（20 届）英语商务英语中的委婉表达及其翻译Euphemistic Expressions in Business English and TheirTranslation随着国际贸易的不断发展，商务英语作为一种特定的专门用途英语，也越来越重要。
为了建立良好的商务环境，树立尽可能完美的形象，给客户以满意和信心，达到预期的目的和效果。
因此商务英语屮的的委婉表达及其翻译是非常重要的。
本文介绍丫委婉语的定义、特征，以及交际功能，并从词汇、语法两个方面归纳分析了商务英语中的委婉表达方式，论文最后提出Y直译法、意译法和移植法三种翻译策略。
希望人们从屮丫解更多关于商务英语屮的委婉表达及其翻译的知识，并使这些知识服务于我国与各国的商务往来。
关键词：商务英语；委婉表达；翻译AbstractWith the development of international trade, Business English has become more and more important as a specially appointed English for Specific Purposes. In order to establish a good business environment, and establish a perfect image of as much as possible to give customers satisfaction and confidence in each of the parties to achieve the intended purpose of trade. This thesis first introduces the difinitions，characteristics and communicative functions of euphemism. The euphemistic expressions in business English are then analysed from lexical and grammatical prospectives. Finally three translation strategies are proposed: literal translation，free translation, transplanting. It is hoped that people can get more knowledge about translation of euphemism in business English and can make use of this knowledge to serve for foreign trade of our country.Key words：Business English; Euphemism ; TranslationContentsAbstract ......................................................................................................................................... I I1Introduction (1)1J Definition and Classification of Euphemism (1)1.2Characteristics of Euphemism (2)2Communicative Functions of Euphemism (2)The Function of Taboo (3)The Function of Politeness (4)The Function of Disguise (5)The Function of Elegance (5)3The Expression Forms of Euphemism inBusiness English (6)The Lexical Approach (6)Noun (6)Verb (7)Adverb (7)3J.4 Preposition and Preposition Phrase (7)()The Grammatical Approach (8)()Past Tense (8)()Passive Voice (8)33ood•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••t1•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••參•••••••••••••••••••• 104The Translation Strategies of Euphemism in Business English (10)si•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 114.2Free Translation (11)4.3Transplanting (12)5Conclusion (12)Bibliography (14)Acknowledgements (15)IntroductionlJ Definition and Classification of EuphemismEuphemisms have existed throughout recorded history. In early English poetry the heroes did not literally "die", but euphemistically "lay” or "fall"(George H.McKnight, 1923:268). Similar feature of language is familiar in modern language: ” we will have to let you go” replaces"you*re fired" in English;‟1人寿保险‟‟(life insurance) replaces "死亡保险"(insurance that is paid when you die) in Chinese. These are typical example of verbal euphemisms， namely, euphemisms in a narrow sense.Classification of euphemism is well manifested in the various definitions of euphemism， which reveal the nature, and the characteristics of euphemism from different perspectives.Euphemism, one rhetoric term in English，is "Euphemismos” in ancient westerm rhetoric. It is usually used ‟‟to pre serve decency when referring to unpleasant things n(Vickers，1988:407). In current English dictionaries，euphemisms are defined as follow:(1)"substitution of an inoffensive term for one considered blunt oroffensive".(2)‟‟word，etc. used in place of one avoided as e.g. offensive，indecent, oralarming‟‟.There are also other definitions:"Substituting an inoffensive or pleasant term for a more explicit，offensive one，therebyveneering the truth by using kind words.n(Nearman et al，1990:1 )H the conveying of a harsh or an unpleasant truth gently."(Zeiger，1978:355)All the euphemisms can be divided into two groups: conventionalized euphemisms and non-conventionalized euphemisms. The differences between these two groups lie in that those non-conventionalized euphemisms strongly depend on the particular context，and their rhetoric function may disappear or impossible to understand without the context while the conventionalized euphemisms have already been accepted so well that they are somewhat like idioms and people can understand them without referring to a particular context. For example， we all know what toilet means when one says he wants to go to the toilet. But in this sentence: ’’我浑身颤抖了一下，我害怕，我父亲会不会也打发我去'享福’ .We can hardly drag out the meaning of the euphemism ‟‟享福’’ without reading the sentence: ••哭啥子奥，死了，还不享福去了！"in the context.The thesis mainly deals with the translation of verbal euphemism because of its wider application and closer relationship with translation study. So the word ‟‟euphemism” in the following thesis refers specificallyto verbal euphemism.(1)Characteristics of EuphemismThe meaning of euphemisms cannot be understood if we take a direct inference to the object that the language refers to.It is the conversational implications conveyed by the language，taking such elements as the speakers and the contexts into consideration. When we come into a euphemism, we should not only understand what it refers to superficially but also understand the implied meaning and purpose generated from the context，or the environment. Euphemism is also active and elegant. To distinguish euphemisms from other figures of speech, we should judge whether the original expression is about sex，religion，crime，death， darkness, violence，mental health，excretion，fatal diseases etc. Which often embarrasses both the speakers and the listeners and as a result are often avoided. The mild substitution are not embarrassing and are intentionally avoided by the speakers. It is obvious that euphemism has the following characteristics:(1)Substitution is the base of producing euphemism;(2)An euphemism has two levels of meaning: a surface meaning and a deepmeaning, and the real meaning is the deep meaning;(3)Euphemisms are mild expressions which can alleviate the harshness of theoriginal expressions and can cover some of the original purposes of thespeaker.(Wang Dechun 2001:98)Communicative Functions of EuphemismLanguage communication is an important way to maintain the social relationship among human beings. The use of euphemism avoids causing the unpleasantness of two communicative sides and damaging their relationship. Based on the implication of euphemism， the paper mainly explores the functions of taboo, politeness, disguise and elegance, which is helpful for our conscious and correct language use in business English.The Function of TabooIn the Anglo-Saxon countries，people widely believed in God. Out of fear of God，they dared not directly maintain the name of Lord God (Jehoval)，so a lot of euphemisms came into being，for example: theAlmighty，the Supreme Being, Holy one，the Eternal，the creator, the maker，the Savior，the Lord of Lords，the King of Kings.In the early human society, science underdeveloped, people can not know and explain the natural phenomena，so they always feel terrified with a mystery.n Death” is a taboo in a lot of countries，so people produce some euphemisms.For example:"pay one's debt to nature"--••还对自然的债务”‟‟go west‟‟--‟‟归丙""sleep the final sleep"--"睡最后一觉"‟‟be called to God"--"到上帝那儿去报到""go to heaven"--"去天堂""breathe the one's last"—"最后一次呼吸""pass away”--"永别了n"sleep with one's fathers"--‟‟与父亲睡在一起"” go to glory”--”去荣耀•’In addition, things related to death are beautified. For example ‟‟coffin” is replaced by ‟‟box” ；"grave-yard •‟ is replaced by "sleeping place‟‟；n funeral”is replaced by "memorial service‟‟.The Function of PolitenessPoliteness is the human civilization's tag. Politeness principle is an important principle in human society. In communication，people always pay attention to politeness to other people for avoiding conflict. There are many aspects about politeness function.Profession is a sensitive topic in society. According to Chinese‟s idea, all professions are equal. But as the manual worker or service personal，they don‟t like to hear the name of their prof ession by other people. So they choose a better name instead of them.For example:‟‟waiter，waitress"…n dinning-room attendants”H maid H—"domestic”‟‟garbage collector” ---H sanitary engineer”n scretary H ---H administrative assistant‟‟n harlot n…M street girl n or "member of the oldest profession11‟‟cook、-- "chef*‟‟housewife” --- "domestic engineer”Privation and unemployment are also sensitive topics in society. In communication, everyone wants to get respect from the other side. Even though people are poor，they would be angry when they discuss privation or about connection things. For example, in Chinese， people always say n手头紧"or "临时周转不灵” or "经济上有些困难” to mean "they are short of money”. In English, "penniless” is replaced by "out of pocket”；"poor” is replaced by ‟‟needy”；‟‟poor people” is replaced by ‟‟underprivileged people‟‟ or "to be down on one's luck' Unemployment is a common phenomenon, and people don‟t like to talk about it directly. So ‟‟unemployed workers” are replaced by "welfare workers H; "dismis s” is replaced by ‟‟lay off ‟‟in communication.When they speak of relieving the bowels，they use ‟‟ go to washroom‟1，"go to W.C.n，‟‟answer nature‟s call‟‟ . If you say H I have to go to the toilet.” when talking with others, that is very impolite. We shoul d say ‟‟May I leave the room?‟‟ or H Fm going to do my business.” There are other examples: Unfortunately we cannot meet your needs because you failed to send your check.We shall be glad to meet your needs as soon as we receive your check.In case (1)，the tone is very abrupt，too direct; while in case (2)，the euphemistic tone is much more polite. In addition, the politeness function emphasizes the sake of more for each other.()The Function of DisguiseIn English, euphemism is used to disguise some grave society problem, such as privation and crime. There are some examples:2.1‟‟in debt” …H cash advance11 or H in difficulties2.2‟‟unemployed mother” ---M welfare mother”2.3‟‟striking” …"industrial action” or ‟‟industrial dispute‟‟2.4‟‟economic recession” …"period of economic adjustment‟‟At present, crime rate is particularly high, so there are many related euphemisms, especially juvenile delinquency. For example, ‟‟delinquent1‟ is replaced by "problem children”. We can not say that their childrenare thrown in jail，otherwise they will be unhappy. So we can say that the children are in the set-up center. And the other parlance is that they enjoy the government‟s expenses. International relation‟s choice of words are more cautious，if we say that they are "poor and backward coun tries‟‟，both sides‟ relation will sink into impasse. Even though they are underdeveloped countries，they will be unhappy. But we use ‟‟developing countries‟‟ and "emerging countries”，they will feel better.()The Function of Elegance‟‟Using neutral or commendatory word to replace derogatory word or sentence's the euphemism‟s elegance function. In the Eastern and Western culture, some about disease，death, human excretion, the Health and body parts, sex, body shape and other things related to taboo, are often considered to be vulgar，indecent. So people will not bear to say that things directly， through the song words, taboo and the other meanings to beautify or dilute them, so that they are more gentle. English euphemism is a best case. Such as，"hairdresser is re placed by ‟‟beautician”；‟‟press man” is replaced by "press operator”.People always use the euphemism properly to avoid awkwardness, unhappyness，disgust. The use of euphemism is not only to win the other side enough reputations，but also reflects the speak er‟s status，graceful bearing. The use of elegant and subtle language is a kind of aesthetic needs of the people as well as the civilization needs.The Expression Forms of Euphemism in Business EnglishEuphemism expressions are commonly used in business correspondence and business negotiation. Which is not only a social language phenomenon, but it is also a cultural phenomenon. Business English has its own unique style, usual format, the professional vocabulary and expressions.Because the customer is their God. Euphemism implication is widely in business English, hardly penetrate every link of business affairs. For example，in international trade， establishing trade relations, inquiry, offer, counter offer, repulse，credit information, proforma invoice (P/I)，order goods, shipping，insurance, and so on，they exist in everywhere. Expression skills are flexible and ingenious. By making an analysis of euphemistic expressions used in business correspondences and business negotiations，it mainly discusses the fulfillment of euphemistic expressions in business English through the following four ways: the subjunctive mood, passive voice，past tense, tactful negative. So the business personnel can fully understand and appreciate the euphemistic expressions and achieve a success in the business competitions.3.1The Lexical ApproachNounIn business English, people always express negative by noun.‟‟We are extremely sorry for our inability to advance shipment.”This sentence avoid semantic strength consciously, using ‟‟inability” to express "we can not u implicitly. The meaning of "can not” is weakened by the writer，so it is easier to accept for the other party.VerbIn the business negotiation, we can use "think' "hope”，"regret' H please n to express subjective opinions and views. The expressed views and suggested request become not subjective and arbitrary, and the tone is tactful. But the view is distinct，and semantic is clear. There are some examples:1n We regret very much that it is necessary to complain about the non-delivery ofthe 10,000 tons of sugar under contract article 23.”2‟‟ We hope delivery will be made according to schedule.H3” Please make the shipment in May or early as possible.‟•AdverbIn business negotiation or correspondence contract process, it is seem impolite if use the negative word directly to the other party‟s views，request and suggestion . It is easily to cause displeased and dislike for the the other of side. Even it get into trouble with the other side, affect the business‟ negotiation or disruption directly. It go against to establish good trade relations for both sides. So it is often to use one of the adverbs: unfortunately，scarcely, hardly，rather，almost，slightly. And it create the negotiation atmosphere of consultation on the basis of equality. For example:‟‟we appreciated the good quality of your products, but unfortunately your prices appear to be onthe high side even of this quality.”‟‟I am really sorry that our products can hardly satisfy your requirement.‟‟In the second example，"hardly” is the euphemism of ‟‟not' to avoid absolutization.Preposition and Preposition PhraseIn business English, sometimes the preposition and preposition phrase are often used, and the tone of negative would not be clear. So other people feel respected."As some items under your order are beyond our business scope, we can only accept your orderpartially.‟‟"As your counter bid is not up to the present market level，we are sorry that we have to give youa negative reply.”In the first sentence, ‟‟beyond our business scope‟‟ imply the negative.3.2 The Grammatical Approach(1)Past TenseWe sometimes push the time of verb backward in business negotiation and business letters. Such as use the past tense to substitute present tense. So that it can make the tone more politely and make it have more tone of negotiation. At last make it come to business successfully."Enclosed is a feature article from October 23 China daily which I thought you might find ininteresting.”‟‟We wanted to know whether you could effect shipment one month earlier.”"We want to know whether you can effect shipment one month earlier/1"We found the prices of your machines a little bit higher than acceptable.The first sentence, moreover，in order to make the tone tactfully，"hope，wonder，think，want” and s o on，their past tense also express the present tence.The two sentences in case (2)，second sentence is easier to accepted by the other side.The third sentence actually mean that: we found the price of your machines are so high that we can not accept. Speaker with comparative sentences, and compared with the a knockout level before to decorate.Among face to face business negotiation and business letters，when we express inquiry， request or express different opinion with the other side, sometimes use“Can you“will you...?‟‟，“I want".‟‟，“I wonder".‟‟，“I am sure.J‟wHl show crude and rude, confirm and absolute on the tone. When use “Could you...?”，“Would you...?”，“ I wanted...‟‟，“I wondered...‟‟，…… I was sure...”，it will become more subjunctive kind, gentle, decent and easily accepted by the other side.(2)Passive VoiceAmong business letters, we should use active voice in many conditions so that can express both opinions about trade explicitly. However，in other conditions, passive voice is adopted to make the toneimplicatively，and avoid aggressive. So it conformed to the characteristic of business English."Upon inspection, it was found that your last shipment is not up to theagreed standard. ” (Wang Hengen 2009:57-59)‟‟You should be informed that the shipment tim e is February or March at our optionand the goods will be shipped in one lot.”‟‟Since it is agreed that we have the right to reject the goods when they are disqualifiedupon examination by China Commodity Inspection Bureau at the port of destination，we regret to inform you that we have to return the goods to you at your expense/"As the date of delivery is approaching，you are requested to expedite theestablishment of the L/C?‟‟As the date of delivery is approaching，we request you to expedite the establishment of the L/C广As well-known to all，active voice emphasizes that it is an executive of actions. And passive voice emphasizes that it is an object of actions. In example three，‟‟to bestressed"，‟‟must be effected‟‟，such as ‟‟will not be considered” weaken the executors “we”，“you”. We want emphasize that according to the contract，agreement or the stipulation of obligations and responsibilities prescribed, and thus more accord with international business practices.(3)Subjunctive MoodIn our daily life，people usually use subjunctive to express our opinions. When we request somebody, adverse somebody and persuade somebody, we always use euphemistic and implicative manners. In Business negotiations and business letters, businessmen pay more attention to their tones，and always avoid to expressing directly and positively, and use subjunctive tone to express our opinions，requests or adverse. In this way, they can achieve both purposes in the atmosphere of equality and friendly. Also it will be helpful to establish long term business relationship.n If it were not for the regular orders we receive from a number of our customers, we could not have quoted for supplies even at these price.‟‟n We wish we could lower our price but unfortunately we cannot do so.”‟‟May we su ggest that you make some allowance on you quoted price so as to enable us to introduce your goods to our customers?"H I suggest you make a reduction in price, otherwise, we could hardly go on with ourdiscussion.”Among the above example sentences, because of adverb adopted Subjunctive tone, it eased the tones of both sides when they expressed their opinions, requested something，or confirmed price in the businessnegotiation. Avoided too absolute, leave more space to negotiation, and help to enter into and develop business relationship.(4)Tactful NegativeIn Chinese, people always praise or criticize the nature of things，condition or the behavior of people，personality, appearance gently. If someone‟s appearance is not beautiful, we would use ‟‟ Can‟t say what beautiful' avoiding diction too straight and tone overweight. In business English, this euphemistic expression used in large amounts, in order to make statements view， request or suggestion whether is confirm or deny, agreement or disagreement, praise or criticism becoming more negotiable.For example:‟‟We feel that your quotation is not proper because the price for such material is on the decline at present.”In this sentence, "not proper” mean n improper n，but sounds much more polite，easily accepted by each other.The Translation Strategies of Euphemism in Business EnglishWith the economic globalization and China‟s entrance into WTO, translation of business English is acting a more and more vital role in our economic life. As an important communicative language, euphemistic expression is used frequently in business English .Therefore，it brings practical significance to study translation strategies of euphemistic expression in business English.Euphemism generally have original meaning and euphemistic meaning. Original meaning refer to the begining meaning when the word used in the euphemism, an implicit parlance. Euphemistic meaning refer to taboo content of the replaced word, a meaning of avoiding discussion. So there are three strategies in the translation of euphemism:Literal TranslationIn the English and Chinese, there are a lot of the same or similar euphemism expression. The words should be transliterated when we are translating. We should keep the original text structure form and verve style，simultaneously must deliberate carefully, strive to achieve the proper emotion appraise. Convey the originalmeaning and style faithful. For example:‟‟To open the window and say bright words””打开窗户说亮话”Chinese and English are two different language systems，but they have common attributes between the language. Language is the reflex of culture,and language‟s universality reflect the culture‟s universality. No matter what race, what color，they live in the same world. Their thinking mode，emotional standard and moral standards are coincident，and people‟s opinion to the objective world are also coincident.Free TranslationChinese and English belong to different languages, and the two languages have distinctive characteristics in forms，grammars and behavior habits. As a part of the language，euphemism is different to the same meaning of things because of regional difference, religion，custom and thinking mode. Translation must be considered these difference of aspects, and according to the context requirement use free translation. For example:"bus girr…"餐馆侍者女助手”"criminal lawyer” …”刑事律师n "at theeleventh hour‟‟ ---1•在危急时刻•’The meaning of "bus girl” is n巴士女郎‟‟；the meaning of "criminal lawyer'1 is "犯罪的律师‟‟；the meaning of "at the eleventh hour‟‟ is ” 丨1 点钟” in the beginning.Free translation is not optional translation，and should be avoid breaking away from text‟s content and metaphoric meaning.43 TransplantingTransplanting refer to borrow the original texts words directly. Transplanting has two forms: direct transplanting and transliteration. Direct transplanting refer to using original words directly. Some words transplanted into translation with enunciation; some words have changed enunciation，but they still belong to the category of borrowing from etymology. They are always used in science and technology translation or news media. For example: KTV， DISCO, IQ, EQ，AQ.Transplanting not only remain context‟s form completely，but also remain context‟s culturalcharacteristics.Transliteration is the other form of transplanting. Language is a symbol system. On the one hand，the text‟s symbol has vitality only in their system; on the other hand, they are not changeless，and they could accept eternal words on the certain condition. Chinese and English euphemism‟s mutual translatio n could borrow transliteration to translate some words that they could not be translated by literal translation and free translation. For example:"Sardine” …"沙丁鱼”"Pizza"…”披萨饼”"Champagne" 香槟酒"ConclusionEuphemism，from linguistic point of view, will definitely be widely touched upon as a more welcome way of communication than it is now. Euphemism for emotional communication is both a polite and elegant communicative strategies in international business English, and played the role of lubricant，greatly enhance flexibility and increases the chance of success in the business English.The progress of science, technology and the rapid development of economy, increasingly highlights the importance of international trade. But how we can get the preemptive opportunities in the fierce competition in the international market，a new force suddenly rising， successful business communication activity plays an important role. In the commodity propaganda，creating and expanding the market, foreign trade negotiation and business correspondence intercourse are particularly important. Polite and decent words, implicit expression of euphemism can help enterprise firmly seized commercial opportunities.In business contacts, under the market economy condition of the fierce competit ion ‟euphemism is one of the management guiding principles of business men, and is also one of the important methods to win customer in the competition. Thus，for a career in business and to obtain success in the business world，to understand and study the business English euphemism, its meaning is really cannot be ignored or undervalued.Therefore, in today‟s society，Business English expression of euphemism and its translation are very important. In the commercial activity，if expression and translation are improper, maybe it will cause both misunderstanding，down to cooperation failure. In interpersonal communication, everyone want to get other‟s respect，also needed in the business communication. Due attention and efforts should be given to the study of euphemism translation and more work needs to be done into this special filed. This is just an attempt into this filed and hope to shed some light into this special filed.In this paper, I introduced the history and definitions of euphemism, the four functions of euphemism, expression methods of Euphemism, translation stratigies of euphemism. Euphemism and euphemisticexpressions are very extensive in application of business English. Almost involve all fields and commercial activities of transaction process each link. For example，in international trade，from start to establish contact of inquiry，quotation, offer， counter-offer to shipment，insurance, credit investigation，payment etc，can use a large number of euphemistic expressions.BibliographyBaker ，mona .2000. In Other Words: A Course book on Translation [M]. Beijing: ForeignLanguage Teaching and Research Press.Enright ，D.J. 1985. Fair of speech: the Use of Euphemism [M]. 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