeingold.InEnglish,itisrudeandoffensivetocallsomeoneold.So,therearelotsofeuphemismsaboutoldinEnglish,theyreflecttheavoidanceofmentioningtheoldinwesternsociety.Thisissomewhatduetoitsloosefamilystructure.Whenthechildrengrowup,theywouldbeindependentfromtheirfamily,andliveapartfromtheirparents,thesocietydonotprovidesufficientsupporttotheoldpeople,sotheoldpeoplehavetolivebythemselves,feelinglonelyanddull.Therefore,theoldbecomesawordthatpeopleavoidtotalkabout.Theytakeitassomethingsensitiveandnegativeandtheyareunwillingtofacetherealityofbecomingold.Oldageisseenasastageofuselessnessandpowerlessness,whichisveryunpleasantandevenacruelfacttotheoldpeople.Sotheyactyoung,andtheywanttobelookandregardedyoung.Neamanhashumorouslypointsoutthat“ThereisnooneoldinmodernAmerica.Heiseitherseasonedorwell-preserved”(1990:166).Infact,someeuphemisticexpressionstaketheplaceofold,suchas“gettingon(inyears)”,“pastone’sprime”,“feelingone’sage”,“secondchildhood”,“adistinguishedgentleman”,“agrandedame”,“thirdage”,etc.Theoldpeoplebecome“anelderstatesman”or“oldagepensioner”orevenuseinitialing“OAP”.Theyarenot“old”but“long-lived”.And,ahomeforoldpeopleiscalledeuphemistically“ahomeforadults”,“anursinghome”,“aresthome”andsoon.TheChinesecultureplacesahighvalueonoldness.TheChineseholdtheviewthattobeoldmeansbeexperienced,knowledgeable,matureandreliable,whichisalsoreflectedinChineseidioms,suchas“laodangyizhuang(老当益壮)”,“laochengchizhong(老成持重)”,“laochenglianda(老成练达)”,“laomashitu(老马识途)”andsoon.TheChinesehasatraditionofshowingrespectforelders.Sowecalloldpeople“ninlao(您老)”,“laoxiansheng(老先生)”,etc.Thecharacter“lao(老)”(meansoldinEnglish)isquiteoftenusedtoindicateseniorityandexperience,sowecallteachers“laoshi(老师)”,wecallbosses“laoban(老板)”“laozong(老总)”andsoon.AccordingtotheChineseEuphemismDictionary,therearejustabouttwentyeuphemismsforoldageandmostofthemareinoldChineseandseldomusedtoday,suchas“bomu(薄暮)”whichliterallymeantheearlyevening,“diaonian(凋年)”whichliterallymeansthewitheredlife,“huahao(华皓)”whichliterallymeanswhite,“huashou(华首)”whichliterallymeanswhitehair,“qiufang(秋方)”and“suqiu(素秋)”whichliterallymeanstheautumn(ZhangGonggui,126-129).3.3EuphemismsforpovertyInwesternsociety,povertyisahorribleword.Anditisashame.Onthecontrary,wealthymeanswisdom,powerandsocialstatus.Thoughthesocietyhasbeenadvocatingequalityandthecivilright,thegapbetweentherichandthepoorarestillwidening.JohnAyto(1993:286)pointsout“TheshameofpovertymakesitanaturaltargetforeuphemisminEnglish.Neitherindividualsnornationsliketoadmitthattheyhaven’tenoughmoneyandcannotprovideforthemselves,andarangeofalternativestrategieshasbeenevolvedtoavoidthedreadedword‘poor’.”ItisabundantinEnglisheuphemismsfortheword“poor”,suchas“badlyoff”,“lesswelloff”,“indigent”,“negativeprivileged”and“hardupformoney”.Thepoorarecalled“have-nots”or“menofmodestmeans”.Theseeuphemismsaremorepleasanttohearandeasierforthepoortoaccept.InChinese,euphemismsforpovertyarecomparativelyfewer.Suchas“jieju(拮据)”,“shoutoujin(手头紧)”,“shoutoububian(手头不便)”and“nangzhongxiuse(囊中羞涩)”.Theword“poor”isnotsotabooedintraditionalChinesecultureasinwesternculture.AfterthefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,theproletariatbecametheleaderofthecountry.Inaratherlongperiodoftime,peoplefeltgloriousbecauseofbeingpoor.Inthepasttwentyyears,China’sreformandopening-uppolicyhasmademoreandmorepeopleshakeoffpovertyandsetoutontheroadtoprosperity.Withthedevelopmentofeconomy,theoldphilosophythatwealthmeansdeficiencyinsoul,degenerationandcorruptionisoutdated.Poorlifeisnotwhatpeopleexpect.Accordingly,theword“poor”iseuphemizedas“youkunnan(有困难)”inChinese.Thepoorarecalled“dishouruzhe(低收入者)”or“ruoshiqunti(弱势群体)”.3.4EuphemismsformarriageandpregnancyThereisagreatdifferencebetweentheattitudeofwesternandeasternculturetowardmarriage.Westernculturecherishesindividuality,especiallypersonalfreedom,whiletheChinesepeopleemphasizetheethics.Someyoungpeopleinwesternsocietyareafraidoflosingfreedomaftermarriage.Theyusuallychoosesuchexpressionsas“havegottenhitched”and“tietheknot”torefertomarriage.“Trialmarriage”isusedtoreferto“cohabitation”inEnglish.“Mistress”becomes“unmarriedwife”and“bastard”iscalled“lovechild”.Besides,thedivorcerateinwesterncountrieshasbeenincreasinglyrising.Someyoungpeoplebelievethatdivorcereleasesthemfromthemarriagebondandfamilyresponsibility.Sodivorceisnotmuchofaseriousevent,that’swhydivorceiscalled“breakup”and“splitup”.Sometimetheyevenmakefunofdivorce.Theyuseexpressionslike“matchruptcy”and“gotoReno”.“Matchruptcy”isanimitationoftheword“bankruptcy”.RenoisacityofwesternNevadaneartheCaliforniaborder.Itisafamousresortthatwasoncenotedprimarilyasadivorcecenterbecauseofitseasyandquickdivorceprocedures.Chineseculture,however,laysgreatemphasisonteam.Itstressesonthesteadinessofgroup,family,societyandnation.Therefore,marriageiscalled“zhongshendashi(终身大事)”,whichmeans“animportanteventinone’slife”.Marriageisamatterofjoy,somarriageiscalled“xijieliangyuan(喜结良缘)”and“xijielianli(喜结连理)”.Onthecontrary,divorceisdishonorable.Hence,divorceiseuphemizedas“fenshoule(分手了)”,“lile(离了)”andsoon.TherearealotofeuphemismsinEnglishandChinese,whicharecontainingsimilardenotativemeaningwhiledistinctculturalconnotationandallusion.Taketheeuphemismsforpregnancyasanexample,aJapanesescholarlistssomeeuphemisticexpressionsfor“pregnancy”usedindifferenthistoricalperiods,whichserveasavividmanifestationofthedevelopingtrendintherealmofeuphemism:Shehascanceledallhersocialengagements.(1856)Sheisinaninterestingcondition.(1880)Sheisinadelicatecondition.(1895)Sheisknittinglittlebootees.(1910)Sheisinafamilyway.(1920)Sheisexpecting.(1935)Sheispregnant.(1956)(FanJiacai,1992:176)InancientChina,Chineseeuphemizepregnantas“shenhuailiujia(身怀六甲)”,becauseitwassaidthat“liujia(六甲)”istherightmomentwhenHeavenandEarthcreatethings.InmodernChina,wesaypregnancyas“tayoule(她有了)”orsheisgoingtobeamother(她快当妈妈了).3.5EuphemismsfordiseaseItisunfortunatetohavediseases,anditcanbeveryimpoliteandrudetotale