-
摘 要委婉语是一种用曲折的方式表达说话者思想的特殊语言表达方式。作为英语词汇不可分割的一部分，委婉语一直引起很多人的关注。文章通过借鉴大量的文献和分析具体的例句介绍了委婉语的起源、发展、及研究状况，并对英语委婉语进行语用分析。通过对委婉语的详细介绍和对其语用功能的具体分析，强调了委婉语在日常交际中的“润滑”作用，以期对人们在日常交际中更好地使用委婉语有一定的帮助。34547
- 上一篇：从归化异化理论看中国特色经济词汇的翻译
- 下一篇：中学英语词汇教学中存在的问题及对策
毕业论文关键词: 委婉语; 语用功能; 语用原则
Abstract Euphemism is a special language expression to show the speakers’ ideas in a winding way. As an indispensable and natural part of English language, English euphemism has been arousing wide interest. The author of this paper, through referencing large amount of document literature and illustrating many examples, introduces the origin, development and research background of euphemism and analyzes the pragmatic analysis of English euphemism from the pragmatic aspect. This paper stresses the lubricant effect of English euphemism in daily communication through the detailed introduction and concrete analysis of euphemism. Hopefully this paper will be beneficial to the using of euphemism in people’s daily life.
Key words: euphemism; pragmatic function; pragmatic principle
A Brief Study of English Euphemism and Its Pragmatic Functions
Contents
摘 要 i
Abstract ii
I. Introduction 1
II. An Overview of Euphemism 2
2.1 Definition of Euphemism 2
2.2 The Classification of Euphemism 3
2.2.1 Classification From the Semantic Aspect 3
2.2.2 Classification From the Range of Application 4
III. Analysis on English Euphemism 5
3.1 Pragmatic Functions of English Euphemism 5
3.1.1 Evasion Function 6
3.1.2 Politeness Function 7
3.1.3 Decoration Function 8
IV. The Principles of English Euphemism 9
4.1 The Violation of Cooperative Principle 9
4.2 The Compliance of Politeness Principle 11
V. Conclusion 13
Bibliography 14
Acknowledgements 15
I. Introduction
Euphemism is a common phenomenon in human communication. People try to use some implicit, polite and fair-spoken words to avoid or desalt unpleasant association and help the speakers to overcome mental block in their communication. This kind of language which can not only coordinate human relationship and promote exchanges and cooperation but also avoid the taboo is euphemism. The meaning of the word “euphemism” means “favorable speech” or “words of good prelude”. Today, euphemism has become one of the effective forms to seek the ideal communication effect in daily life. As an indispensable part and a vital language phenomenon, it has attracted people’s attention, and with many researches being published, euphemism becomes one of the hot topics in language research.
In the early 1780s, a British writer Gorge Blunt cited the word “euphemism” for the first time and gave a definition: Euphemism is a good of favorable interpretation of a bad word. Many scholars at home and abroad have made research on it in succession. Menken (1936), an American linguist, makes a detailed discussion about how the euphemism came into being and became popular in his book The American Language. British scholar James George Frazer, one of the scholars who studied the euphemism systematically, uses a great number of spaces to probe into the tabooed language, behavior, things and names in A Golden Bough-A study in Magic and Religion (1991). Hugh Rawson (1981) compiled A Dictionary of Euphemism and Other Double-Talk. This dictionary makes a conclusion about euphemism research achievements of American and British scholars. He thinks that there are two types of euphemism: positive euphemism and negative euphemism. Domestic scholar Shu Dingfang speaks highly of his research. At the same time, the traditional euphemism such as sex, death, disease etc, and the public aspects such as society, art, military affairs and so on, are also included in this book. Allan and Burridge (1991) publish the Euphemism and Dyphemism, which is valuable to many scholars who study the euphemism from pragmatics. And it has become one of the famous references for the domestic researchers.