2024年4月27日发(作者：)

英语语言学概论论文

论文题目:

An Analysis of Euphemism in English From the

Politeness Principle of Pragmatics

Abstract

Euphemism, cosmetic words, is not only a lingual phenomenon, but also a cultural

and social phenomenon. It is like a mirror, reflecting the values, aesthetic

conceptions and moral concepts in some extent. Euphemism plays an important part

in social communication. It is like lube that avoids hurting the other party’

s feeling. It oils the human relationship in communication and helps to save face

of communicators. If people make full use of euphemism, it can accelerate and

facilitate human communication. This paper elaborates on the features and social

functions of euphemism. And it focuses on the relationships between its polite

functions and Politeness Principle. This thesis is composed of six parts with

Chapter Four and Five as its core: The first chapter focuses on the origin and

definitions of euphemism. The second chapter discusses the features of euphemism

in many ways. The third chapter talks about the social functions of euphemism from

the angle of pragmatics. The fourth chapter forms the basis of the whole research

by connecting euphemism with politeness and face-saving theory. The fifth chapter

centers on euphemism and Politeness Principle. The last chapter concludes the

whole thesis. Appropriate use of English euphemism can contribute a lot to

successful message exchange.

Key Words: euphemism; social functions; Politeness Principle; face

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1. Introduction

There is a humor: Once a Paris tourist resided in UK. A landlady told him sadly

that, “My husband has just passed to the other side.” The guest looked from the

fence of the garden but saw no one, feeling confused. The landlady explained: “I

mean he’s kicked the bucket.” The guest comforted her that: “I hope his foot

will be better soon.” The landlady felt unintelligibly and said: “No, he wasn’

t here, he snuffed it… you know.” The guest wondered and said: “But you’ve

got electricity here.”

The reasons why the guest didn’t answer properly are that he didn’t realize

that the landlady used euphemism, nor did he understand the “conversational

implicature” of euphemism. What the landlady wanted to say is that her husband

word euphemism comes from the Greek word “euphemos”, meaning

"auspicious/good/fortunate speech" which in turn is derived from the Greek root---

words eu, "good/well" + pheme, "speech/speaking". The eupheme was originally a

word or phrase used in place of a religious word or phrase that should not be spoken

aloud (Such as taboo). The primary examples of taboo words requiring the use of

a euphemism are the unspeakable names for a deity, such as Persephone, Hecate,

Nemesis or Yahweh. By speaking only words favorable to the gods or spirits, the

speaker attempted to produce good fortune by remaining in good favor with them.

“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.’”

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.

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es 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)

(7) She is pregnant. (1956)”

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.

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tic functions of euphemism

3.1 Taboo function

“Taboo is the main psychological basis of the emergence of euphemism.

Euphemism is the avoidance of the unpleasant, inelegant things. A famous

sociolinguist Mr. Chen Yuan once said: ‘Generally speaking, the coming into being

of euphemism all begins from taboo.’ From the origin of euphemism, we can see

that taboo is the first function of euphemism. Euphemism has been using for a long

time, and it is closely related to taboo. In fact, euphemism dates back to the

language taboo in the early period of human civilization. When people try to avoid

and give up taboo words, they have to find another word to replace this vacancy

at the same time. Hence, people created euphemism.”

There are some taboo things, such as birth, death, funeral, sex, nakedness,

defecation, and urinate. If they are expressed directly, they are called taboo

words and the feelings they give us are vulgar, crude and harsh, whereas if they

are expressed indirectly, they are called euphemism, and the impressions they made

on us are elegant, implicit and polite. The evading function of euphemism also

works today. Some taboo notions cannot be easily removed from people’s mind.

Though science and technology are highly developed today, the word “death”

is the taboo words to all nations. Thus there are a lot of euphemisms related with

it. “Such as pass away, answer the final call, be asleep in Jesus, be safe in

the arms of Jesus, be at rest, be called to God, be home and free, be in Abraham’

s bosom, cross the River Jordan, final sleep, go home, go to meet one’s maker,

go to one’s own place, join one’s ancestors, join the great majority, return

to dust, with God, be no longer with us, pay the debt of nature, tick the bucket,

etc.” “Among those, ‘one-way-ticket’ is the synonym of ‘die’. It reflects

the speaker’s experience of life. Life is just like travel. People set out to

travel, but when they arrive to the termination, they cannot go back. In the past,

people often used graveyard to express the place where the dead sleep peacefully.

But the associations it gives us are horrified and gloomy. So now, people use

funeral home and memorial park to replace them. In such a way, it comforts people.”

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3.2 Polite function

Polite function of euphemism is to avoid inelegant things and make people feel

pleasant. As Joanna Channell put in her book Vague Language “Vagueness is used

as one way of adhering to the politeness rules for a particular culture, and of

not threatening face.” It means that in real life, when people meet with some

unpleasant things or behaviors, they usually choose some vague expressions to

avoid making bold or hurting other’s feeling----to use euphemism.

It is harsh to say someone is deaf, so people use “auditory-impaired” to

replace it. They sound more gracefully. “When English-speakers refer to the

appearance, they don’t use the word ‘ugly’ or ‘awful’, which has strong

derogatory sense. Instead, they use the word ‘plain-looking’ or ‘not pretty’.”

Westerners are sensitive to age. In their opinion, “old” equals to “useless”

in some extent. In order not to hurt the feeling and self-esteem of the old, “old

men” are replaced by “senior citizens” or “seasoned men”. For the word “senior”

has many meanings. Except “older”, it also means higher in rank or authority.

And the word “seasoned” means experienced.

3.3 Tactical function

If a same meaning is expressed in many different ways, their effects are

entirely different. This is what we called the art of speaking. If we apply this

strategy to our daily life, our life will be more example, on the

plane, there are some bags that can be used by the passengers to shoot his cookies.

People don’t print the words “vomit bag” on the surface of the bag. Instead,

they use the words “for motion discomfort”. And the result proved that the vomit

phenomenon has reduced. Because compared with the former words, the word “for

motion discomfort” prevents the passengers from vomiting when in a state of

airsickness. This is the tactical function of euphemism.

By contrary, if we use euphemism inappropriately, the result would be worse.

Try to compare the following two statements:I am an old cripple, drawing an old-age

pension, working hard to raise vast quantities of vegetables on an allotment and

well aware that, one of these days, I shall die.

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If, however, I listen to the voice of officialdom, it turns out that I am a

disadvantaged senior citizen, registered as disabled, drawing a retirement

pension, renting a leisure garden and, presumably, immortal because I shall never

die--- I shall merely pass away.

We can see that in the first statement, the author talks directly about his life

status. The second statement is that the government officials make a survey of

the hardship of citizens. They try to cover the facts by using euphemisms.

ism and politeness

4.1 Euphemism and interpersonal communication

Euphemism has been widely used in the real human communication. It can be

regarded as a kind of polite terms .In primitive and traditional society, taboo

and euphemism are the two sides of a coin. They are used for social control and

religious control. And in modern English, there are a number of words connected

with holy, sex, body organ and body function. So when people’s topic refers to

those, they have to find euphemisms to replace them. They often use some vague

language to avoid mentioning them directly.

4.2 Politeness and face-threatening theory

The main function of euphemism is polite function. Thus, the main character

of euphemism is polite. Politeness plays an important role in human communication.

It oils human relationships. So euphemism accords with politeness will accelerate

human communication.

ism and Politeness Principle

From the above, we know that euphemism has something to do with politeness.

We can associate politeness with Politeness Principle.

5.1 Leech’s politeness principle

“Generally speaking, most of the euphemisms accord with conversational

principle, especially politeness principle. Leech’s maxims of the Politeness

Principle tend to go in pairs as follows:

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(1)Tact Maxim :

a. Minimize cost to other;

b. Maximize benefit to other.

Some examples : a、If you keep this diet, you’ll be on the heavy side.

(c.f.: If you keep on eating too much, you’ll become very fat.)

b、Thank you for your kind hospitality.

(c.f.: Thank you for your delicious food.)

(2)Approbation Maxim:

a. Minimize dispraise of other;

b. Maximize praise of other.

Some examples: a、He is a senior citizen now.

(c.f.: He is an old man now.)

b、Cao Yu is a Shakespeare of China.

(c.f.: Cao Yu is the best playwright of China.)

(3)Modesty Maxim :

a. Minimize praise of self;

b. Maximize dispraise of self.

Some examples: a、This is a token of my regard for you.

(c.f.: This is a present for you.)

b、Your praise is the highest honor for me.

(c.f.: Thank you for your praise.)

Leech ties politeness to the relationship between both parties and the language

used. He claims that “static” feature, such as social distance, interact with

“dynamic” features, such as the kind of illocutionary demand the speaker is

making on the maker, to produce an appropriate degree of politeness. The core of

his politeness is to minimize the expression of impolite benefits.

5.2 Polite function and Politeness Principle

Polite function is the basic social function of euphemism. And Politeness

Principle shows this function. Euphemism always abides by the Politeness Principle.

In such a case, euphemism can make people’s relationship more harmonious. But

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there are also some exceptions. Euphemisms of military do not accord with

Politeness principle most of the time.

5.3 Politeness Principle and the cooperative Principle

The Politeness Principle shows equal and friendly relationships between people

in the society. It demands that in communication, the speaker should cooperate

with the hearer. The two parties use euphemisms to replace harsh words because

it can meet the psychological needs of face-want. And the language used by the

two parties should be appropriate. Generally speaking, the appropriateness of the

speech is closely related with euphemism. However, “The Maxim of Relevance” of

Grice’s “Cooperative Principle” limits the choice of euphemism. He suggests

that in communication, the reply of the hearer should be closely related to the

speech of the speaker. In the process of communication, the euphemisms used just

now should be connected with the primary language symbols. In such case, it will

provide a clue to the hearer so that he can understand the connotation of the speech.

This principle provides a lot of standard conversational implicatures. In a word,

the two parties can understand the intention of each other from the context.

A: How is John doing with his study at school?

B: He’s a machine.

Here, from the literal meaning of B's reply, he seems haven’t answer A’s question.

But at least, his answer violates Quality Maxim and Relation

Maxim. We know that though B’s answer doesn’t cooperate with A’s question, we

can still understand B’s meaning by the deeper implication of his speech. First,

we should suppose that this conversation tally with Cooperative Principle. Second,

we can guess the implication between machine and study. At last, we can infer that

John is hard-working. Thus, if the utterance is not relevant with each other, we

can reason. “Unlike presuppositions and entailments, implicatures are inferences

that cannot be made from isolated utterances. They are dependent on the context

of the utterance and the shared knowledge between the speaker and the hearer.”

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6. Conclusion

Euphemism is an appropriate language form created by people to achieve an ideal

communicative effect in the social interactions. “Enrighr D.J. stated that ‘If

euphemism doesn’t exist, the movement of the world will stop and it will be filled

with hatred.” Nearly no one can live without euphemism.

Euphemism is not only a social phenomenon, but also a lingual phenomenon. The

formation of euphemism is the result of social factors and psychological factors.

From the day of its birth, there are countless ties between euphemism and the social

culture. Euphemism develops while the society develops. Euphemism is a mirror.

We can learn the values and moral concepts of the society. Euphemism that accords

with Politeness Principle oils human communication because polite function is the

main function of Politeness principle. If we make good use of this language form,

it will accelerate and facilitate human communication. People’s interpersonal

relations will be more harmonious. We can make full use of euphemism and make our

life more colorful.

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