浅析中英语言禁忌
A Discussion of English and Chinese Linguistic Taboo
[Abstract] Language, as the carrier of culture, is created during the process of human beings‘ productive labor and serves as the tool of communication to convey the message between people. However, it has been endowed with magic and power in particular language acts. As the old saying goes, troubles come out of the tongue. Superstitious people think that the language itself can bring about fortune or misfortune so that taboos to restrict the use of language are created. Anyone who violates them will get punishment, whereas those who faithfully obey the restrictions of language taboo will get protection. Furthermore, linguistic taboos change with the development of society .The paper firstly analyzes the evolution of linguistic taboo. Secondly, it is indicated in the paper that linguistic taboo exists in almost every aspect of people‘s life and is a universal social phenomenon in China and Britain. Both Chinese and English cultures are in agreement about linguistic taboos such as pronunciation taboo, and vocabulary taboo. However, influenced by different cultural backgrounds, ideologies and the concepts of value, Chinese and English linguistic taboos also have differences, as is discussed in the paper from the aspects of taboo subjects, taboo numbers and names. At last, this paper puts forward two effective ways of avoiding taboo, that is, using euphemism and having a good knowledge of the taboo culture. And this discussion would help English learners improve their ability of cross-cultural communication and achieve better communicational effects.
[Key Words] linguistic taboo; evolution; similarities; differences
浅析中英语言禁忌
【摘要】语言是人们在活动过程中产生和发展起来的一种社交工具，其功能就是沟通信息，但在特定的语言行为中，却被赋予了它自身所没有的超人的感觉和超人的力量。社会成员竟认为语言本身能给人类带来某种吉祥或不幸，人为地设置了种种语言禁区。他们相信谁要是违背这些语言禁忌，谁就会受到应有的惩罚。反之，谁要是忠实遵循了语言禁忌的约束，谁就会得到相应的庇护和保佑。语言禁忌会随着社会的发展而变化。本论文首先论述了语言禁忌的演变，接着提出语言禁忌存在于人们生活的各个方面，是一种普遍存在的社会现象。在汉英两种语言中，有些忌讳是一致的。文中分析了中英语言禁忌在语音层面、词汇方面的相似性。但是由于汉英民族文化背景、意识形态、价值观念等的不同，中英语言禁忌的内容和形式也有一些差异，因此本论文还探讨了中英语言禁忌在私人话题、数字和命名称谓方面的互异性。这些异同和发展演进往往会给跨文化交际带来一些障碍，为此，有效避免使用禁忌语的方法主要是使用委婉语代替禁忌词，并充分了解异国的文化背景。希望本论文的研究能帮助英语学习者加深英汉两种语言和文化的理解，提高跨文化交际能力，避免交际失败，达到理想的交际效果。
【关键词】语言禁忌; 演变; 相似点; 不同点
1. Introduction
“It is manifested in language: persons, things and activities that are taboo should not be talked about or should be mentioned in a roundabout way in language. Words and expressions related to these social taboos are lin guistic taboos. ‖[1] The above definition shows that Linguistic taboo, as an integral part of language, is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a social phenomenon.
Like other parts of language, the origin of linguistic taboo is deeply rooted in the primitive social and cultural background and its change is greatly influenced by the development of human society in order to
satisfy human beings‘ needs for smooth communications. With the advancement of science and technology, many puzzles about the universe are solved, and with the increase of material wealth, human demands for spiritual civilization are also becoming higher. Evidently, linguistic taboos are a reflection of these social development and the value concepts and beliefs of the culture in which they are born. It exists in every aspect of people‘s life.
There are some similarities in English and Chinese linguistic taboo, but different cultures may not all agree on what is or is not a taboo in a specific context. So the differences also exist between English and Chinese linguistic taboo. A Lack of knowledge in this field or improper use of linguistic taboos may lead to misunderstandings, conflicts and other unknown serious consequences in the cross –culture communications which is increasingly frequent and wider now.
This paper intends to study the evolution of linguistic taboo, to analyze the similarities between Chinese and English linguistic taboo in pronunciation and vocabulary, and present the differences from the aspects of names, numbers as well as taboo subjects in both cultures. Last but not least, two effective ways are proposed to avoid linguistic taboos.
2. The evolution of linguistic taboo
The word taboo (also spelled as ―tabu‖, ―tapu‖ and ―kapu‖) was borrowed from Tonga, an island group in Polynesia, and its first recorded use in English was by Captain James Cook (1729-1779), a British navigator. He came to the Archipelago of Tonga during his explorations in the southern part of the Pacific Ocean. There he heard the word from the local people, which originally referred to persons, activities (including speech), or things under prohibition because they were considered, on the one hand, ‖sacred‖ and ―consecrated‖, and on the other, ―uncanny‖, ―dangerous‖ and ―unclean‖. He introduced i t into English in his description of his third voyage around the world in 1777.But taboo phenomena are not unique in Tonga. Instead, it has long existed in all cultures and language throughout the world. [2]
As we have mentioned above, linguistic taboo is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a kind of social phenomenon. The development of society has influenced the development of linguistic taboo. So if we want to reveal the whole picture of linguistic taboo, we must have a review of the history of li nguistic taboo. ―The evolution of linguistic taboo has generally experienced three stages according to the history of human society: the primitive superstitions stage, the feudal patriarchal stage, and modern democratic stage. But there is no explicit dema rcation line between three stages.‖[3]
2.1 The primitive superstitious stages
As we all know, In the primitive society, people didn‘t get to know well about nature, most natural phenomena such as lightning, thunder, storm, earthquake, were beyond the understanding of human beings. When these phenomena happened, they thought that certain supernatural creatures possessed great power. They thought that if they were loyal to these supernatural creatures, they would be safe or rewarded. If they acted against them, they would be punished severely. As a result, the primitive people created different kinds of gods. They held a strong religious conviction that these gods controlled the world that they were living in. So the first thing they did was to respect these gods through language. There is an example from the Seventh Commandment of the Ten Commandment in Bible ―You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name‖. [4]
In a word, the earliest linguistic taboo emerged as a result of the ignorance and superstition of the primitive people in ancient times.
2.2 The feudal patriarchal stage
Feudal society is rigidly stratified. A country of feudalism is usually controlled by the royals and sometimes together with those considered with great power given by god.
During the feudal times, people were not equal to the rulers and were suppressed by their superiors. The distinction between the upper and the lower classes was also reflected in the evaluation of the language used by them respectively. The words of upper class used were considered good and elegant while those used by the lower class were regarded as vulgar and indecent and should be avoided in the speech of ladies and gentlemen. For example, when referring to ‘出汗’, duchesses used the word ‘perspire’, but the female servants used ‘sweat’; when referring to ‘吐痰’,the former people used ‘expectorate’, but the latter used ‘spit’; As for ‘月经’, the former used ‘menstruate’, but the latter used ‘bleed’. The maxim “Horses sweat; men perspire; young ladies glow”more or less can reflect the stratified usage of words which have the same meaning in this period. [5] In China, during the feudal times, men usually play a dominant role in family. We can see it from the Chinese expressions “三从四德”,“三纲五常”etc. In order to strengthen their position and to prevent their subjects from violating them, the royals and kings put forward different kinds of prohibitions and bans. For instance, to show their authority and majesty, the name of the emperor and his ancestors should not be mentioned. At the same time, people always avoided speaking out their parents’names or even the characters in their parents’names. The old saying “古人闻父名而泣”can prove this point.
Most linguistic taboos during this period were put into effect by rulers in order to maintain their superior social position and keep the society under their control. However, some of them, because of their deep-rooted influence on people‘s mind, still remain in language even after the collapse of the social system 2.3 The modern democratic stage
In modern society, as a result of the development of science and technology, many natural phenomena are no longer mysterious. Human beings not only constantly improve their abilities to exploit the world where they are living through their great wisdom and knowledge, but also make efforts to explore the extraterrestrial world. Science has much more say in today‘s society. Thereby, the superstitious elements in linguistic taboos decrease while those reflecting spiritual civilization increase.
During such an open-minded period, people value freedom, equality and democracy very much. Many minorities struggle for equal rights with the majorities. As a result, linguistic taboos concerning racial discrimination arise. For example, in the United States, ―nigger‖ was widely used to call black people in the 1960s but now it is forbidden in normal interaction because such form of addressing shows contempt for the black and goes against the spirit of human rights.
I n addition, more and more women step outside their houses to work together with men. They don‘t want to depend on men any longer. However, the traditional ideas about women stifle the fulfillment of their abilities and they are often treated unfairly in work. This forces women to rise and fight for equalities with men and more and more men begin to learn to respect women, which will have an influential effect on the language. As a result, taboos on sexist language increase. Besides, in an era of peace, the relative stability of society and the fast pace of life, people don‘t bother much to avoid things in the objective world. Instead, they prefer living a pleasant and harmonious life. They enjoy spiritual entertainment very much, so they try to avoid those words and behaviors that may make others feel unpleasant to keep the harmonious relationship. Those professions that were looked down upon in the past are beautified now. The substitution of ―sanitation engineer‖ for ―garbage collector‖ is a good example fo r this.
As a whole, since the third stage, people today show more respect for science and technology and human right so that the superstitious and feudal elements in linguistic taboos tend to reduce while those reflecting the advancement of human society and spiritual civilization tend to increase.
3. The similarities between Chinese and English linguistic taboo
There are taboos for religion, sex, death, disease, social bias, etc in both Chinese and English cultures and
they are reflected in their respective language and become a kind of linguistic phenomenon. The similarities of Chinese and English linguistic taboo mainly embody in the following aspects:
3.1 In pronunciation
Both Chinese people and English people believe that saying words that imply misfortunes or disasters may bring them trouble, and they thought misfortunes can be prevented by replacing the words with homophones that have better meanings.
In China, many taboos have been caused by superstitions. In Shanxi province of China, there is a custom that mulberries can not be planted in front of the house and willows can not be planted behind the house, because the Chinese character “桑(mulberry)”sounds the same as “丧（mourning）and “柳（willow）”sounds the same as “绺”.They may indicate that there will be a funeral and something will be stolen.[6] Gamblers won’t say “书(book)”, because the Chinese “shu/书(book) sound the same with “shu/输(defeat)”. Chinese people will not present a clock as a gift in weddings or other ceremonies, because “clock”pronounces “zhong (钟)”, which has the same pronunciation as “zhong/终(end)”, meaning death in Chinese. Many other examples also can be found in Chinese. Some fisherman in South China avoid saying such word as “fan/翻(turn over)”or “chen/沉(sink)”and any other words with similar sounds. Some even change their surname “chen/陈”which sounds the same as “chen/沉”. It is said that the chopsticks people in the East use when having meals were originally called “zhu/箸”in ancient China. Since it had the same sound as “zhu/住（stop）”, it was replaced later by “kuaizi /筷子”since “kuai/筷”sounds like “kuai/快（quick）”. In western countries, there are also many such kinds of examples. W hen a word sounds the same as a taboo word, it needs changing into another expression. For instance, ―in earlier 18th century, the female in English and American countries always tried to avoid using the word ?arse(the bottom part of the body one sits on)‘, which was considered inelegant. So people called the animal ?ass‘ as ?donkey‘.‖[7] Another typical example is that ―fuck(a sail)‖, ―feck‖ or ―fack(fact)‖ are seldom used or even go out of use, because they pronounce the same as ―fuck‖. ―Ne aman made a conclusion that the reason why some words disappeared were related to the fact that their pronunciation are the same as some taboo words‖. [8]
3.2 In vocabulary
“Roughly speaking, taboo words in English fall into three types, namely obscenities, profanities and vulgarities‖.[9] Based on this classification, the part firstly analyzes the three types as follows:
3.2.1 In obscenities
Obscene words refer to words relating to sex in a shocking and offensive way. That is to say, obscene words may cause offence to the social moral principles. They usually go out of use in public occasion and cannot appear in literary language. These words are related to human beings sexual behaviors. In both English and Chinese, these words are to be avoided in polite conversations, because they may cause strong disapproval. In America, the Sexual Revolution in 1960s and 70s made people more open toward sex, but now words such as ―making love‖ and ―having sex‖ still seldom appear directly in writing, let alone in conve rsation. Western people are serious towards sex terms to a certain degree, so to speak.
The Chinese people also treat terms on sex seriously. Chinese people always use the expression of “作风问题”or“不正当关系”to show the immoral relationship between a man and a woman.
As we all know, pregnancy is a normal physiological phenomenon, but in daily life, people won‘t say it directly, as it is related to sex. If someone is pregnant, English people will say, ―she is expecting a baby‖ or ―she is in a family way‖. Simila r euphemisms can be found in Chinese “有喜了”, “行动不便了”.
3.2.2 In profanities
Profanities refer to religious words used in a way that shows a lack of respect for God or holy things. Religion is a fertile field of this type of taboo terms. A typical example is that Christian cannot refer to
God or God‘s name. ―The Ten Commandments forbid people to ?take the name of the Lord your God in vain‘. So it is considered very rude to say ?goddame‘ or ?goddamned‘‖. [10] The words such as ―God,‖ ―Jesus,‖ ―damn‖ and ―hell‖ etc, are considered holly and only properly used in religion. If they appear in daily communication, they will make people unpleasant and disgusted. So people always try to avoid using these taboo words directly. They would like to use their euphemisms ―Gosh,‖ ―Jeepers creepers,‖ ―dash‖ and ―heck‖. Some people also avoid referring to the devil, which is considered disrespectful. So they use ―the deuce‖, ―the dickens‖, ― old Nick‖ to substitute ― the devil‖.
We can find similar examples in Chinese. In religion, people use some complimentary address to refer to awesome gods, e.g. “大帝”, “大圣”, “佛陀(Buddha)”. Another example is that, tiger is regarded as the divine animal near the Changbai Mountain situated in the Northeast of our country. Therefore, there was the custom of “tiger is the god”in ancient times. People avoided calling the “tiger”directly and gave the tiger another name, “山君”or “山佛爷”.
3.2.3 In vulgarities
Both in English and Chinese the vulgar words are usually rude and offensive and bring about unpleasantness, anger or conflicts.
Swearwords in English are often called four-letter words, because most of them are short, and many are made up of four letters, e.g.: piss, shit, crap, fuck. ―These so-called four letter words are considered vulgar.‖ [11]
Swear words formed by employing some of the animals‘ names are vulgari ties too.
They are very improper expressions in most conversations, especially when there are male and female at the same time, such as ―bitch‖, ―cow‖, ―swine‖, ―pig‖ etc. ―The British Parliament has once published a word list. The words on the list are a busive and were unparliamentary expressions, such as ?cad‘, ?cheeky‘, ?liar‘, ?prevaricating‘, ?fascist‘ etc.‖[12] In general situation, even in daily communications, these vulgar words are considered taboo words.
In Chinese, there are also many similar sayings, such as “小兔崽子”, “羊巴羔子”, “狗娘养的”, “小王八”etc. These words are used to insult others. People always try to avoid using them in a normal and polite communication.
The evolution of linguistic taboo indicates that taboos involve in almost every field of life. Therefore the above three types of taboo words don‘t present a complete list of taboo terms and the author has found other types of taboo words in other references.
3.2.4 In terms concerning disease, death and physical disability
Either in English or in Chinese culture, disease, death, and physical disability may horrify people. So people don‘t like to mention these directly in conversation. Therefore, they are considered taboos.
In both English and Chinese, death is viewed as ―departing‖. In English, we can find man y euphemisms for death, such as ―go‖, ―depart‖, ―depart from this world‖, ―go to a better world‖, ―go the ways of all flesh‖, ―pass away‖ etc. In Chinese, we also can f ind similar euphemisms: “去了”, “离开了我们”, “辞世”, “去见马克思了”, “归西”,“升天”, “上路”etc. In both English and Chinese, death is compared to “sleeping”, “sleep”in English correspond to “正寝”，“长眠”，or“永眠”in Chinese.
Words denoting terrible disease are also sources of horror. In English, people don‘t like to talk about terrible disease or disease related to se xual organs directly. For instance, they use ―V.D‖ instead of ―veneral disease‖; use ―big C‖, ―long disease‖, or ‖terminal illness‖ to replace ―cancer‖. Abbreviations are often used to alleviate the shocking effect. For instance, SARS is used to substitute the terrible name ―Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes‖.
In Chinese, when we talk to a patient, we may say “你今天不舒服，别上班了”.Here, we use “不舒服”instead of “病”. As a soldier, we may say “挂彩了”instead of “伤”.
Mental illnesses are thought not to be mentioned directly. For example, when referring to a mental illness, we just say ―a little eccentric‖ or ―a little confused‖.
Either in Chinese or Western, people have sympathy for one‘s physical disability. If someone looks ugly, we will say she/he looks plain/ordinary and we won‘t use the word ―fat‖ to describe a man. We only use ―heavily set‖ or ―on the heavy side‖. If a girl is thin, we won’t use skinny. We just say slender, and when we refer to a crippled, we will say, “physically handicapped”. In Chinese, if one is deaf, we will say “耳朵背”, “耳朵有点不好”, “说话得近点”. In English, it is called “hard of hearing”.
3.2.5 In terms concerning parts or excretion of the body
In both cultures, people think that certain parts of the body and the excretion of body cannot be mentioned in daily conversations. They are often considered taboos.
For example, in English, there are so many euphemisms for lavatory, such as ―washroom‖, ―restroom‖, ―bathroom‖, ―comfort station‖. If they want to go to lavatory, they will say: ―go to the bathroom‖, ―do their business‖, ―answer nature‘s call‖. In Chinese,“厕所”is always avoided in public occasion, one may say :“去一号”or“去方便一下”..
3.2.6 In discrimination
“In recent years, there is a growing tendency to regard as taboo language that reflects a demeaning attitude towards certain social or ethnic groups. Racist language and sexist language, for example, are offensive to the social or ethnic groups discriminated against.‖ [13]
Discrimination against woman is a universal and unreasonable phenomenon in the society. And its reflection on language is sexist language. Both in English and Chinese, there are traces of sexist language. Unless one is careful enough with his/her speech, one may easily offend others unconsciously.
In China, under the control of strict hierarchy feudal society, the females were regarded inferior. They depend on male and were dominated by male. So the discrimination and prejudice against women is the long-term accumulation, which is inevitably reflected in Chinese. For example, the sayings “妇人之见”, “头发长见识短”, “男子汉不和妇人一般见识”, “长舌妇”, etc, reflect the pejorative attitude toward women. And there are also many derogatory titles for women, such as “贱人”, “泼妇”, “母老虎”, “母夜叉”, “娘儿们”，“悍妇”etc.
Since the Chinese women‘s social statuses have increased, these sayings are used much less frequently. The using of the scornful and pejorative words for women in public often gets criticism and resentment.
In English, there are also many sexist expressions. For example, a person of unknown sex is referred as ―he‖, or ‖him‖ rather than ―she‖ or ―her‖. A person who presides a meeting is the ―chairman‖, even if she is a woman. There are many other examples about it. ―cow‖ means ―(a) woman who has many children‖, ―mutton‖ means ―(a) dissolute woman‖, ―hen‖ means ―(a) woman who likes gossip‖, ―cat‖ means ―(a) malicious woma n‖, ―crone‖ means ―(an) ugly withered old woman‖ etc.
―Nowadays, perhaps as a result of the Woman‘s Liberation Movement in the 1960s and 70s in western countries, especially the U.S.A and socio-culture development, most native English speakers try to avoid sounding like a sexist.‖[14] For example, they change the word ―chairman‖ into ―chairperson‖, ―gentleman‖ into ―gentleperson‖. When referring to human beings, people begin to use ―humankind‖ or ― the human race‖ instead of ―man‖ or ―mankind‖.
―Racism i s the belief that certain human races are inherently inferior to others and racist language is that which shows a biased attitude towards certain racial or ethic groups.‖[15] In English, no matter intentionally or not, the following words are against black people and annoying them unsatisfied. For example, ―white‖ means ―pure‖, ―clean‖, ―benevolent‖, which have positive meaning. While ―black‖ is related to ―evil‖, ―wrongdoing‖, and ―dirty‖ such as ―blackguard‖, ―blacklist‖, ―blackmark‖etc. Besides, ―nigger‖and ―boy‖, for a black adult man, often have offensive meaning.
In Chinese, there is also racist language. For example, “using “蒙古大夫”for an incompetent doctors; using “小鬼子”for Japanese. “洋鬼子”,“大鼻子”for westerners.”[16] Most of these words are derogatory. It shows off that Chinese is more superior than other racial or ethic groups.
4The differences between Chinese and English linguistic taboo
Although there are many similarities in English and Chinese, different views about what is or isn‘t taboo can be found in two cultures. Differences between Chinese and English linguistic taboo embody the following aspects:
4. 1. In subjects
English people place a high value on privacy. ―The English have a saying ? A man‘s home is his castle, meaning a man‘s home is sacred to him; no one should come in without permission. So it is also with his life and personal affairs‘‖.[17] Chinese people often like to greet to others like ―Have you had a meal?‖ This common greeting indicates we begin our conversation with our a cquaintance, just as foreigners ask ―How nice the weather!‖ But the Chinese greeting will make the foreigners suspect that you want to invite him to join the dinner. Sometimes when we get together and talk naturally about these questions: ― How about your salary?‖ ―Are you married?‖, ―What do your wife/husband do?‖, ―How much is your skirt?‖ In this way, we express our care for our friends. Generally speaking, we never feel embarrassed about these conversations, but when we ask the westerners the same questions, they will think we may involve in their privacy. Annoyingly, in western countries, it is also improper to ask about other people‘s religious beliefs. ―Are you religious?‖ ―What is your religion?‖ ―Are you Catholic?‖ etc are questions that might be o ffensive to most English speakers. People don‘t like, especially female, others to ask them ―How old are you?‖, because they are very sensitive to their age. ―Even on a birthday call one may find the following congratulation: You may not like to be remind ed that you are a year older today, but that would not keep me from saying ?happy birthday!‘.‖ [18] But in contrast, there was no such concept of privacy in Chinese people‘s mind.
4.2 In numbers
In China, the number “4”and the word “死(death)”almost sound the same. People do not like the number “4”, because it reminds them of “death”. Among old people, they think “73”and “84”are two key ages. If you are 73 or 84 years old, you will die before the King of hell invites you. So many old people avoid talking their exact ages.
While in western countries, one of the most influential taboo numbers is 13. According to the story of ―The last supper‖: Judas, the person who betrayed Jesus, sat in the No.13 chair, therefore, Number thirteen i s universally considered to be unlucky. No door‘s number is thirteen; no hotel has the No.13 Room; they don‘t allow 13 people have dinner together. All in a word, they avoid number thirteen in every aspect. Ordinary people feel upset on 13th in every month. Therefore, thirteen became a taboo word in western countries.
Another number concerning taboo in western is Friday. It also has long been considered as an unlucky day. ―This taboo term affects people probably not only because they believe that Jesus Chr ist was put to death on the cross on Friday, but also because Friday is for many years the day of execution of criminals, commonly called ―hangman‘s day‖. [19]
Another striking contrast is that Chinese people like even numbers. For example, they say “好事成双”，“成双成对”。Chinese people especially like the even number “6”and “8”. The saying “六六大顺”can prove it . But in western countries, they like odd numbers. “The Roman poet Virgil says, ?The god delights in an odd number‘. In Shakespeare‘s play Merry wives of Windsor, Falstaff says, ?Good luck lies in odd numbers—‘ They say, ?there is divinity in odd numbers, either in nativity, chance or death.‘‖ [20]
4.3 In names
How to call others in verbal communication is very important. In Chinese, the ancestors’and the older generation’s names cannot be referred directly. For example, because the second name of Sima Qian’s father was “谈”. When writing the Historical Records，(Sima Qian changed “赵谈”into “赵同”and “李谈”into “李同”[21]) As a result , we cannot find such a Chinese character “谈”in the Historical Records. [22] But in the English culture, there are no such name taboos. The younger generation can refer the elder gene ration‘s name directly. It shows that they are equal, friendly and intimate. In the United States, many black people bear the name ―Lincoln‖, apparently after Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the country. English babies may be named after their grandparents or other relatives to show respect or to honor them. For example, ―the British Prime Minister Churchill‘s father was named Randolph. Churchill, and one of the Prime Minister‘s sons was also named Randolph. Churchill. The grandfather and grandson had the same name. The American president Franklin D. Roosevelt‘s son also had the same name with his father.‖ [23] This practice was quite different from Chinese culture which was characterized by a clearly delineat ed stratified society in which the names, for example, of one‘s relatives, one or two generations above, or officials, or other influential figures were taboos to the ordinary Chinese, no one dared to name his babies after them.
5 Ways of avoiding linguistic taboo
5.1 Using euphemism
From the above discussion, 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. (Euphemism refers to the use of pleasant, vague or indirect words or phrases to take the place of more accurate direct or taboo ones.) In other words, euphemism is a means of expressing the words or things that are prohibited.
Euphemisms are used almost in all fields of life. For example, when a judge gives the criminal a sentence, he will directly say: ―I hereby sentence you to five years in prison.‖ But the criminal h imself or his relatives will tell others: ―Somebody is sent to the big house.‖ for the purpose of saving face
At the same time, we must realize that language is alive and changing all the time. Influenced by the social psychology and its culture, euphemisms change constantly. A euphemism may quickly acquire the stigma of the word it replaced and becomes a taboo after people use it for a time. For example, there is a series of expressions about the word ―poor‖. ―At first I was poor, then, I became needy, lat er I was underprivileged. Now I‘m disadvantaged. I still don‘t have a cent to my name, but I sure have a great vocabulary.‖ [24] Another example is that, in American English, euphemisms for the word ―buttocks‖ are ―arse‖, ―ass‖, ―prat‖, ―can‖, ―tail‖, ―cheeks‖, ―caboose‖, ―fundament‖ and now the newest one is ―sitting-down place‖.
5.2 Having a good knowledge of the taboo culture
Language and culture rely on each other and influence each other. Languages are formed and develop under certain cultural background. Linguistic taboo is a kind of social phenomenon. Its existence and development are restricted and influenced by specific cultural background. Some words are prohibited in English; some words are banned in Chinese and some words are prohibited in both languages. As a result, if one wants to avoid violating taboos, he or she should have a good knowledge of what is or is not a taboo in this culture. For example, in China, the word ―old ‖ means ―experience‖ and ―wisdom‖. At the same time, Chinese people are influenced by the long-term concept of respecting the old and taking care of the young. Chinese people seem to like to address each other as “老（old）”,for example, “老爷爷”, “老奶奶”, “老林”, “老吴”, “老教授”. But English people always connect the "old" with "uselessness" and "death". Therefore, when contacting with English people, the saying of “somebody is old”should be avoided in
order not to arouse unpleasantness. For Example, we cannot call somebody “old Smith”or “old Brown”. Especially for women who are sensitive to age, no matter how old they are, we should not call them “奶奶”or “大娘”,though they are pleasant greetings in China. In English, expressi ons such as ―senior citizens‖, ―advanced in age‖, ―golden years‖ etc. are produced in order to avoid ―old‖.
A smooth cross-cultural communication greatly benefits from the good command of a foreign language‘s cultural background knowledge. It is hard to imagine a Chinese who has a poor knowledge of English taboo culture can intercommunicate with the English people smoothly and without offending them, and vice versa.
6. Conclusion
. In short, by comparison, we can find that both Chinese and English lingu istic taboos reflect people‘s psychology for good will, for safety and fortune and pleasantness. The Chinese and English people restrict their words and deeds through taboos, trying to keep a harmonious relationship between human and nature, or between people and society. Although the traditional linguistic taboos contain superstitions, ignorance and negative elements, the new taboos on racism bear posit ive features. They are a reflection of people‘s pursuit of freedom and equality. The author hopes that the discussion about linguistic taboos helps English learners improve their communicative competence and reduce miscommunications and conflicts in cross-culture communications.
References
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本科生毕业设计（论文）封面 （ 2017 届） 论文（设计）题目 作者 学院、专业 班级 指导教师（职称） 论文字数 论文完成时间 大学教务处制
英语原创毕业论文参考选题 一、论文说明 本写作团队致力于英语毕业论文写作与辅导服务，精通前沿理论研究、仿真编程、数据图表制作，专业英语本科论文5000起，具体可以找扣扣958035 640 ，下列所写题目均可写作。部分题目已经写好原创。 二、原创论文参考题目 1 哈克贝里·费恩与汤姆·索亚性格的对比分析 2 解析《紫色》中妇女意识的形成 3 A Contrastive Study on Meanings of Animal Words in English and Chinese 4 英语听力理解障碍及应对策略 5 浅析海明威《战地钟声》中的女性形象 6 《论语》中“孝”的英译——基于《论语》两个英译本的对比研究 7 中美鬼节文化的对比研究 8 9 伍尔夫的悲剧—电影《时时刻刻》观后 10 11 中西方餐桌礼仪文化对比 12 《尤利西斯》与《春之声》中意识流手法的不同 13 中西谚语的文化比较研究 14 《雾都孤儿》中的善与恶 15 高中英语课堂教学中的口语教学 16 跨文化交际中英语副语言的表现和交际功能 17 网络表情符号的分析 18 英语文化中的禁忌语 19 从适应与选择角度看公示语翻译方法 20 初中英语课堂反馈策略教学研究 21 A Brief Study of Bilingual Teaching in China－－from its Future Developing Prospective 22 浅析《红字》中丁梅斯代尔的挣扎 23 从托妮莫里森透析世纪黑人民族意识演变 24 论政治文本翻译中的译者主体性 25 边缘人群的孤独与无奈——对《夜访吸血鬼》中路易斯的研究 26 从后殖民女性主义视角分析《他们眼望上苍》 27 政治委婉语的取效性行为分析 28 中学英语教学大纲与课程标准的比较研究 29 从对立到和谐—解读伍尔夫《到灯塔去》的女性主义 30 浅析《伟大的盖茨比》中的爱情观 31 浅析短篇小说《我不再爱你》的荒诞性 32 苔丝悲剧原因探究 33 海明威文学创作中主题的转折点——《乞力马扎罗的雪》 34 中美礼貌语中的“面子文化”
汉英禁忌语对比分析 摘要：Taboo word(禁忌语)是一种非常普遍的语言现象, 存在任何一种文化，任何一个社会中。目前，中英两国人们之间的相互交流越来越频繁，在跨文化交际中，为了避免所谓的文化休克，因此了解哪些话语是被禁止的是十分重要的。英汉禁忌语在语言和词汇层面存在一定的相似性，但是不同的文化背景，不同的思维方式又导致了英汉禁忌语的迥异。为了提高人们的跨文化交际的能力，人们必须提高对禁忌语的了解，并且能够清醒的意识到在交流中避免使用禁忌语。 关键词：禁忌语不同点文化成因。 一、定义 在语言交际中，有一些词语是不能随便说的，说出来就可能会引起听话人的不快和反感，这就是语言学上所说的“禁忌语”。18 世纪英国航海家詹姆斯库克(James Cook) 首先发现了汤加群岛居民的这种禁忌习俗（taboo）,并将该词引入英语,并被全世界各民族人民使用。顾名思义,所谓禁忌语就是在日常生活或工作中禁止人们说某种话,或忌讳人们说某种话。 二、禁忌语的演进 原始时代——愚昧（ignorance）,在人类社会的初始阶段,由于人类认识水平的低下与征服自然能力的不足, 人们往往对自然现象和自然力不能理解甚至困惑、恐惧。作为交际工具的语言被赋予一种它本身所没有的、超人的感觉和力量。人们竟以为语言本身能给人类带来幸福或灾难, 以为语言是祸福的根源。他们盲目的崇拜迷信语言的力量, 认为谁要是得罪这个根源, 谁就得到加倍的惩罚; 反之则得到庇护。这样就自然而然的促成了禁忌语的产生。封建时代——偏见 (p rejudice）, 中西方社会的封建时代都以等级森严著称,统治者与被统治者之间有严格的界限, 黎民百姓的言语都要受到限制, 他们不允许使用上级的所谓高贵语言表达, 否则会招致杀身之祸。于是, 禁忌语随之产生了。现代社会——民主（democracy）,随着科学技术的飞速发展, 人类对自然界及社会各方面的认识大大提高。现如今,人们愈来愈注重人类的和谐相处与共同发展, 愈来愈追求平等和自由。因此, 现在很多带有歧视意味的词语逐渐消失或被其它词所代替。如“黑鬼”一词现在就很少使用。 三、禁忌语的对比 （一）英汉禁忌语的相似性 中西文化之间存在共性, 虽然英语和汉语隶属于不同的文化背景,但是通过比较可以发现, 英汉禁忌语言存在诸多共同特性。 1、语音层面： 语言是人类用来交际的工具，但是在原始时代，语言被赋予神秘的力量，人们认为语言是人类一切祸福的根源。因此中西方人民普遍把你些与有灾难意味的词语发音相同或相似的词语当作禁忌语，在交流中尽量避免使用，以免给自己或别人带来灾难。例如，在中国, 人们送礼时十分忌讳把“钟”作为礼物, 因为, 送“钟”和送“终”是同音词, 而生死离别被认为是人生最可悲的遭遇。实际上还
Ξ语言禁忌的社会心理界说 陈丛耘 (南京师范大学 文学院,江苏 南京210000) 摘 要:禁忌包括语言禁忌是一种什么现象?学术界有灵力说、欲望说、仪式说、教训说。本文提出第五语 言禁忌观,认为语言禁忌是一种社会心理现象,并从语言禁忌的特征、功能和性质,语言禁忌的流变,语言禁忌社会心理诱因四个方面加以证明。 关键词:语言;禁忌;社会心理 中图分类号:H0-05 文献标识码:A 文章编号:1008-293X (2006)04-0060-04 一、第五语言禁忌观的提出 禁忌包括语言禁忌是一种什么现象?目前,学术界有以下四种看法: 灵力说。灵力即玛那(mana ),玛那是源于大洋州的一个人类学术语,指事物或人所体现出的超自然的力量,汉语中的对译词是灵力。灵力说认为,在禁忌的原始状态,事物有一种超人的神秘力量,由于对这些事物产生了崇敬感和畏惧感,于是就产生了禁忌。 欲望说。欲望是人的本能,但是社会的人在心理上要对欲望进行某种抑制,这种抑制便是禁忌的根本来源。仪式说。禁忌是一种社会制约,最初的社会制约是从仪式中表现出来的,仪式代表了一种非理据性的社会规定性,包括禁忌在内,它虽然具有人为性,而一旦形成后就有了不可抗拒的约束力量,人们出于社会化的需要,往往不去认真考察它的合理性,而只是绝对服从,并依靠社会的、宗教的、宗法的威力传承下去。 教训说。早期人类由于科学不发达而愚昧,对某种偶然的因素往往容易形成共同的误解,产生不良后果以致形成教训,因此禁忌由此产生。 目前流行的这四种说法从不同的角度对禁忌作了不同的解释。灵力说是从人类信仰发展史方面对禁忌的认识。欲望说是从普通心理学的角度对禁忌的缘起所作的界说。仪式说是从社会学的角度对禁忌的由来所作的解释。教训说是从认识论的角度对禁忌的产生所作的说明。它们虽各具影响力,但难免偏于一隅。 对禁忌的解释除了以上四种学说之外,还可以用“社会心理说”加以解释。我们认为禁忌是一种社会心理现象。 二、来自语言禁忌特征、功能和性质的证明 1.语言禁忌的特征 危险性特征。大凡禁忌都具有一定的危险性,这种危险性与禁忌的事物所具有的灵力的大小成正比,灵力大的事物危险性就大,灵力小的事物危险性小,以人名的禁忌而言,冒犯皇名和冒犯父名,前者的危险性比后者大,因为在人们的心理上,皇上比家父具有的灵力要大得多。 惩罚性特征。违反禁忌者要受到惩罚,这是普遍的社会心理。这种惩罚可以是物质的也可以是精神的,由于远古的人类对自然力无法解释和思想愚昧,他们往往将违禁者受到的惩罚与鬼神的观念结合在一起,在心理上认为惩罚的实施是由禁忌的事物用超人的神秘的灵力来完成的,如“现世报、身后报、来世报”之类反映因果报应的语词只是说明了惩罚的时间差异,并没有否认惩罚的心理存在。禁忌惩罚与犯忌触禁者所具备的反灵力能力的大小成反比,反灵力弱的受到的惩罚就重,反灵力强的受到的惩罚就轻,反灵力能力的强弱可以是实体的、有形的,也可以是精神的、无形的。反灵力能力的强弱决定于人们在心理上对灵力的信任程度,而信任程度又取决于当时科学技术水平和认识世界的能力。 赐福性特征。人们认为禁忌的事物不仅具有危险性和惩罚性,同时还存在着赐福性特征。禁忌的事物可第26卷第4期2006年8月 绍 兴 文 理 学 院 学 报JOURNA L OF SH AOXI NG UNI VERSITY V ol.26N o.4Aug.2006Ξ收稿日期:2006-05-25 作者简介:陈丛耘(1957-),女,江苏通州人,南通农业职业技术学院副教授,现为南京师范大学汉语言文学专业05级硕士研究生。
英汉禁忌语和委婉语在英汉互译中的处理技巧分析 . 第卷第期兰州交通大学学报 试眦 年月∞ . .... 文章编号:枷. :./.遗 英汉禁忌语和委婉语在英汉互译中的处理技巧分析 胡绍廷 兰州交通大学外国语学院,甘肃兰州 摘要:任何一种语言,都是英文化的戢体,都各有其语言禁忌和由此产生的禁忌语和委婉语。英汉两种语言在禁 忌语和委婉语的使用上存在着相似之处,又有所不同。本文尝试对英汉禁忌语和委娩语的异同之处进行对比分 析,并在此基础上提出,在英汉互译中,对于禁忌语和委婉语的翻译可以采用直译:意译、套译和加注翻译等四种处 理技窍,以期有助于译者在翻译实践中更准确地传达原文的信息和文化内涵,从而使读者能跨越语言和文化差异 的鸿沟,成功地实现交际的目的。 关键词:禁忌语;委婉语;对比分析;翻译技巧
中图分类号: 文献标志码: 即是产生于人类对自然认识的局限性,其中一些逐渐成为根引言 植于人类文化中的风俗,人们在交际中都应该遵守。在日常交际中,当人们不得不涉及那些受到禁忌的行为或语言时, 任何一种文化,任何一种社会,都存在语言禁忌,而委婉 为了避免直接提及,人们寻找另外一些词语或说法来暗示或是禁忌心理的产物,委婉语和禁忌语休戚相关。为了使交际代替它们。委婉语即是用来暗示或代替这些禁忌词语的成双方均能接受,保证交际的和谐顺利,在人们的交往中,一些分,在英语中Ⅱ。咖”。。”一词源于希腊 属于禁忌的事物的名称就必须改头换面,以一种相对得体、文,从词源上说,即或、盹好;锄即能 高雅的名称出现,人们对犯忌讳的事物或避而讳之或委婉言话,整个单词的意思就是好听的话,即。融 之,于是产生了委婉的修辞手法。禁忌语及其相应的委婉语啪耐”,有时还被称作美化词“、Ⅳ”。 这一语言现象在各民族语言中普遍存在,在语言交际中不可在人们的交往中,哪些行为或语言受到禁止或可以接 避免。英语与汉语两种语言在禁忌语和委婉语的使用上有受,因所处的文化背景或历史时期的不同而不同。下面就对着诸多相似之处,同时,也由于两种语言在历史背景、生活环
龙源期刊网 https://www.doczj.com/doc/dd14726671.html, 英汉禁忌语的对比研究 作者：余真 来源：《西部论丛》2018年第09期 摘要：禁忌语不仅是一种口头表达，而且是反映某一特定文化价值观的社会现象。中西 之间的交流和合作越来越频繁，但在对外交流与合作中，由于双方文化的不同导致了一些禁忌语的差异，从而对对外交流产生消极影响。所以，对英汉禁忌语进行对比研究是我们当前的重要任务之一。 关键词：禁忌语；特征；差异 禁忌语是指人们在社会生活中受到本民族文化传统和社会风俗的影响，对不能直接谈及的人、事、物及相关活动采取规避的词语表达出来的语言。禁忌是人类社会广泛存在的文化现象，学术上称为“taboo”，大意是“犯忌讳的话及行为”或者“应该要十分注意的事。” 英汉文化中的禁忌语都有其特殊的起源，并且在各自的文化当中体现出来，成为一种常见的社会现象。本文主要通过英汉禁忌语的对比仔细探讨它们的特征、差异以及正确规避禁忌语的措施。 一、禁忌语的特征 （一）普遍性 禁忌语贯穿人类社会发展的始终，其历史来源也较为悠久，各个民族和国家都存在着一定的禁忌语。它存在各国文化之中，其存在和发展具有普遍性，与人们的生活息息相关。它不但存在于各社会形态中，也存在于各国家中，由于语言禁忌的存在，人们受强制性心理支配，“不许说”某些语言，从而产生禁忌。 （二）特殊性 不同民族和国家之间的文化价值观念、文化思维方式以及文化背景等的不同，就导致了不同民族和国家之间的语言差异，禁忌语就是一个典型的例证。在人们交往的过程中，因为对不同国家间的禁忌语不了解，使人们对同一语言存在着完全相反的看法，语言误解、观念冲突、观点分歧也就由此产生。 （三）因时而变 语言是一定社会习俗约定的产物，它有一定的稳定性，但是世界是物质的，物质是运动的，语言也不例外，它会根据时代的变化和发展做出相应的调整。因此，禁忌语在不同时代也会做出相应的变化。 二、英汉禁忌语的差异
—94—2004年5月上海大学学报（社会科学版）May,2004第11卷第3期Journal of Shanghai University(Social Science)Vol.11 No.3语言禁忌现象的社会语言学考察吕效东（北京新亚研修学院，北京100085）摘要：语言禁忌是一种常见的社会语言现象，渗透到社会生活的方方面面。汉语语言文字的特点对语言禁忌的发展产生了独特的影响，中国的文学传统进一步强化了语言魔力在人们心目中的影响。语言禁忌反映了人们对语言符号功能的认识，大脑的联想机制强化了汉语中以谐音为主要联想基础的语言禁忌的形成。在跨文化交际过程中，语言禁忌的问题往往会成为影响交际顺利进行的一个重要因素。关键词：语言禁忌；语言符号；联想机制；社会文化；社会语言学中图分类号：HO-05文献标识码：A文章编号：1007-6522(2004)02-0094-04语言禁忌在许多人看来是一种迷信现象，但是它与通常所指的信仰神仙、鬼怪、星占、卜筮、风水、命相等的迷信现象有很大的不同。语言的“魔力”几乎影响着每一个人的生活，它无处不在。“说凶即凶”，“说祸即祸”这种将语言的魔力夸张到极致的思想意识自古以来就深入人心。在当代科学思想已经大为普及的情况下，尽管大多数人对说神弄鬼之类的迷信活动已经失去了兴趣，但是在日常生活中，在使用语言的时候，往往还会小心翼翼，以免触犯某些不该触犯的东西。即便是一个百分之百的无神论者也会受到语言禁忌的影响。一个人可以不相信语言的“魔力”，但是他必须尊重全社会对语言“魔力”的畏惧心理，在最大程度上避免触犯语言禁忌，否则将受到整个社会的排斥。鲁迅（《野草·立论》）笔下那个不通人情世故的客人在别人家的孩子满月的时候说出了一句大实话：“这孩子将来要死的”，结果遭到了大家一顿合力的痛打。究其原因其实很简单，他严重地触犯了语言禁忌。在我们的日常生活中也经常听到有人说：某某人说话特别不中听。通常来说“不中听”并不是说的话内容不对，而是说话的方式方法、遣词造句有问题，具体分析起来往往也是犯了听话人的忌讳。比如，一个人就怕别人说他胖，可是偏偏就有人说“你怎么好像又胖了一点”，说话者想要表达的是一种关心，而这种关心所能带来的大概是听话者的满腔怨愤。语言禁忌现象在社会生活中非常常见，有些已经渗透到我们的灵魂深处，以至于我们并不认识到这是一种禁忌的表现。比如对于西方人对自己的父辈、祖辈直呼其名的作法，大多数中国人都觉得很新鲜，但至少在中国人相聚的场合，如果一个中国孩子对自己的长辈这样做的话，即便不立刻被大人斥责的话，也一定会让在场的人摇头叹息，认定这个孩子实在是太缺乏家教了。为什么会有这样的感觉呢？为什么在西方社会观念强力冲击下，一些父母对孩子们的“性解放”行为能够容忍，对称呼这样的事情却不能释然于心呢？应该说，这是“家讳”这种古老的禁忌习俗遗留至今造成的心理影响。中国古老的家族礼法规定在日常言谈或使用文字时，要求回避父、祖及所有长辈的名字，这就叫家讳。俗话说“子不言父名”，就是这种习俗的表现。在几千年的封建历史中，这种“避讳”的现象可以说比比皆是。司马迁的父亲名“谈”所以在著《史记》过程中就忌用“谈”字，苏东坡祖父名“序”，为避祖讳，他给人作序时一律用“叙”字；曹雪芹笔下的林黛玉，在提到母亲的名讳“敏”字时，总是说成“密”。这种习俗不仅表现在家庭生活中，收稿日期：2003-12-10作者简介：吕效东(1963-)，男，北京新亚研修学院教师。—95—在政治生活中的表现更是突出，如果犯了皇家的名讳是欺君大罪，甚至会带来灭门之灾；政府官员也把自己的名讳看作不可触犯的禁区，因此出现了“只许州官放火，不许百姓点灯”的政治笑话。在封建社会中，这种家讳礼法甚至得到政府律法的保护，唐代律法就有这样的规定：凡所居官职名称犯父、祖名讳的，可以申请改任其它职务。忌言长辈名讳只是诸多语言禁忌中的一个较为典型的语言禁忌现象，尽管在现代社会中，这种现象已经淡化了许多，以至于大多数人并不能意识到中国人不习惯直呼自己长辈姓名是长期以来家讳禁忌习俗的影响。除了称谓方面的禁忌之外，岁数、属相也是一种普遍的禁忌内容。很多地方流行提前一年给老人过整数寿诞的做法，起因可能是想借用这种方式迷惑阎王小鬼，帮助老人跨过整数这个坎。由于有“七十三、八十四，阎王不请自己去”的说法，许多地方的老人不过这两个生日，甚至在寿诞之日连这两个数字也
中英禁忌语比较 禁忌语是语言的一部分，而语言又是社会现象的的重要组成部分，所以禁忌语也是学习社会文化的一种工具。禁忌语就是指在日常交际中所不能涉及到的特有话题，可以说凡是在交往和公共场合中那些引起对方或公众反感或不快的一些词或表达方式都属于禁忌语的范畴。通过对比分析英汉两种语言中禁忌语的异同之处，能深刻地理解东西方不同的文化内涵和价值观念，能帮助我们更准确地理解和使用英语，有助于跨文化交流的成功，对对外汉语教学的展开有很大帮助。 在中国，“禁忌”一词历史悠久，早在汉朝《汉书·艺文志》等一些史料典籍中就有出现。对于“禁忌”的含义《说文解字》中的记载可谓简明扼要：“忌，憎恶也。在西方，禁忌语的英文说法是“taboo”，最早是南太平洋波里西亚汤加岛人的土语，意思“需要极端注意的事情”。禁忌语的产生是与一个民族的社会文化发展息息相关的。中国古代由于生产力低下和文明落后，受封建迷信思想的影响，人们对上天、鬼、神都有所避讳。西方国家，特别是信奉基督教的国家，出于对上帝的信仰，对于“God、Christ”这些词都是不能随便说的。下面我们具体来看看中英禁忌语的异同。 中英禁忌语相同点：1）神灵圣人名的禁忌。在中国，自古就有皇族名避讳，凡是涉及到与皇公贵族名字谐音或是相近的音时，就要换一个说法。例如秦代为避秦始皇的名“赢政”而将“正月”改为“端月；西方则用委婉动听或迂回曲折的表达方式来指代与鬼神有关的词，如：上帝魔鬼撒旦一般要用：God of this world, the big D和the good man等委婉说法。2）令人难以启齿或难过之事。如“怀孕”英语中的表达方式有She is expecting.(她在待产中。)She is well-along(她心满意足)等；而汉语中人们通常说“她有了”或者说“她有喜了”等。在汉语中，我们一般说患了癌症的人得了“不治之症”。英文中人们用C.C或Big C或是long disease代替癌症（cancer），艾滋病AIDS (可传染的社会疾病)；汉语中“上厕所”有“方便”、“去一号”等委婉的说法。英语中有pass water, answer nature’s call, wash one’s hands, do one’s business等等；3）死亡。“死”是各民族最忌讳的字眼因此在语言交际中人们总是回避它。汉语有“去世了”、“老了”、“走了”、“没了”等。但是，汉语对不同阶层、身份和年龄的人的死有着不同的委婉语，例如古代皇帝的死称“驾崩”，诸侯死称“薨”，战争中死称“牺牲”，坏人的死用“一命呜呼”。英语中表示“死亡”的委婉语非常丰富，如“pass away, go to the heaven, go to sleep, go to see the God, depart, be in heaven with God”等等。 中英禁忌语的不同之处：1）年老。在中国，“老”字常带敬意，是资历和地位的象征,因此汉语中有“老师”、“老同志”、“老大爷”“老师傅”等。而在西方，“老”即“old”一词一般是令人难以接受的。西方人费尽心机地借用其他词项来委婉地表示“old”这一概念，如the advanced in age（年长者）retirement home（敬老院）golden age club（老年俱乐部）等。2）谐音禁忌。在中国，四与死谐音，成为不少中国人的禁忌。送钟（终）、送伞（散）、送梨（离）也成为一种交际禁忌。因为五与恶同音，所以五月被认为是恶月不吉利。这种谐音禁忌只有汉语中存在，而西方国家不存在。3）个人隐私与话题禁忌语。英国人的“隐私权”主要体现在以下几个方面:一是不喜欢别人询问年龄。二是不喜欢别人询问其婚姻状况。三是最忌讳的是个人收入与开支。四是一般不随便询问别人的详细地址。而在中国传统文化中,似乎没有“隐私权”这一概念。许多涉及个人情况的话题,如年龄、收入、家庭状况等都是人们正常交际中乐于彼此交换的信息。人们习惯于问“你高寿?”“你贵庚?”“你结婚了吗?“你有几个孩子”等。 近年来，随着中西方交流的日益频繁，中西方禁忌语出现一定的趋同性。如英汉语中对“富”都有所保留：He is well off. “他经济条件不错。”对“贫”也不说得那么严重：They are
英汉禁忌语对比研究 摘要：禁忌语是人类社会生活中的一个普遍现象，它反映了不同的文化特征。讨论禁忌语的产生根源、应用范围的共同性、相异性等，对英汉禁忌语进行对比研究，有助于了解语言的文化内涵，避免交际失误，实现理想的交际效果。 关键词：禁忌语文化交际 语言是人与人之间互相交往的纽带，语言运用的正确与否对现实生活中的人际交往起着重要的影响。在任何一种文化中，尽管语言中存在明确表达概念或事物名称的方法和词语，但针对某些概念或事物，人们总是期望避免谈及。这就是本文要讨论的语言的一种特殊现象——禁忌现象。 1 禁忌语的由来及产生根源 英语taboo一词的含义是禁忌，它源于太平洋汤加群岛的汤加语（Tongan），意为“神圣”，“不可接触”。1777年英国的库克（James Cook）在南太平洋上探险来到汤加群岛时发现，当地存在着许多令人惊异的社会现象，如某些词语允许某一特定的社会集团使用，而不允许一般居民所使用，当地居民把这禁忌的现象称为“taboo”。从此，“taboo”这个词就进入了西方的人类学，社会学及语言学等学科，开始作为一种社会现象和研究课题而得到广泛重视和使用。 2 英汉禁忌语应用范围的共同性 禁忌语普遍存在于各种语言之中。从历史的角度看，英语汉语植根于不同的文化背景之中，但通过比较可以发现，英汉禁忌语存在着许多共同点，在表达上更有许多相似之处，主要表现在以下方面： 2.1涉及亵渎神明的禁忌语 在英语和汉语两种语言中，一般都不能随便提到神灵或所崇拜的对象的名字，否则就是亵渎神灵。在英语中，宗教上的好多词语，像God(上帝)，devil(魔鬼)，heaven(天堂)，hell(地狱)，Christ(基督)，Jesus(耶稣)，damn(该死)等只有在严肃的讲话里才是合适的，违反了这个规则就会使说话人受到谴责或遭到人们的回避。于是在英语中，就用gosh来代替God，用Goodman来代替the devil。中国也是如此，早期的中国禁忌的内容与形式相当繁杂。比如，在中国的一些地方，老虎被视为神灵。因此，“虎”字是不能随便说的，凡遇到虎字就要用别的名称，像中国西南地区的一些少数民族就改称老虎为“猫”，北方森林中的猎人则改称为“大虫”。逢年过节时尤其不能亵渎神灵。比如，买财神画像不能说“买”,只能说“请；商家直销员去卖时也都说是“送财神”，而不是“卖财神”。 2.2有关排泄物的禁忌语
东北的一些语言和文化禁忌 说明 本文可以任意使用，但是必须满足下列前提： 1.保证本人（木喜的未羊）的署名权。 2.不得用于商业用途。 3.本人只保证由本人亲自发布的版本的真实性。 东北地理范围广阔，细究起来差异其实很大，因此我绝对不敢贸然代表整个东北地区来说话。但是我们也共享着大多数的共性。在生活中时常遇见一些情况，我发现人们对于东北的语言与文化中的禁忌、误会没有很多了解（当然了，这是非常正常的），所以想略略倾吐一二，闻者可以稍稍多了解一点关于东北的知识，也可以避免不小心触碰这些小麻烦。 为了方便理解，例句不一定是纯正的东北方言。 一、语言方面的禁忌、误会 东北日常的方言中，暗语并不算多；然而有许多普通话或其它方言中正常的词语，在东北方言中有着不同的意思，外人如果不知道，就有可能用错，造成小误会甚至小麻烦。同样地，个别东北的语言习惯也会给非东北人民造成误解，引起不快。其实就是一层纸，一捅就破。我自己发觉的有下面这些。 机子（电子产品），鸡子（方言，鸡蛋） 至少在北京，无数人都在以很高的频率使用这个词。它的意思是指电子产品等机器。有的方言中，鸡子指鸡蛋。 不过，无论在东北，还是在东北人的面前，建议杜绝此词，它拥有非常不雅的含义。 干 在网络流行语中，干的意思是一种令人不齿的犯罪行为。但是在传统东北方言中，干这个动词只有如下义项： 1.干活，劳作，工作。例句：就这点儿家务活了，赶紧干完得了。 2.弄，做。例句：小张，干什么呢？ 3.揍，殴打。这个义项最容易误会。例句：偷钱还不承认？今天非找几个哥们干你不可！ 4.意义宽泛的动词，具有强烈的动作性，表示某行为对目标产生了严重的，破坏性的，富有动作性的效果。 例句1：车撞树上了，挡风玻璃干稀碎，俩前轮全干瘪了。 例句2：你把我啤酒干打了！（电影《耳朵大有福》） 例句3：黄飞鸿没管那个，一脚把对手干趴下了，半天顾拥（蠕动，扭动）不动。 所以，在纯东北语言环境中遇到“干”这个词，您无必歪想。 我本人现在都不敢正常使用“干”这个词了，虽然实在舍不得这个富有动作感的好词。 一揽子 词典里可以查到“一揽子工程”这样的词。我只想说，这也涉及东北方言里不建议提及的词，所以建议避免。我每次看到这个词公然出现在出版物里，就感觉怪怪的。 咱 有一部分东北人，习惯用“咱”表示不包括对方的“我”。比如跟别人提起自己的家人，会说“咱家”如何如何，“咱妈”怎样怎样。由于容易误会，使听话人产生不好的感觉，所以其他东北人对此一
最新英语专业全英原创毕业论文，都是近期写作 1 《白象似的群山》里的潜意识 2 从目的论角度分析商业电视广告中双关语的翻译 3 An Analysis of the Character of Scarlett in Gone With the Wind 4 英汉“悲伤”情感隐喻认知对比分析 5 解读《最蓝的眼睛》中的姐妹情谊 6 英汉网络缩略语对比研究 7 从电影《伴你高飞》看美国文化中人与自然的和谐主题 8 浅析《红字》中的森林意象 9 文档所公布均英语专业全英原创毕业论文。原创Q 175 567 12 48 10 《女勇士》中美国华裔身份危机的探寻 11 试析邓恩《别离辞?节哀》中圆规与圆的意象 12 英语专业学生议论文写作中连接词使用情况研究 13 论《简爱》中的疯女人 14 论《傲骨贤妻》字幕翻译中的归化和异化策略 15 论《德伯家的苔丝》的苔丝悲剧原因 16 从《喧哗与骚动》中凯蒂的悲剧看世纪初女性的社会地位 17 A Tactics Study of English Listening Teaching in Basic Education Stage 18 托马斯?哈代《无名的裘德》中的书信研究 19 跨文化交际中的中西方饮食文化差异 20 国际商务合同的用词特点及翻译 21 美国人对枪支管制的态度的文化根源 22 Tradition and Beyond—Reading The Diviners as a Bildungsroman 23 对希腊神话和中国神话中“爱”的比较及其文化影响初探 24 浅谈文化差异与英汉翻译 25 《野性的呼唤》中巴克形象分析 26 输出理论在大学英语教学中的应用 27 中美商务谈判中恭维语的分析 28 从思维方式差异看英语复杂句汉译 29 影响高中学生英语学习兴趣因素的调查及分析—以x市高中学生为调查对象 30 A Research on Vocabulary Learning Strategies Employed by Non-English Majors in the CALL Environment 31 论《厄舍古屋的倒塌》的哥特式写作风格 32 从《麦田里的守望者》分析青少年的叛逆与成长 33 女性哥特视角下的《蝴蝶梦》 34 A Pragmatic Analysis of Puns in English Advertisements under the Cooperative Principle 35 关于照料母婴的市场分析 36 浅析《宠儿》中塞丝背上的树的形象 37 浅析《警察与赞美诗》中欧亨利的写作风格 38 艾丽斯?沃克《紫色》中的书信体叙事研究 39 论商标名称汉英翻译中的合作原则 40 英语委婉语的内涵
中英禁忌语对比研究 摘要：语言禁忌就是社会禁忌在语言中的反映。研究英汉禁忌语的目的在于帮助谈话者在跨文化交际中进行有效交流，避免误解于冒犯。本文从跨文化交际的角度，介绍了中英文禁忌语各自的四个主要方面及相关因素，并在此基础上对二者的相同点及不同点做出对比，使读者对中英禁忌语有更深刻系统的了解。最后提出端正的态度和对应的策略，使读者在跨文化交际中能够中知己知彼，求同存异，有效沟通。 关键词：禁忌语; 跨文化交际; 文化; 相关因素 a comparative study of chinese and english taboos 1. difference between english and chinese taboos 1.1 taboos in number belief provides the motivations and the reason for doing things. to some extent, taboo topics have a tight association with christianity. the number 13 is not considered as a propitious one in english-speaking societies, for it was recorded in bible that jesus was killed by a disciple named judas who was the 13th man attending the dinner that held by jesus on friday. thus, the number 13 and the day of friday were taboos, which gradually were inherited from generation to generation. in chinese culture, there are also taboo numbers such as
汉英禁忌语对比 【摘要】禁忌是世界各民族之间普遍存在的一种文化现象，禁忌规范了人们的言语行为与社会交际。而中西文化的巨大差异直接导致了汉英禁忌语的迥异。所以，无论是在英语还是汉语中，我们都会遇到一些因传统或社会风俗不同，会引起对方强烈反感，结果导致了有些词语我们要避免使用，就是禁忌语。跨文化交际是现代交际的重要组成部分，了解语言禁忌现象可以使跨文化交际更加得体。汉语和英语中的禁忌语反映在社会生活中的各个方面，因此从语用角度看汉英禁忌语的异同对跨文化交际有重要意义。本文主要分析了汉英禁忌语语用原则的共同性和差异性，总结出了三条共同的禁用原则并对汉英文学作品、动物习语以及称谓语等方面的禁忌语语用差异进行分析。尝试从语形讳饰和语义讳饰两个方面进一步探讨汉英禁忌语的语用表达,通过语用的艺术解决跨文化交际中的禁忌问题。 【关键词】禁忌语;交际;语用；对比 Abstract Taboo is a commonly existing cultural phenomenon among nations in the world which regulates people’s language and soci al communication .The great difference between Chinese and western culture directly results in the great difference between Chinese and English taboo .So ,taboo exiting both in Chinese and English .With the consideration of the different cultures and customs ,we should avoid using offensive expression: taboo, in international communication. Cross-cultural communication is the important part of modern communication. The phenomenon of the taboo can make the cross-cultural communication more appropriate. Taboos in both Chinese and English reflect every corner of the different social life, so the pragmatic differences between the Chinese and English taboos can be of great help for cross-cultural communication. By analyzing the intercommunity and the otherness of the pragmatic principles, the thesis summarized three principles of using the taboos and discussed the pragmatic differences between Chinese and English taboos from angles of
从语言禁忌现象看中英文化差异
最新英语专业全英原创毕业论文，都是近期写作 1 《白象似的群山》里的潜意识 2 从目的论角度分析商业电视广告中双关语的翻译 3 An Analysis of the Character of Scarlett in Gone With the Wind 4 英汉“悲伤”情感隐喻认知对比分析 5 解读《最蓝的眼睛》中的姐妹情谊 6 英汉网络缩略语对比研究 7 从电影《伴你高飞》看美国文化中人与自然的和谐主题 8 浅析《红字》中的森林意象 9 文档所公布均英语专业全英原创毕业论文。原创Q 175 567 12 48 10 《女勇士》中美国华裔身份危机的探寻 11 试析邓恩《别离辞?节哀》中圆规与圆的意象 12 英语专业学生议论文写作中连接词使用情况研究 13 论《简爱》中的疯女人 14 论《傲骨贤妻》字幕翻译中的归化和异化策略
15 论《德伯家的苔丝》的苔丝悲剧原因 16 从《喧哗与骚动》中凯蒂的悲剧看世纪初女性的社会地位 17 A Tactics Study of English Listening Teaching in Basic Education Stage 18 托马斯?哈代《无名的裘德》中的书信研究 19 跨文化交际中的中西方饮食文化差异 20 国际商务合同的用词特点及翻译 21 美国人对枪支管制的态度的文化根源 22 T radition and Beyond—Reading The Diviners as a Bildungsroman 23 对希腊神话和中国神话中“爱”的比较及其文化影响初探 24 浅谈文化差异与英汉翻译 25 《野性的呼唤》中巴克形象分析 26 输出理论在大学英语教学中的应用 27 中美商务谈判中恭维语的分析 28 从思维方式差异看英语复杂句汉译 29 影响高中学生英语学习兴趣因素的调查及分析—以x市高中学生为调查对象 30 A Research on Vocabulary Learning Strategies Employed by Non-English Majors
第三讲语言崇拜与语言禁忌 授课时数：2课时 授课时间和地点：2010年10月20日 1-2节 2211 教学目的和任务：探究汉民族婉约含蓄心理的形成原因及其与婉约含蓄修辞形成的关系。 教学重点和难点： 教学方法：讲授，讨论 教学过程（内容、具体方法、步骤）： 一、语言禁忌 语言禁忌是语言灵物崇拜的结果。语言本来是劳动创造并与劳动生产一起发展起来的一种社会交际工具。但是在对自然现象和自然力不理解的环境里，语言往往和某些自然现象联系起来，或者同某些自然力给人类的福祸联系起来。这样，语言就被赋予了一种它本身没有的、超人的感觉和超人的力量。语言成了祸福的根源。谁要是得罪这个根源，谁就会得到加倍的惩罚；反之，谁要是讨好这个根源，谁就会得到庇护和保佑。这就自然而然地导致了语言的禁忌和灵物崇拜。 在新年、新婚这类开端之日，对语言的禁忌尤为讲究。所以大正月里忌说“死、输、光”等字眼，怕给全年带来灾祸。语言禁忌中最能表现民族特色和地域特色的是谐音式禁忌。语音与意义本来是任意约定的，没有什么自然的内在联系。而任何一种语言的语音系统总是很简单的，不可避免地会出现同一语音形式表示几种不同意义的情况。这就为语言魔力的施展提供了机会，许多禁忌语都是由谐音联想而产生出来的。因为人类在愚昧阶段很难理解两个完全同音的事物会毫不相干，他们相信那些与不幸事物同音的语词会带来不幸。旧时代的戏班子里有很多机会的字，尤其最忌讳“散”字。因为散班是戏班里最大的灾难，凡事与“散”字同音的，也必须用别的字代替。比如雨伞，因为“伞”字与“散”同音，得叫“雨盖”“雨挡”“雨遮”“雨拦”。又如船上人讳言“翻身、搁住”等字眼，于是把“帆”叫做“蓬”，把“箸”叫作“筷”。 人们害怕触犯语言的神力会带来灾祸，因而避讳某些语词。在一定的时期，民间不同的行业、不同的地区有不同的语言忌讳，又称语言塔布。“塔布”来源于玻利尼西亚汤加语“Taboo”，意思是“需要极端注意的事”，意译为“禁忌”。所谓语言塔布（verbal taboo）包括两个方面：即语言的灵物崇拜（语言拜物教）和语言禁忌。 十八世纪英国航海家库克来到南太平洋的汤加群岛，发现那里有许多奇特的现象，例如，某些东西只允许特定的头等人物(神、僧侣、国王、酋长)使用，而不允许一般人沾边；或只允许作特定的用途，而不准用于一般的目的；或不许某一社会集团(例如妇女)的人使用等等。那里的居民称这种禁忌为“塔布”。后来“塔布”这个词进入了人类学、社会学、语言学等领域，作为一种特殊的社会现象（禁忌）的专用名称而被广泛运用。“塔布”现象包括两方面：一方面是受尊敬的神物不许随便使用，另一方面是受鄙视的贱物不能随便接触。因此，所谓“语言塔布”，实质上也包括两个方面，一是将语言当作神灵一样来崇拜（即语言拜物教），二是在某些场合对一些特定语言的禁用或代用（即委婉语词或鄙视语词的运用）。 二、汉民族含蓄婉约的文化心理 山东一带喜称“二哥”忌称“大哥”，据说是与“武松”的传说有关。武松排行老二，长得高大魁梧，因在景阳冈上打死一只猛虎而被民间称为“打虎英雄”；武松的哥哥武老大却长得矮小丑陋。但光是这些还不足以形成忌称“大哥”的禁忌。主要的恐怕还在于武老大的媳妇和西门庆勾搭成奸一点上。人们忌称“大哥”实际上是怕像武老大一样，成为一个“妻子和人乱搞的”人。这种人，民间又称做“王八”“乌龟”。龟，在唐宋以前是与龙、凤、鲮合称为“四灵”的神物，人多视为祥瑞，并不见有什么忌讳。以龟命名的人也不少，如李龟年、陆龟蒙等等。元代以後，开始用龟来羞辱娼妓之夫或妻子外淫之夫。据说是因为，龟不能性交，纵牝者与蛇交之故。现在这种忌讳仍然流行，若骂人为“龟儿子”“王八”，其必勃然大怒。民间忌言“醋”，称“醋”为“忌讳”，也与性行为有所牵连。因为俗常是把情场上爱妒忌的人说成是“爱吃醋”的。实际上，不但非正常的性行为会形成某种语言上的禁忌，就是正常的性关系也会形成某种语言上的禁忌。例如，民间嫁女忌说“嫁”而要说“出门”或“成人”，怀孕、生孩子不说怀孕、生孩子，而说“有了”“添喜”等等。 中国人向有尊祖敬宗的习俗，祖先的名字和长辈的名字都不能直呼不讳。汉族、鄂伦春族、鄂温克族、哈萨克族、布依族、藏族等许多民族的祖先崇拜习俗中都有这一类禁忌事项。鄂伦春族认为直呼祖先的名字是对
中英禁忌语比较 摘要：现在，中英两国人民之间的相互交流变得越来越频繁。对中英两国人民来说在跨文化交际中不仅要知道讲什么话是首选，而且了解哪些话是被禁忌的是十分重要的。禁忌语是中英文化中一个很普通的语言现象。这篇文章介绍了禁忌语的起源和禁忌语的定义，也从文化差异这个角度比较了中英禁忌语的不同点和相同点。主要的目的使人们对语言禁忌有更好的了解，并且在交流中能够建立更高的警觉性避免使用禁忌语，然后提高他们的跨文化交际能力。 关键词：禁忌语；定义；相似处；不同点 Introduction Nowadays, taboo has become a commonly used word in anthropology and studies of religion and folk custom. Furthermore, it has been a fairly important field of these branches of learning. In every nation and culture there are phenomena of using taboo in daily life. About the origin of Taboo, there are two viewpoints now. One viewpoint is that the term Taboo is originated from Polynesian (in south Pacific) Tonga language. In 1777, Captain James Cook arrived in south Pacific Polynesian Tonga. In Tonga, he found a strange behavior in their daily life. There were many things forbidden to do, many foods forbidden to eat, and some words not allowed to say. The local language of Tonga called this phenomenon Taboo or Tabu. Then Cook borrowed the word into English. The word in English refers to acts that are forbidden or to be avoided. When an act is taboo, reference to this act may also become taboo. That is, first you are forbidden to do something, and then you are forbidden to talk about it. The other viewpoint is that the term Taboo is originated from native language in the middle Pacific Islands. After referring to information of different sources, I find most scholars think the source of the word “Taboo” is Tongan word, which is introduced by Captain James Cook from Polynesia to Europe in 1777. And in book the Cambridge