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英语委婉语的特点[摘要]委婉语(Euphemism)源于禁忌语(taboo)，是人类语言中的一种普遍现象。
作为人际交往的润滑剂，委婉语从一个侧面反映了社会的价值观和崇尚心理，是人们在语言使用中协调人际关系的重要手段。
本文从社会语言学的角度，对委婉语的定义、特点作了扼要的分析和阐述。
[关键词]委婉语禁忌特点一、引言委婉语作为语言中的一种普遍现象，长期以来一直受到众多语言学家和学者的关注。
他们从修辞学、心理学和语言学等角度对其进行研究并取得了丰硕成果。
但是，语言的研究绝不能离开其赖以生存的社会和文化语境。
本文拟在前人研究的基础上，试从社会语言学的角度对委婉语进行剖析。
通过以上对委婉语定义的介绍，主要分析其特征。
二、委婉语的特点1.普遍性和多样性委婉语广泛存在于世界各民族语言中，其使用范围极为广泛，从国际政治事务、教育、经济、文学作品、乃至人们的日常生活，委婉语可谓渗透到社会生活的方方面面。
美国学者休•劳森（Hugh Rawson，1974）曾说：“委婉语如此深地植根于语言中，几乎没有人——包括那些自诩言谈最为直截了当的人——能有哪一天不使用委婉语的”。
受时间、空间和很多社会因素的影响，委婉语存在许多变异形式。
在不同的领域中，有不同形式的委婉语。
由于使用者的性别、年龄和社会地位不同，委婉语的使用也各不相同。
对同一话题，会有许多种委婉语可供选择。
例如，几乎在所有的社会中，人们都把死亡看得非常神秘，也非常忌讳说“死”。
因此，无论在何种文化中，人们总是寻求一些不伤及感情或中性的词汇来表达它。
在英汉两种语言中都有许多替代说法。
汉语中“死亡”的委婉语因阶级、地位、等级、身份、对象、方式等方面的不同而不同。
同一个禁忌话题，在英汉语中的委婉需要和习惯是不同的。
汉语中“死”的委婉语可代表不同身份、性别、年龄人物的不同死法以及死亡的不同方式等，足见汉语委婉语的细腻丰富。
英语中则没有分得如此细，不过英语中也有多种说法来描述死亡这个话题，如：be gone，be among the missing，be no more（再不存在了）等。
汉英禁忌语一、禁忌语和委婉语语言禁忌 (Language Taboo)，语言禁忌源于人类最初对自然现象和自然力的困惑和误解。
早在远古时代，人们因对日月交替风雨雷电、火山地震以及人和物的生老病死等自然现象和自然规律不理解，故幻想创造了神，认为神是万物的主宰、祸福的根源。
因此，神灵不可亵渎，与神灵有关的东西都应被尊为灵物，被列为禁忌，不可冒犯。
英语中，God(上帝)、Satan(魔王撒旦)等均有婉称，汉语中有国讳、圣讳、官讳或家讳。
疾病与死亡为人之大忌，无论是东方人，还是西方人，都十分忌讳疾病与死亡，所以在交际时都尽量回避这些字眼，以婉言称之。
禁忌语（taboo）是人们多数情况下不能说或不想说的话。
禁忌语多是与身体某些器官及功能或与宗教，崇拜有关，包括脏话（obscene）、粗俗语（vulgar）、和仵犯神灵的话（profane）。
禁忌语可以不用，可话不能不说，意思不可不表达，因而出现了大量的委婉语来代替禁忌语。
二、英语中委婉语英语中委婉语（euphemism）一词源自希腊语。
前缀“eu”的意思是“good”（好），词根“-phemism”意为“speech”（言语），合起来意思是“word of good omen”（吉言或好听的说法）。
委婉语是人类语言中普遍存在的一种语言现象，广泛应用于社会生活的各个方面。
由于语言交际是人类赖以维系社会关系和人际关系的重要手段，因此人们在交际中通常避免使用引起双方不快从而损害双方关系的语言，而采取迂回曲折的语言来表达思想、交流信息。
因此，委婉语自产生之日起，就担负着“润滑”交际的重任。
“如果没有委婉语，世界的运转会因摩擦而停止，人间将充满仇怨”。
正如美国学者Hugh Rawson 所描述的那样，委婉语“如此深深地嵌入我们的语言，以至我们中间没有谁——即便是那些自诩言谈直截了当的人——能够在不使用委婉语的情况下过完一天的”。
(一)有关“死亡”的委婉语人们生活中最忌讳的就是死亡，因此语言禁忌中关于死亡的委婉语大量存在。
一、委婉语的定义 汉语对委婉语的研究主要在修辞学的范畴内进行,陈望道先生在《修辞学发凡》中分设“婉转”和“避讳”;王力先生主编的《古代汉语》中对“委婉”的解释是:“在封建社会里说话有所顾忌,怕得罪统治阶级,以致惹祸,所以说话时,往往是委婉曲折地把意思表达出来。
”郭锡良主编的《古代汉语》中的界定是:“不直言其事,故意把话说得含蓄、婉转一些,叫做‘委婉语’。
”英语中的“euphemism”源自希腊语euphemisos,词头“eu”意思是“good orsoundingwell”,词干“pheme”意思是“speech orsay-ing”;“euphemism”的意思是“the substitution of anagreeable or inoffensive expression for one thatmayoffend or suggest something unpleasant”,从而形成“words ofgood speech”。
二、委婉语的分类 英语的委婉语一般可分为两大类:传统委婉语(traditional euphemisms)和文体委婉语(stylistic ephemisms)。
传统委婉语最早是随禁忌语的出现而出现的。
禁忌语( taboo)指“among people, somthingwith religion or custom regards as forbidden nto touched spoken of”(某些民族的宗教或社会习惯禁止触摸或提及的东西),某些事物的名称既已被列入禁忌范围,则必须用另一种语言形式来替代它,于是便产生了禁忌语,这些禁忌语包括生、老病、死各个方面。
另一种就是文体委婉语,亦称恭维话、溢美词,与禁忌并无关系,在交际过程中,为了表示礼貌、避免刺激,或是为了争取合作,有时候三、汉英委婉语的对比分析 (一)汉英委婉语的相同之处 无论汉语还是英语,委婉语的语用交际功能基本上是一致的。
Euphemisms and T aboo2008级4班吕佳佳There exists a close relationship between euphemisms and taboo. Taboo can be used as a criterion to judge whether a word is euphemisms or not. Taboos and euphemisms exist in every language. They play an important part in c ulture. Dealing with them appropriately enables us to successfully communicate. And euphemisms and taboo plays an important role in our daily life. Therefore it is necessary for people to have a clear view of some fundamental knowledge about them.No doubt, euphemism is a widely and frequently used figure of speech. As a hot research issue in the field of linguistics, it needs a concise and definite criterion to judge the scope of euphemism. Western linguists think the word “euphemism” comes from the Greek “eu”( meaning “good”) and “pheme”(meaning “speech” or “saying”), and thus it literally means “to speak with good words”. Later on, euphemism is defined differently and more precisely. As traditional western linguistics restricts euphemism study to the lexicon, euphemisms are, therefore, words or phrases in place of things considered to be rude or unpleasant.In simple terms, an euphemism is just a less explicit substitute for an explicit term or phrase. It manages to conceal the offending nature of the word or phrase, but still gets the meaning across. This has led to the birth of many satirical movies, shows and books t hat effectively use the art of “double meaning”phrases in an attempt to humor people.From a moral point of view, the person who produces this content has a responsibility to ensure that his content does not offend any particular person, least of all, children. For instance, talking about sexual intercourse openly in a movie is bound to have a bad effect on children, and this will greatly offend their parents. As an alternative, the birth of phrases like “to sleep with” or “to make love to”have found their way in popular culture, and they are less graphic and explicit indicators of the same action. Read more on grammar and composition.The word taboo was borrowed from the Tangan language, originally used in Polynesia with religious connotations. Now in sociolinguistics it refers to a prohibition on the use of, mention of, or association with particular objects, actions, or person.What is taboo or not taboo depends on the context. Some expressions denoting some body functions are avoided on formal occasions but quite normal in doctor-patient conversations when the patient complains about his physical problems to the doctor. Taboos and euphemisms are mostly culture-specific. What is taboo in one culture may not be so in another culture. It is a norm among English-speaking people not to ask about each other's income, but in Chinese culture there is no such a norm (though it is hard to predict whether there will be the same norm). In many cultures taboos and euphemisms are associated with religion and superstition. Taboos and euphemisms exist in all natural languages but what is taboo is culture-specific.Concerning about euphemisms and taboo, a large amount of information existed in different languages and cultures cause much anxiety to people when they communicate with each other. In terms of this puzzling problem, adequate examples are needed to help people understand how they are appropriately used in different situations. The following examples illustrated can be fully to alleviate people‟s puzzle.One of the most common euphemism examples in the English language is the phrase “passed away” to refer to someone who has died. To simply say that a person has died could be viewed as offensive by some people, and therefore a politically correct way of saying this had to be thought of. This is something that people are sentimental about, and all measures must be taken so as to not offend somebody. Here are some humorous euphemism examples for you.The most common euphemism examples for kids are found in the realm of movies and cinema, and most filmmakers have even adopted this technique and made it beneficial for themselves. Movies like “Scary Movie” and shows like “Southpark” regularly make use of euphemisms to denote something explicit, but make a parody out of it at the same time. This glossary of literary terms will teach you more about such tools.Euphemisms are terms used to refer to things or actions which soften the name they are usually called. Usually it is a positive word to cover some harsh, unpleasant reality. For example, when someone dies, we often say they are sleeping, have passed away, etc. When they work, euphemisms may change the way we think about or see the thing named. This may be good. If asking about a loved one who has “passed away” gives some sense of peace to the person who loved him/her, then surely it is a useful term which both protects feelings and shows our respect and concern.However, sometimes euphemisms are used to impress or worsen, to hide something that we really should know, to mislead and deceive. For example, the military uses many euphemisms to hide the dark reality of war. In “The World of Doublespeak,” Willia m Lutz tells us that the military calls killing the enemy “servicing the target” and tried to get funding for the neutron bomb by calling it an “enhanced radiation device” (Language Awareness, p.60). In Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk, media professor Neil Postman derides the term “Operation Sunshine” which the U.S. government gave to some experiments it once conducted with the hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific. He sees this euphemism as morally wrong.Postman warns us, however, that people who avoid the use of euphemisms in favor of more “earthy” language are not necessarily speaking more honestly or plainly. “To ask where the …shithouse‟ is, is no more to the point than to ask where the …restroom‟ is. But in the difference between the two words, there is expressed a vast difference in one‟s attitude toward privacy and propriety”.A euphemism is the use other words or phrases instead of the words required by truth or accuracy. That is, people don‟t say directly wh at they mean due to politeness. For example, blind people are sometimes called “sight-deprived” and old people are often called “senior citizens.” The euphemistic “sight-deprived” and “senior” are usedto avoid offense — people may feel hurt when they are described as old or blind.In fact, a euphemism is a kind of indirect speech. In such speech the speaker gets the listener to understand what he really means according to the shared background information. When someone says, “Could I ask where the restroom is” he does not mean to ask a question. It is a request. The speaker makes this request indirectly with a question to say that he wants to use the toilet.In the English language, the most obvious taboos are not religious or superstitious concepts but have to do with some private parts of the body, some functions of the body, private matters (such as income), distressing things (such as crisis and unemployment), and death. When euphemisms are in use for some time, speakers may not be aware of them. Many English expressions still in use are euphemistic, such as developing countries, the underprivileged, economic recession, mentally retarded, etc. In fact, euphemisms are in flux. The word crisis was replaced by depression, which in turn was replaced by recession.A taboo is something forbidden by religions, laws, morals or society and it is a common social phenomenon of every nation. In Western countries many people consider the date the thirteenth or Friday to be unlucky. This has its roots in religion. According to the Bible, Judas, who betrayed his master, Christ, was the thirteenth person at Christ‟s last supper. And Friday was said to be the day Jesus was crucified.It is also a taboo to ask somebody about private matters such as money, their age and health. There is also a body language taboo. Taking the distance in social conversation for example, unless they know each other well, British and American people dislike being too close to each other while talking. Westerners of the same sex also do not hold hands, as many people in China do.With the devel opment of society, people‟s living standards have improved a lot. Thus, it is completely necessary for us to master some knowledge about euphemisms and taboo, and to know when and where to use them appropriately to communicate with each other. The proper use of them can help build a harmonious relationship among people and a respect between each other.In English is also often used to cover some of the more serious social problems such as poverty, crime, etc., for example: debt (in debt) has been called the money was ahead of its time (cash advance), or in difficulty (in difficulties) ; an unemployed mother (unemployed mother) is called welfare mother (the mother receiving welfare payments). High crime rate in today's society, also appeared in many related euphemism, especially in highly euphemism care of juvenile offenders, such as juvenile delinquents has been underplayed as problem children. Can not easily say that they are in prison, or their parents will be unhappy, so that they are in the adjustment center (adjusted education Center), more ridiculous is that they enjoy the government's expense (government spending).Euphemism meaning because there is a certain degree of ambiguity (vagueness), in communication is often used to disguise the speaker would not directly say something. Therefore, in order to take into account the social dignity of others, for some negative people and things not directly answered, but the use of a more circuitous in answering the vague term would not be weakened, thereby reducing thefriction to maintain good interpersonal relationships, play an active role. Euphemism of this positive feature is very important, especially prominent in the education sector, teachers evaluate the students used positive language to replace the negative term. For example, in English class, when a student has answered questions raised by the teacher, if the tenant is not properly answered, the teacher will not be immediately given a negative response. But that of a “not bad”, so the one hand, to encour age students to continue their efforts, on the other will enhance the confidence of the students to strive for the next step forward.In our actual life, we know that some harsh, blunt, unpleasant offensive and taboo things or acts should not be expressed directly in our daily life. So it is very important for us to know how to avoid these linguistic taboos. Most linguistic taboos can be avoided by the employment of euphemisms. In other words, euphemism is a means of expressing the words or things that are prohibited.Through the above analysis, we can have a preliminary understanding about the euphemisms and taboo. Therefore, in our actual life, we can build a harmonious relationship with others by appropriately using them. And thus it can improve a more harmonious society.。
英汉语言交流中的禁忌语及委婉表达一、引言语言是人类社会中客观存在的特有的社会现象，是某一社会群体约定俗成的、通过学习获得的一种符号，是人们用来交流思想的工具。
语言和实物没有必要的联系。
然而，在远古时代，人类对自然现象缺乏科学的认识，不能够合理解释某种反常的自然力，语言就被赋予了它本身原本没有的超自然力量。
人们迷信语言有一种超常的魔力，能够给人类带来幸福和灾难，以至将语言所代表的事物和语言本身画上符号，于是，产生了语言的禁忌。
禁忌(taboo) 是人类社会普遍存在的一种复杂的文化现象，它存在于世界上已知的各种文化之中，无论是原始部落，还是高度文明的社会，无论在中国还是在西方，语言禁忌都普遍存在。
禁忌是人们对某些言行的自我限制，它不仅来源于人们对某种神秘力量的畏惧，而且也包含着人们在与大自然作斗争中长期积累的经验。
禁忌文化主要包括：社交禁忌，公共场合禁忌，饮食禁忌，节日禁忌，送礼禁忌，宗教禁忌，颜色禁忌，数字与日期禁忌，动植物禁忌等。
禁忌无处不在、无所不有，小至衣食住行、社会交往，大至政治、外交、文化等活动都有禁忌的身影。
二、语言禁忌现象文化传统使各种语言形成了各自的语言禁忌。
在汉文化中，姓名称呼方面的禁忌有着独特的历史发展轨迹。
例如，中国封建社会对君主的名字严加忌讳，唐代为避太宗李世民之讳把世改成代，把民改成人。
旧时对父母的名字也要避讳，唐朝大诗人杜甫，一生留下1400 首诗，却无一句涉及海棠花，因为他的母亲名海棠，正如他避父名“闲”之讳，诗中没有一个“闲”字。
因此，在中国，晚辈对长辈、下级对上级、学生对老师，决不能直呼其名，否则，会被视为唐突无礼、缺乏教养、大逆不道。
而在西方，除了某些特定工作头衔，如：教授、医生、博士、法官等外，一般是直呼其名，这反倒让人觉得亲切、友好和自然，就连父母与子女之间也是如此。
个人隐私在西方国家里也是人们最大的忌讳。
因此，在与西方人交流中，打听、询问关于个人的年龄，财产、收入、恋爱婚姻、宗教信仰、政治倾向等一些私事，即是用另一种方式侵犯了别人的隐私权。
浅谈英语委婉语的特点及应用中文摘要在任何一个社会中，总有些不能直截了当说出来的话。
在人们交际的过程中，有些词语使人尴尬，惹人不快，招人讨厌或令人害怕，如果直接表达出来会给人一种粗俗、轻浮、无礼的印象。
因此在一些场合为了避免难堪，或减轻对人的感情伤害，人们创造了委婉语。
在西方社会文化生活中，在很多领域，人们广泛地使用着委婉语，这和世界上多数地区是一样的。
本文介绍了委婉语同禁忌语的关系，委婉语对语境的依赖性，着重介绍了英语委婉语的特点及在各个领域的应用，并探讨了人们使用这些委婉语的原因。
关键词：英语委婉语；禁忌语；语境；特点；应用AbstractIn every society there are certain things that are supposed to be unspeakable. A fair number of words make someone embarrassed、unhappy、dislike or fear when used in communication. If we express the meaning in the direct way, we will make such impression which is vulgar, frivolous, and impolite. In order to avoid the embarrassment or ease the sting of harsh words, man has created euphemisms. In western cultures, many of the fields that people tend to euphemize widely are not different from anywhere in the world. This paper introduces the relationship between euphemism and taboo and the dependence on the context. It mainly focuses on the characteristics and the application of English euphemism, and the causes of using euphemism.Key words: English euphemism; taboo; context; characteristics; applicationI一．引言委婉语是人类社会中普遍存在的一种语言现象，是用语言来调剂人际关系的一个重要手段。
英语委婉语的分类及使用原则摘要：按照认知语言学的观点，委婉语不仅是语言的词语表达方式，同时更是一种脱离自然语言而独立存在的一种思维交际手段。
要正确使用英语委婉语，必须了解和掌握英语委婉语的语义、表达方式及其使用原则。
关键词：英语委婉语；表达方式；使用原则委婉语通常指“用一种不能明说、能使人感到愉快或含糊的说法，代替具有令人不悦的含义或不够尊重的说法的表达方法”。
一、委婉语的分类1、从语义学角度分类，委婉语可分为正委婉语(positiveeuphemism)和负委婉语(negative euphemism)。
(1)正委婉语指语义上的扬升，即把原来“低的”、“差的”说成“高的”、“好的”，使原意变得雅致、温和，使其比它所代表的真实事物更体面、更重要。
这一类委婉语常用于下列情况：1)机关、行业的雅称。
机关：一些机关所从事的事业是人们常常避免直接提及的或听起来让人感到刺耳的，人们常用委婉语来代替。
如：madhouse婉称mental hospital或men-tal health；dead house称为funeral parlor等。
行业：为夸大行业的实力，使人产生信赖感，一些实力并不雄厚的小公司、小企业，竞相使用industry一词，使之成为冠冕堂皇的“某某业”。
如garbage industry(垃圾清理业)、wonlen’s beauty industry(美容业)等。
2)职业的美称。
人们极力将地位低微的职业往上类比，对许多受歧视的职业冠以美称。
如“女佣人”(hiregirl)叫做domestic；“补鞋匠”(cobbler)称为shoe rebuilder等。
3)政治委婉语。
出于某种政治目的，用委婉语来掩饰某些事件真相。
如把工人“罢工”(strike)叫做industrial action或in-dustrial dispute；把“死刑”(death penalty)叫做capital punishment；把“侵略”agfftession闪烁其辞地称为potice action或involve-merit等。
