英语委婉语6.doc

Communicative?Function?of?Euphemism01(2008-07-04 16:35:04) 标签：杂谈? I. Introduction Euphemism, as a common linguistic phenomenon in world culture, is widely used in every social class and field. English euphemism, as one of many euphemisms existing in the world, has its own deep origin, which include both the religious origin and the historical, literary origin. It is deeply rooted in social life and has a great influence on social communication. As an indispensable and natural part of English language, English euphemism has attracted people抯 attention for a long time. Since Euphemism was coined, it has played a very important role in people抯 communication. During the communication, due to some certain restriction of behavior and morality, people tend to use euphemism梪sed as a kind of lubrication, making the harsh, indelicate words sound tactful and pleasant. It is unimaginable if the communication without euphemism. Euphemism is used like lubrication, which makes the communication go on smoothly. English euphemism as a linguistic concept, it has close relationships with the western culture, and it truly reflects the life and values of English people and their history. Euphemism is a particularly good medium for access to the force of language that has provided an effective approach to understanding the human mind. The study of English euphemism can help us understand the western culture and promote the international development because euphemism is widely used in international negotiations. So there is a great need for us to study the communicative function of euphemism. II. A Brief Review of the Euphemism 2.1The Definitions of English Euphemism If we want to study the euphemism, we must know what the euphemism is. The word 揺uphemism?was derived from the Greek word 揺uphemismos? which means 揻air speech? The prefix 揺u?means 揼ood, sound well?and 損heme?means 搒aying?or 搒peech? And thus the literal meaning of 揺uphemism?is 搕o speak with good words or in a ple