11节euphemism.ppt

曹禺： 《北京人》 “天！你怎么还抽这个东西啊！” 《红楼梦》 “那个东西”！（棺材） 4. Grammar ⑴A: Do you think all the programs are good? B: Some of them are interesting. But others could be better. （2）A careless mistake was made here. You made a careless mistake here. The items were not fulfilled according to the contract items. You did not fulfill the items according to the contract items. (3) I would like to hear your views. There’s something I’d advise you to consider. 5. Stress Laboratory (lavatory) 6. Omission daily girl: daily pop off the hooks: pop off kick the bucket: kick 曹禺《雷雨》 “鲁侍萍：…可是谁料到会有这种事，偏偏又叫我的孩子碰着呢？妈妈命苦，可你们的命…” Summary Some people condemn euphemisms as demoralizing because of its hypocrisy, while others consider them as a “psychological necessity”. The fact remains, however, that euphemisms are very much a part of the language, and what is more important for us is not to debate their merits or demerits, but rather to be able to read into them the motivation of their users. Euphemism Definition: 1. Substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or direct one; expression thus substituted. (Oxford Concise Dictionary, 1976) 2. Substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant. (Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, 1973) Introduction: The word “euphemism” comes from Greek; “eu” means good,while “pheme” refers to speech. So “euphemism” means “good speech” or “comfortable words”. From the above definitions we can see that there are something in life that should not be stated bluntly or truthfully—that there are times when it is necessary, even wise, not to “call a spade a spade” but to use some better-sounding name. What are these harsh, blunt, unpleasant, or offensive things that we have to deliberately avoid mentioning directly for fear of hurting other people’s feelings? And what are the better-sounding names, the “gilded” words, that could