英语语言学论文 11页

..-英语语言学概论论文论文题目:AnAnalysisofEuphemisminEnglishFromthePolitenessPrincipleofPragmatics-.word.zl-\n..-AbstractEuphemism,cosmeticwords,isnotonlyalingualphenomenon,butalsoaculturalandsocialphenomenon.Itislikeamirror,reflectingthevalues,aestheticconceptionsandmoralconceptsinsomeextent.Euphemismplaysanimportantpartinsocialmunication.Itislikelubethatavoidshurtingtheotherparty’sfeeling.Itoilsthehumanrelationshipinmunicationandhelpstosavefaceofmunicators.Ifpeoplemakefulluseofeuphemism,itcanaccelerateandfacilitatehumanmunication.Thispaperelaboratesonthefeaturesandsocialfunctionsofeuphemism.AnditfocusesontherelationshipsbetweenitspolitefunctionsandPolitenessPrinciple.ThisthesisisposedofsixpartswithChapterFourandFiveasitscore:Thefirstchapterfocusesontheoriginanddefinitionsofeuphemism.Thesecondchapterdiscussesthefeaturesofeuphemisminmanyways.Thethirdchaptertalksaboutthesocialfunctionsofeuphemismfromtheangleofpragmatics.Thefourthchapterformsthebasisofthewholeresearchbyconnectingeuphemismwithpolitenessandface-savingtheory.ThefifthchaptercentersoneuphemismandPolitenessPrinciple.Thelastchapterconcludesthewholethesis.AppropriateuseofEnglisheuphemismcancontributealottosuccessfulmessageexchange.KeyWords:euphemism;socialfunctions;PolitenessPrinciple;face-.word.zl-\n..-1.IntroductionThereisahumor:OnceaParistouristresidedinUK.Alandladytoldhimsadlythat,“Myhusbandhasjustpassedtotheotherside.〞Theguestlookedfromthefenceofthegardenbutsawnoone,feelingconfused.Thelandladyexplained:“Imeanhe’skickedthebucket.〞Theguestfortedherthat:“Ihopehisfootwillbebettersoon.〞Thelandladyfeltunintelligiblyandsaid:“No,hewasn’there,hesnuffedit…youknow.〞Theguestwonderedandsaid:“Butyou’vegotelectricityhere.〞Thereasonswhytheguestdidn’tanswerproperlyarethathedidn’trealizethatthelandladyusedeuphemism,nordidheunderstandthe“conversationalimplicature〞ofeuphemism.Whatthelandladywantedtosayisthatherhusbanddied.ThewordeuphemismesfromtheGreekword“euphemos〞,meaning"auspicious/good/fortunatespeech"whichinturnisderivedfromtheGreekroot---wordseu,"good/well"+pheme,"speech/speaking".Theeuphemewasoriginallyawordorphraseusedinplaceofareligiouswordorphrasethatshouldnotbespokenaloud(Suchastaboo).Theprimaryexamplesoftaboowordsrequiringtheuseofaeuphemismaretheunspeakablenamesforadeity,suchasPersephone,Hecate,NemesisorYahweh.Byspeakingonlywordsfavorabletothegodsorspirits,thespeakerattemptedtoproducegoodfortunebyremainingingoodfavorwiththem.“EuphemismisdefinedintheNewEditionoftheOxfordConciseDictionary(1976)as‘Substitutionofmildorvagueorroundaboutexpressionforharshordirectone;expressionthussubstituted.’INWebster’sNewCollegiateDictionary(1973)thedefinitionreads,‘Substitutionofanagreeableorinoffensiveexpressionforonethatmayoffendorsuggestsomethingunpleasant.’〞 EuphemismisanimportantrhetoricalmeansinEnglish.Itplaysanimportantroleinpeople’sdailymunication.Itisnotonlyaculturalphenomenon,butalsoasocialphenomenon.Itjustlikesamirror,whichreflectssomesocialandpsychologicalphenomena.-.word.zl-\n..-2.Featuresofeuphemism2.1IndirectandimplicitThemostimportantcharacterofeuphemismisindirectandimplicit.Euphemismalwaysgivespeoplehintsinaroundaboutway.Wecaninferthedeepermeaningandintentionfromthecontext.Forexample,whensomeoneisill,wealwayssayheisundertheweather.Ifsomeoneismad,wesayheissoftinmind.2.2UniversalityUniversalityissomethingthatiswell-knownandacceptedbyallofthepeople.Thougheuphemismisindirectanditdoesn’testraighttothepoint,peoplecaneasilyinferitsdeeperimplication.Sometaboosconnectedwithsex,death,orbodyfunctionsarereplacedbyeuphemisms.Andthepublichasacceptedthiskindofuse.Forexample,whenwerefertodeath,weseldomsay“die〞.Weusetheexpression“passaway〞.2.3ThefeatureoftimesThechangesoflanguagedependontheneedandchangesofthesociety.Andeuphemismundergoesaprocessofmetabolism.Itbearsamarkedbrandoftimes.Forexample,“‘Sheispregnant’hasmanydifferenteuphemisticexpressionsindifferenteras.(1)Shehascanceledallhersocialengagements.(1856)(2)Sheisinaninterestingcondition.(1880)(3)Sheisinadelicatecondition.(1895)(4)Sheisknittinglittlebootees.(1910)(5)Sheisinafamilyway.(1920)(6)Sheisexpecting.(1935)(7)Sheispregnant.(1956)〞 Butafter1960s,euphemismsofpregnantdevelopslowlybecauseinmoderntimes,peoplearenotsoimplicit.Theyalwaysmentionthingsdirectly.Andnow,thephenomenonofpregnantisacheerfulthing.Peoplewillnotbeshywhenmentioningit. -.word.zl-\n..-3.Pragmaticfunctionsofeuphemism3.1Taboofunction“Tabooisthemainpsychologicalbasisoftheemergenceofeuphemism.Euphemismistheavoidanceoftheunpleasant,inelegantthings.AfamoussociolinguistMr.ChenYuanoncesaid:‘Generallyspeaking,theingintobeingofeuphemismallbeginsfromtaboo.’Fromtheoriginofeuphemism,wecanseethattabooisthefirstfunctionofeuphemism.Euphemismhasbeenusingforalongtime,anditiscloselyrelatedtotaboo.Infact,euphemismdatesbacktothelanguagetaboointheearlyperiodofhumancivilization.Whenpeopletrytoavoidandgiveuptaboowords,theyhavetofindanotherwordtoreplacethisvacancyatthesametime.Hence,peoplecreatedeuphemism.〞Therearesometaboothings,suchasbirth,death,funeral,sex,nakedness,defecation,andurinate.Iftheyareexpresseddirectly,theyarecalledtaboowordsandthefeelingstheygiveusarevulgar,crudeandharsh,whereasiftheyareexpressedindirectly,theyarecalledeuphemism,andtheimpressionstheymadeonusareelegant,implicitandpolite.Theevadingfunctionofeuphemismalsoworkstoday.Sometaboonotionscannotbeeasilyremovedfrompeople’smind. Thoughscienceandtechnologyarehighlydevelopedtoday,theword“death〞isthetaboowordstoallnations.Thustherearealotofeuphemismsrelatedwithit.“Suchaspassaway,answerthefinalcall,beasleepinJesus,besafeinthearmsofJesus,beatrest,becalledtoGod,behomeandfree,beinAbraham’sbosom,crosstheRiverJordan,finalsleep,gohome,gotomeetone’smaker,gotoone’sownplace,joinone’sancestors,jointhegreatmajority,returntodust,withGod,benolongerwithus,paythedebtofnature,tickthebucket,etc.〞“Amongthose,‘one-way-ticket’isthesynonymof‘die’.Itreflectsthespeaker’sexperienceoflife.Lifeisjustliketravel.Peoplesetouttotravel,butwhentheyarrivetothetermination,theycannotgoback.Inthepast,peopleoftenusedgraveyardtoexpresstheplacewherethedeadsleeppeacefully.Buttheassociationsitgivesusarehorrifiedandgloomy.Sonow,peopleusefuneralhomeandmemorialparktoreplacethem.Insuchaway,itfortspeople.〞3.2-.word.zl-\n..-Politefunction  Politefunctionofeuphemismistoavoidinelegantthingsandmakepeoplefeelpleasant.AsJoannaChannellputinherbookVagueLanguage“Vaguenessisusedasonewayofadheringtothepolitenessrulesforaparticularculture,andofnotthreateningface.〞Itmeansthatinreallife,whenpeoplemeetwithsomeunpleasantthingsorbehaviors,theyusuallychoosesomevagueexpressionstoavoidmakingboldorhurtingother’sfeeling----touseeuphemism. Itisharshtosaysomeoneisdeaf,sopeopleuse“auditory-impaired〞toreplaceit.Theysoundmoregracefully.“WhenEnglish-speakersrefertotheappearance,theydon’tusetheword‘ugly’or‘awful’,whichhasstrongderogatorysense.Instead,theyusetheword‘plain-looking’or‘notpretty’.〞Westernersaresensitivetoage.Intheiropinion,“old〞equalsto“useless〞insomeextent.Inordernottohurtthefeelingandself-esteemoftheold,“oldmen〞arereplacedby“seniorcitizens〞or“seasonedmen〞.Fortheword“senior〞hasmanymeanings.Except“older〞,italsomeanshigherinrankorauthority.Andtheword“seasoned〞meansexperienced.3.3TacticalfunctionIfasamemeaningisexpressedinmanydifferentways,theireffectsareentirelydifferent.Thisiswhatwecalledtheartofspeaking.Ifweapplythisstrategytoourdailylife,ourlifewillbemorecolorful.Forexample,ontheplane,therearesomebagsthatcanbeusedbythepassengerstoshoothiscookies.Peopledon’tprintthewords“vomitbag〞onthesurfaceofthebag.Instead,theyusethewords“formotiondisfort〞.Andtheresultprovedthatthevomitphenomenonhasreduced.Becauseparedwiththeformerwords,theword“formotiondisfort〞preventsthepassengersfromvomitingwheninastateofairsickness.Thisisthetacticalfunctionofeuphemism.Bycontrary,ifweuseeuphemisminappropriately,theresultwouldbeworse.Trytoparethefollowingtwostatements:Iamanoldcripple,drawinganold-agepension,workinghardtoraisevastquantitiesofvegetablesonan-.word.zl-\n..-allotmentandwellawarethat,oneofthesedays,Ishalldie.If,however,Ilistentothevoiceofofficialdom,itturnsoutthatIamadisadvantagedseniorcitizen,registeredasdisabled,drawingaretirementpension,rentingaleisuregardenand,presumably,immortalbecauseIshallneverdie---Ishallmerelypassaway.Wecanseethatinthefirststatement,theauthortalksdirectlyabouthislifestatus.Thesecondstatementisthatthegovernmentofficialsmakeasurveyofthehardshipofcitizens.Theytrytocoverthefactsbyusingeuphemisms.4.Euphemismandpoliteness4.1EuphemismandinterpersonalmunicationEuphemismhasbeenwidelyusedintherealhumanmunication.Itcanberegardedasakindofpoliteterms.Inprimitiveandtraditionalsociety,tabooandeuphemismarethetwosidesofacoin.Theyareusedforsocialcontrolandreligiouscontrol.AndinmodernEnglish,thereareanumberofwordsconnectedwithholy,sex,bodyorganandbodyfunction.Sowhenpeople’stopicreferstothose,theyhavetofindeuphemismstoreplacethem.Theyoftenusesomevaguelanguagetoavoidmentioningthemdirectly.4.2Politenessandface-threateningtheoryThemainfunctionofeuphemismispolitefunction.Thus,themaincharacterofeuphemismispolite.Politenessplaysanimportantroleinhumanmunication.Itoilshumanrelationships.Soeuphemismaccordswithpolitenesswillacceleratehumanmunication.5.EuphemismandPolitenessPrincipleFromtheabove,weknowthateuphemismhassomethingtodowithpoliteness.WecanassociatepolitenesswithPolitenessPrinciple.5.1Leech’spolitenessprinciple “Generallyspeaking,mostofthe-.word.zl-\n..-euphemismsaccordwithconversationalprinciple,especiallypolitenessprinciple.Leech’smaximsofthePolitenessPrincipletendtogoinpairsasfollows:(1)TactMaxim:a.Minimizecosttoother;b.Maximizebenefittoother.Someexamples:a、Ifyoukeepthisdiet,you’llbeontheheavyside.(c.f.:Ifyoukeeponeatingtoomuch,you’llbeeveryfat.)        b、Thankyouforyourkindhospitality.       (c.f.:Thankyouforyourdeliciousfood.)(2)ApprobationMaxim:a.Minimizedispraiseofother;b.Maximizepraiseofother.Someexamples:a、Heisaseniorcitizennow.       (c.f.:Heisanoldmannow.)       b、CaoYuisaShakespeareofChina.       (c.f.:CaoYuisthebestplaywrightofChina.)(3)ModestyMaxim:a.Minimizepraiseofself;b.Maximizedispraiseofself.Someexamples:a、Thisisatokenofmyregardforyou.       (c.f.:Thisisapresentforyou.)       b、Yourpraiseisthehighesthonorforme.       (c.f.:Thankyouforyourpraise.)Leechtiespolitenesstotherelationshipbetweenbothpartiesandthelanguageused.Heclaimsthat“static〞feature,suchassocialdistance,interactwith“dynamic〞features,suchasthekindofillocutionarydemandthespeakerismakingonthemaker,toproduceanappropriatedegreeofpoliteness.Thecoreofhispolitenessistominimizetheexpressionofimpolitebenefits.5.2PolitefunctionandPolitenessPrinciple-.word.zl-\n..-Politefunctionisthebasicsocialfunctionofeuphemism.AndPolitenessPrincipleshowsthisfunction.EuphemismalwaysabidesbythePolitenessPrinciple.Insuchacase,euphemismcanmakepeople’srelationshipmoreharmonious.Buttherearealsosomeexceptions.EuphemismsofmilitarydonotaccordwithPolitenessprinciplemostofthetime.5.3PolitenessPrincipleandthecooperativePrincipleThePolitenessPrincipleshowsequalandfriendlyrelationshipsbetweenpeopleinthesociety.Itdemandsthatinmunication,thespeakershouldcooperatewiththehearer.Thetwopartiesuseeuphemismstoreplaceharshwordsbecauseitcanmeetthepsychologicalneedsofface-want.Andthelanguageusedbythetwopartiesshouldbeappropriate.Generallyspeaking,theappropriatenessofthespeechiscloselyrelatedwitheuphemism.However,“TheMaximofRelevance〞ofGrice’s“CooperativePrinciple〞limitsthechoiceofeuphemism.Hesuggeststhatinmunication,thereplyofthehearershouldbecloselyrelatedtothespeechofthespeaker.Intheprocessofmunication,theeuphemismsusedjustnowshouldbeconnectedwiththeprimarylanguagesymbols.Insuchcase,itwillprovideacluetothehearersothathecanunderstandtheconnotationofthespeech.Thisprincipleprovidesalotofstandardconversationalimplicatures. Inaword,thetwopartiescanunderstandtheintentionofeachotherfromthecontext.A:HowisJohndoingwithhisstudyatschool?B:He’samachine.Here,fromtheliteralmeaningofB'sreply,heseemshaven’tanswerA’squestion.Butatleast,hisanswerviolatesQualityMaximandRelationMaxim.WeknowthatthoughB’sanswerdoesn’tcooperatewithA’squestion,wecanstillunderstandB’smeaningbythedeeperimplicationofhisspeech.First,weshouldsupposethatthisconversationtallywithCooperativePrinciple.Second,wecanguesstheimplicationbetweenmachineandstudy.Atlast,wecaninferthatJohnishard-working.Thus,iftheutteranceisnotrelevantwitheachother,wecanreason.“Unlikepresuppositionsandentailments,-.word.zl-\n..-implicaturesareinferencesthatcannotbemadefromisolatedutterances.Theyaredependentonthecontextoftheutteranceandthesharedknowledgebetweenthespeakerandthehearer.〞6.ConclusionEuphemismisanappropriatelanguageformcreatedbypeopletoachieveanidealmunicativeeffectinthesocialinteractions.“EnrighrD.J.statedthat‘Ifeuphemismdoesn’texist,themovementoftheworldwillstopanditwillbefilledwithhatred.〞Nearlynoonecanlivewithouteuphemism. Euphemismisnotonlyasocialphenomenon,butalsoalingualphenomenon.Theformationofeuphemismistheresultofsocialfactorsandpsychologicalfactors.Fromthedayofitsbirth,therearecountlesstiesbetweeneuphemismandthesocialculture.Euphemismdevelopswhilethesocietydevelops.Euphemismisamirror.Wecanlearnthevaluesandmoralconceptsofthesociety.EuphemismthataccordswithPolitenessPrincipleoilshumanmunicationbecausepolitefunctionisthemainfunctionofPolitenessprinciple.Ifwemakegooduseofthislanguageform,itwillaccelerateandfacilitatehumanmunication.People’sinterpersonalrelationswillbemoreharmonious.Wecanmakefulluseofeuphemismandmakeourlifemorecolorful.-.word.zl-\n..-References:1.李国南.辞格与词汇[M].:XX外语教育,2001.2.胡春梅.论委婉语的构成及功能[J].XX教育学院学报,2005,1.3.X纯豹.英语委婉语词典[Z].:商务印书馆,2001.4.吴祥云.委婉语的社会功用[J].XX师范高等专科学校学报,2004,2.5.JoannaChannell.VagueLanguage[M].:XX外语教育,2000,6.6.李鑫华.英语修辞格详论[M].:XX外语教育,2000.7.李树德.冯奇.英语修辞简明教程[M].:复旦大学,2003,10.8.JeanStilwellPeccei.Pragmatics[M].:外语教学与研究,2000,8. -.word.zl-