1、英语语言学论文范本模板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 concep
2、ts in some extent. Euphemism plays an important part in social communication。 It is like lube that avoids hurting the other partys 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
3、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 origi
4、n 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
5、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 1. Introduction Th
6、ere 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 hes kicked the bucket.” The guest comforted her that: “I
7、hope his foot will be better soon.” The landlady felt unintelligibly and said： “No, he wasnt here， he snuffed it you know. The guest wondered and said： “But youve got electricity here.” The reasons why the guest didnt answer properly are that he didnt realize that the landlady used euphemism, nor di
8、d he understand the “conversational implicature” of euphemism。 What the landlady wanted to say is that her husband died。The 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, ”spe
9、ech/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 Y
10、ahweh。 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 d
11、irect one; expression thus substituted. IN Websters 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 rol
12、e in peoples 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。2。Features of euphemism 2。1 Indirect and implicit The most important character of euphemism is indirect and implicit. E
13、uphemism 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
14、and accepted by all of the people. Though euphemism is indirect and it doesnt 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, wh
15、en 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 diffe
16、rent 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） Sh
17、e 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。3。Pragmatic functions of euphemism
18、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 eu
19、phemism， 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
20、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,
21、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 peoples mind. Though science and technology
22、 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 Abrahams bosom, cros
23、s the River Jordan, final sleep， go home， go to meet ones maker， go to ones own place， join ones 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, onewayticket is the synonym of die。 It reflects the speake
24、rs 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， p
25、eople use funeral home and memorial park to replace them。 In such a way， it comforts people。”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
26、 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 others feeling-to use euphemism。 It is harsh to say someone is d
27、eaf， so people use “auditory-impaired” to replace it. They sound more gracefully。 “When English-speakers refer to the appearance, they dont use the word ugly or awful， which has strong derogatory sense. Instead， they use the word plainlooking or not pretty.” Westerners are sensitive to age. In their
28、 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” m
29、eans 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 colorful。For example, on the plane， there are some bags
30、that can be used by the passengers to shoot his cookies. People dont 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 di
31、scomfort” 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 oldage pension, working
32、 hard to raise vast quantities of vegetables on an allotment and well aware that, one of these days, I shall die。 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 o
