英汉委婉语的跨文化对比研究
英汉委婉语对比研究
5、宽泛模糊法：是将禁忌语旳所指从程度和范围上扩大，或是把详细事物说得 抽象些，有意模糊其意象。
个人问题----婚姻； 大脑病---神经病
1， 而说“去洗手间”（go to the bathroom） 2， 有事（do business） 3，以便（answer nature’s call）
礼貌功能
人体缺陷，人们也常用委婉词语来谈论，以示礼貌。 1，肥胖旳（fat）人 常用plump，stout，out-size 或over-weight 来形容 2，对于一位身体清瘦旳妇女称之为slender或slim, 3，相貌丑陋旳（ugly）人说成homely或plain 4，耳朵聋旳（deaf）人说成hard of listening, 5，盲人（the blind ）叫做the visually challenge
3、比喻法（Metaphorical Transfer）指把禁忌事物比作性质完全不同但又有某 些相同特点旳事物。
4、语意扬升法（inflating and magnifying）涉及用某些比较温和、刺激性较 少旳词语替代粗鄙难听旳禁忌语以求避讳和文雅，也涉及用美妙动听旳词语 替代中性词以迎合读者旳自尊和虚荣心理（尤指人们旳职称头衔时）
掩饰功能
一，英语里看不到穷国poor nations，有旳只是 backward nations （滞后国家）
二，underdeveloped nations（欠发达国家） developing nations （发展中国家）
三，emerging nations （新兴国家）
四，在西方，工人罢工go on strike 被说成industrial action（工业行动），没有了一点“罢工”旳痕迹。
从英汉委婉语中透析中西文化差异
本科毕业论文第 1 页共 15 页1 IntroductionEuphemism, an appropriate language form created for perfect communicative effect and an important way to coordinate interpersonal relationship, is a common linguistic phenomenon existing in people’ s use of language.Euphemism appears first in ShiJing , so it has a long history. Chinese scholar Chen Wangdao defines “ euphemism ” and studies it from the perspective of rhetoric in The Origin of Rhetoric. In the 1970s and 1980s, affected by the foreign social linguistic theory, scholars who work on the study of social linguistics become interested in the special social function of euphemism. In Sociolinguistics , Chen Yuan discusses the profound historical and psycho-social background of euphemism, revealing its social essence of avoiding mentioning those unpleasant things or phenomena. In The Euphemism in Modern Chinese Language published in Chinese Language Learning, Shu Dingfang attempts to describe and discuss the structure and research scope of euphemism in modern Chinese language from the angle of modern linguistics for the first time.The study of euphemism at abroad also has a long history. In the 1580s, the English writer George Blunt created the word “ euphemism ” and presented the following definition: a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word. Referring to the historical cultural background of American society, American linguist Menken probes into the reason why several hundred euphemisms appear and become popular in The American Language published in 1936. The book A Dictionary of Euphemism and Other Doubletalk written by English linguist Hugh Rawson manifests the research achievements about euphemism of English and American linguists. The book not only reviews the study history of euphemism, but also makes an extensive discussion of the characteristics, definition and classification of it.Euphemism, as one form of language which contains affluent cultural connotations, must be the reflection of a specific culture. Euphemisms created in different cultural backgrounds reflect different cultural connotations and embodies the attitude towards life and life-style of people living in this specific language group. This thesis aims to contribute to a successful cross-cultural communication by helping people understand the appropriate interpretation of euphemisms.2 Euphemism and Culture2.1 Language and CultureCulture owns diverse kinds of carriers, such as art, language, literature and so on. Language, as the most important carrier, is intimately related to culture. The come into being and inheritance of culture are due to the appearance and development of language. There is no culture without language and no language without culture. At the same time, culture affects language all the time, making language become more accurate to adapt to the development and change of culture. The creation of culture cannot exist without the function of language, and the accumulation of culture is also conserved through language. As a result, language and culture are supplementary to each other and dependent on each other for existence.Language itself, as the carrier and a significant composition of culture, bears the special imprint of culture. Although language is the outcome of the development of social culture, language plays an essential role in the formation and development of culture. The language people use reflects their real thoughts towards what they talk about. Language, from a broad sense, symbolically stands for a people and makes up their historical and cultural backgrounds. Like a mirror, language reflects the culture of a people and reveals their ways of living.Culture is the keystone of language. Any kind of language cannot survive and developwithout the social culture environment, which language relies on. To a certain degree, social culture restricts language’ s evolution as well as perfection. Language itself has an influence on people ’ s ways of thinking and consequently impacts the culture. However, affected by culture greatly, language changes with culture undergoing in development and change. Just in the contemporary world, millions of the new words in various fields prove that rich and colorful cultures make all sorts of languages come into being.2.2 Euphemism and CultureThe word “ euphemism ” originated from the Greek. In Greek, the prefix “ eu ” means “ good ” with the root “ pheme ” meaning “ speech ” . As a result, the literal meaning of euphemism is “ to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner”(Neaman and Silver 1. Euphemism is a frequently used figure of speech, and there are other definitions of it. Allan and Burridge presents the following: “ a euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one’ s own face or, through giving of fence, that of the audience, or of some third party”( Allan and Burridge 18.For the reason that the formation of English and Chinese euphemisms has various ways, euphemisms can be divided differently in accordance with different standards. The classification employed in this thesis is from Hugh Rawson, who, in 1981, classified euphemisms into negative euphemisms and positive euphemisms in his book A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk from the aspect of semantics.The negative euphemisms, which are closely related to tabooed words, also can be called traditional euphemisms. What the negative euphemisms and tabooed words express are the same. If languages, like sex, disease, physical and psychological defects, are expressed in a direct way, they are called tabooed words, giving people asense of vulgarity and rudeness. But if the languages presented above are delivered in an indirect way, they are called euphemisms, granting people a feeling of connotation, elegance and politeness. For example, peo ple in western countries substitute “ sex ” with “ sleep with” or “ go to bed with” and use “ plain looking” or “ ordinary looking” to replace “ ugly ” .The positive euphemisms, also named as stylistic euphemisms, have no relationship with tabooed words. In fact, positive euphemisms are analogous to the words with a meaning of compliment. “I t tends to inflate and magnify the word meaning, making the euphemized seem altogether grander and more important than they really are ” (Hugh Rawson 1. In order to show politeness, respect or strive for cooperation, people apply beautiful words to express things which are unpleasant but not tabooed. In the past decades, positive euphemisms have been applied in such areas as education, occupation and unemployment. There are many euphemisms for some occupations with lower social status. A gardener who shaves trees and flowers can be called “ a landscape architect” . A garbage collector is often said to be “ a sanitation engineer” and a file clerk would be very happy to kn ow that she is “ a research consultant” .The concept of culture is so broad that defining the word “ culture ” seems to be a very difficult matter for us. Different people often see the same object in different lights. Many scholars have defined it. Linel l Davis defines culture as “ the total accumulation of beliefs, customs, values, behaviors, institutions and communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generations in an identifiable group of people”(24. According to Goodenough, culture is “whatever it is one has to know and believe in order to operate in a manner acceptable to its members. Culture, being what people have to learn as distinct from their biological heritage, must consist of “ the end product of learning: know ledge” (167. The culture covers a broad spectrum and contains all the phenomena of the universe. All the things created by people and related toexperience, knowledge, science and technology as well as education and language, can be called culture.Euphemism is a language used pervasively in our daily life. It is not only a language phenomenon in both English and Chinese culture, but also is a kind of social culture. Language and culture are closely related to each other. Euphemism, as one form of language, is also greatly affected and shaped by culture in terms of the origin, growth and usage. Simultaneously, euphemism is a reflection of culture. Euphemism bears the weight of abundant cultural connotation for the reason that it deeply roots in the soil of a people’ s social culture. It is hard for people to make sense of the euphemisms if people do not have a notion of a country’ s culture. Shao Zhihong points out that he [Patrick Hartwell] considers euphemisms as “ a natural part of the social world of words ” and believes they tell us “ a good deal about the values of a culture” (305.3 Different Cultural Implications Reflected in English and Chinese EuphemismsLanguage is the carrier of culture and a mirror reflecting social culture. For this reason, euphemism, as a special form of language, must be the reflection of a specific culture. Language decides a nation ’ s cultural features, which gives rise to the phenomenon that English and Chinese euphemisms without exception will reflect the cultural differences of two nations as well.3.1 Different Concepts of ValueIn term of concept of value, western people live for their self-satisfaction. Once they cannot get the material insurance, they immediately think that their life will fall apart and that they cannot be mentioned in the same breath with their friends because they believe they are inferior to them. While, deeply affected by Confucianism, Chinese contend that the value of life lies in the contribution they do in their lives rather than the materialabu ndance. Euphemisms for “poverty” in English and Chinese reflect their different concepts of value.The word “ poverty ” in English is a terrible word which means “ there is neither powernor social status ” . In the western commercial societies, people hol d the belief that money talks and admit poverty directly incurs disdain. Although the society thinks highly of the view that everyone is equal and has his own civil right, the phenomenon that the gap between the poor and the rich keeps widening still exists. However, there is no person who would like to acknowledge that they do not have enough money to afford them a normal life. Therefore, people in West spare no effort to refrain from mentioning “ poverty ” for the sake of the poor themselves. The followin g example will show us how western people avoid “ poverty ” :“ I used to think I was poor.” She wrote. “ Then they told me I was not poor, I was needy. Then they said it was self-defeating to think of myself as needy, that I was culturally deprived. Then they told me deprived was a bad thing, that I was underprivileged. Then they told me underprivileged was overused, that I was disadvantaged. I still do not have a dime—but I have a great vocabulary.” (William and Mary 229In the short section of speech above, there are four euphemisms –“ needy ” ,“ culturally deprived ”, “ underprivileged ” and “ disadvantaged ” , which have the similar meaning as “ poor ” . All these words are just some indirect ways western people use to avoid saying the word “ poor ” b ecause most people regard the possession of material wealth as the symbol to measure people’ s ability of survival.There are also many other euphemisms for “ poverty ” : “ hard up for money” , “ less well off ” , “ down on one ’ s luck ” , “ in a awkward financial situation ” , “ in reduced circumstances ” , “ badly off ” , “ the have-nots ” , “ man of modest means ” , “ negative saver ” and so on.By contrast, being poor does not seem to be a horrible thing in China. Chinese people embrace the perspective that though one is poor, he has lofty aspirations and believe that poverty can exercise people ’ s perseverance and character. Nevertheless, beingpoor is not a thing to be proud of, so there are only a few euphemisms for the word “ poverty ” in Chinese. The words used most frequently in Chinese are “ 揭不开锅” , “ 手头不便” , “ 拮据” and “ 囊中羞涩” . The small quantity of euphemisms for“ poverty ” may be relevant to the reason that the word in Chinese is not tabooed as that in English. Specific culture creates special language. China today is a country brimming with rich cultural elements, which makes the new euphemisms for “ poverty ” emerge. With the implementation of reform and opening-up and the rapid growth of economy, millionaires and even billionaires appea r in China. The word “ 富翁” sounds good, but the meaning of the word “ 负翁” has an entirely opposite meaning. Some people of the salariat are called “ 月光族” because they never have surplus salaries at the end of the month.3.2 Different Concepts of RankChina is a nation of courtesy with a cultural heritage running several thousand years and a nation which attaches importance to Confucian culture and feudal patriarch system. However, democracy, referring to freedom, equality and human right, is the main idea of western people. Euphemisms for “ address forms ” reflect the different social values of rank in English-speaking countries and China and also show the relationship among people.People in West have every confidence in the belief that all men are equal. This view stresses that citizens are equal both in laws and mentality, which means there is no rule to judge people whether they are noble or poor. Consequently, western people lay more emphasis on individuality, and they are not so conscious of the concept of familyhierarchy as Chinese to show their respect for seniority. No matter what people ’ s social status are, they can get along with each other like friends and call their names on a first-name basis. In western families, children usually call the ir parents’ names instead of“ father ” and “ mother ” when they grow up. However, the parents do not blame them for the change of titles; on the contrary, they feel that the relationshipbetween them and their children is cozy. Furthermore, the concept of address forms in West is relatively general and ambiguous. Men who are of the same generation of children’s parents are called “ uncle ” , women on the generation base are called “ aunt ” and their children are called “ cousin ” no matter what gender they are. The phenomenon that family members address each other directly regardless of the family hierarchy is a common occurrence in western families while it is not accepted in an old-fashioned Chinese family. The reason lies in that the address forms in English do not belong to the scope of language taboos.On the contrary, Chinese people pay much attention to the arrangement of rank, etiquette and the order of seniority and inferiority, which directly reflected in the“ address forms” . In ancient times, or dinary people were forbidden to address directly the names of emperors and government officials. They had to use other words to replace the name; otherwise, they would be punished because of showing no respect. For instance, in Tang Dynasty, the name of em peror is called “ 李世民” . In order to avoid the word “ 世” , people use “ 代” to take the place of “ 世” , substitute “ 世” with “ 人” and shorten the word “ 观世音” to “ 观音” when they write or communicate. Title taboos derive from the concept of the ancient patriarchal clan system. With the changes of times, this phenomenon has been no longer in existence, but some title taboos continue to be used even today. Nowadays, people always address other people in a way of adding the title of a post to show respect between the superior and the subordinate, the young and the old and even peers, such as “ 张局长” , “ 刘书记” and “ 赵老师” . When it comes to the relationship between friends, people usually address friends by adding “ 小” or“ 老” for the sake of intimacy, such as “ 小王” and “ 老李” . In a Chinese family, parents always educate their kids that they are not allowed to address the elders directly. The younger generation is obliged to call the older generation in terms of kinship to express their esteem, such as “爷爷” , “ 奶奶” , “ 爸爸” , “ 妈妈” , “ 叔叔” , “ 阿姨” , “ 舅舅” , “ 舅妈” . If people address other people’ s names directly, they will be considered as uneducated and impolite.本科毕业论文第 9 页共 15 页 3.3 Different Concepts of ReligionChristianity, a very prevailing religion in West, has a long-term and profound effect on the society, deeming that everybody is guilty and laying stress on a person ’ s imperfection and inherent evil tendency. In China, people mainly believe in Buddhism and Taoism, which guide people to establish perfect personality and even be Buddha and immoral by means of enhancing their self-cultivation. Each language has its own religious faith, which leads to the different uses of euphemisms for “ death ” .In West, people, from heads of state to the common people, almost all of them believe in Christianity which is dominant among the diverse religions. Christians deem that the value of human body is inferior to the soul for the reason that the fresh will die eventually, but the soul is immortal. They stick to the faith that their souls will enter into the heaven rather than hell after death if they make great efforts to do spiritual practice. Affected by this faith, they are confronted with death calmly. As a consequence, a large amount of English euphemisms for “ death ” come from the Bible and give expression to the basic Christian doctrine that people’ s lives given by God are destined to go through sin, indulgence and expiation, and people can only get saved in the other world after expi ating the sins. For example, the “ death ” is called “ to return to dust/earth” because God creates people with clay; “to pay the debt of nature” is a statement of “ death ” for the reason that people are born with sins and their death is to atone for sins. God is the master of the earth, so people have to “ be called to God ” or “ to answer the final summons ” after death. Other euphemisms for “ death ” contain “ go the way of allfresh” , “ to go to a better world” , “ be asleep in the Arms of God ” , “ go to one’ s final reward” and so on. All these euphemisms for “ death ” are the real portrayal of perfect lives western people believe in.Chinese people never have a unified faith for China is a country with many religions. Buddhism and Taoism make a large difference to Chinese culture. Buddhism, spreading into China since Tang Dynasty, is to set people free from the eternal cycle本科毕业论文第 10 页共 15 页 of birth and death. Buddhism advocates spiritual practice to live up to the highest realm, which is c alled “ 圆寂” or “ 灭度” in Chinese. That the Buddhists die peacefully with a gesture of sitting in meditation is called “ 坐化” , which indicates that they are not in dread of death. Other euphemisms for Buddhists’ death, which are too numerous to be listed,include “ 升天” , “ 殉道” and “ 登莲界” . Taoism, another religion Chinese people have a deep faith in, aims to live forever to be immortal, so it considers people’ s death as “ 仙逝” , “ 仙游” , “ 仙去” and so on. In addition, the view that people can be supernatural beings riding on white cranes when they pass away, results in the appearance of “ 骑鹤” , “ 化鹤” or “ 鹤化” . Taoism denies that there is no differences existing in the world and believes that a person’ s life is just from birth to death, so we have the expressions of “ 物化” , “ 隐化” and “ 遁化” . All the examples above reflect a fact that the diversity of religious belief is bound to generate the diversity of language.3.4 Different Concepts of TraditionPeople in West generally avoid asking others’ ag e for the reason that age is a sensitive topic in their eyes. On the contrary, people in China, who are familiar with the traditional customs of respecting the elderly, do not have many taboos in age. However, to be old will surely lead to death. As a result, each nation takes full advantage of euphemisms to prevent embarrassments of “ old age” from happening.Western culture pays much attention to youth, energy and creativity. The word “O ld ” is a derogatory term in western culture, which results in the p henomenon that people are aware of shunning the word especially on account of the serious aging of population in western societies, the increasing problems of social security and ability to provide for the aged as well as the advocation of family structure with DINK lifestyle. Western people are afraid of becoming old and their fear for becoming old has reached the degree of putting an end to the use of the word “ old ” . They meditate deeply on borrowing other words to express the word “ old ” in a tactful way. “ Old本科毕业论文第 11 页共 15 页people ” are addressed as “ senior citizens ” , “ seasoned men ” , “ well-preserved men ” , “ the advanced in age” and the like. They all get complimented for their “ longer life” . Even the “ old people ’ s home” can be called as “ nursing home” , “ home for adults” , “ rest home ” and “ adult communities”. Western people cherish the dream of never growing old, so they call the “ old women ” as “ distinguished women ” and the “ old men ” as “ distinguished men” . In ad dition, the euphemisms for “ old people” include “ golden age” , “ sunset years” , “ the mature” and “ the elderly” . In today’ s society where the young age is advocated, people attach more and more importance to the address of old men, which certainly gives rise to the increase of euphemisms for “ old ” .The euphemisms for “ old ” in China are not as abundant as those in West. Once in a while, people can see the statement in written form, such as “ 华发” , “ 黄昏恋” and “ 夕阳红” , but people are not very sensitive to the word “ old ” . Chinese people hold the view that being old is the honor of family and society. In China, people are deeply convinced that it is a traditional virtue to respect the old and take good care of children. As a result, people advocate the power and status of the old. Although the traditional family structure of four generations under one roof has been broken up in the modern society, the old generation is still the core member of a family. In Chinese culture, the word “ old ” has bee n equipped with the meaning of knowledge, maturity and reliance,which are reflected in Chinese by means of such expressions as “ 老当益壮” , “ 老成持重” and “ 老将出马,一个顶俩” . People in China are not in dread of talking about the age, naturally resulting in the p henomenon that the use of the word “ old ” in the society is not considered as a taboo. People call “ the old” “ 您老” and “ 老人家” to show a sense of respect. The word “ old ” in China can also convey the connotation of seniority and experience, which can be seen from “ 老师傅” , “ 老教授” and “ 老总” . Furthermore, Chinese people usually put the word “ old ” after family name to address the old people who have a high virtue and a glorious name to express their respect, such as “ 陈老” , and “ 李老” .ConclusionEuphemism, both a common linguistic phenomenon and a social culture, is created by different cultural backgrounds, moralities and values and reflects different cultural connotations and characteristics. At the same time, it is essential for people to realize the importance of the appropriate interpretation and application of euphemisms in cross-cultural communication.This thesis reveals the different cultural implications in the aspects of the concept of value, rank, religion and tradition reflected in English and Chinese euphemisms by comparing different euphemisms. Euphemisms for “ poor ” in English and Chinese tell us that western people have a stronger desire for money than Chinese people, and euphemisms for “ address forms ” give us some information tha t China is rigidly hierarchical while western countries are democratic and free. In addition, euphemisms for “ death ” show us the different religious cultures people in each country believe in and euphemisms for “ old ” explain the reason why the word “ old ” is tabooed in English but advocated in Chinese. All the comparisons between English and Chinese euphemisms suggest that the usage and goal of them are roughly similar in that both of them use nice words to replace the vulgar things which are likely to give people a sense of embarrassment, to make the language more elegant, polite and acceptable. However, thecomparison also shows that backgrounds for the usage of English and Chinese euphemisms do not go all the way, sometimes even are totally different. Euphemisms are adopted by people to render their speeches and manners to be rational, to promote the interpersonal relationship and to enhance the exchanges and cooperation. Understanding the deep implications reflected in English and Chinese euphemisms is beneficial to handle the language more skillfully and eliminate the negative effect produced by euphemisms in cross-cultural communication.Bibliography1 Allen, K. & K. Burridge. Euphemism and Dysphemism [M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.2 Bolinger, D. Aspects of Language [M]. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., 1981.3 Davis, L. Doing Culture: Cross-Cultural Communication in Action [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2001.4 Fasold, R. The Sociolinguistics of Language [M]. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press, 2000.5 Goodenough, W. H. Cultural Anthropology and Linguistic [M]. Washington: Georgetown University Press, 1957.6 Leech, G. N. Principles of Pragmatics[M]. London and New York: Longman Group Ltd, 1983.7 Menken, H. L. The American Language [M]. New York: Blackwell Publishers, 1936.8 Neaman. J. S. & C. G . Sliver. Kind Words-A Thesaurus of Euphemisms [Z]. New York: Facts on File, Inc., 1983.9 Rawson, H. A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Doubletalk [Z]. New York: Crown Publisher, Inc., 1981.10 William & Marry Morris. Harper Dictionary of Contemporary Usage [Z]. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1975.11 陈北郊 (Chen Beijiao. 汉语语讳学 [M]. 山西 : 山西人民出版社 , 1991.12 陈望道 (Chen Wangdao. 修辞学发凡 [M]. 上海 : 上海教育出版社 , 1979. 13 陈原 (Chen Yuan. 社会语言学 [M]. 上海 : 学林出版社 , 1983.14 刘纯豹 (Liu Chunbao. 英汉委婉语词典 [Z]. 南京 : 江苏教育出版社 , 1993. 15 李国南 (Li Guonan. 英语中的委婉语 [J]. 外国语 , 1989, (3 : 23-27.16 邵志洪 (Shao Zhihong. 英汉语研究与对比 [M]. 上海 : 华东理工大学出版社, 1997.17 束定芳 (Shu Dingfang. 现代汉语中的委婉语 [J]. 汉语学习 : 1989, (2 : 34-38.18 王逢鑫 (Wang Fengxin. 英汉比较语义学 [M]. 北京 : 外文出版社 , 2001. 19 于亚伦(Yu Yalun. 当代英语委婉语初探 [J]. 外语学刊 , 1984, (2 : 45-49.20 张拱贵 (Zhang Gonggui. 汉语委婉语词典 [Z]. 北京 : 北京语言文化大学出版社 , 1996.AcknowledgementsI would like to avail myself of the opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all the people who have helped me in completing the thesis.Firstly, I really feel grateful to my academic supervisor, Miss Wang Yanfang, who has given me so much useful advice on my writing. Her patient and inspiring instruction and careful modification have greatly contributed to the completion of this thesis.Secondly, I should be thankful to all the other teachers at the department of English of the College, classmates and friends for their useful advice and kind help in my graduate studies. Their profound knowledge and enlightening academic achievements greatly benefited me.Finally, I owe a particular debt of gratitude to my parents, who have given me a lot of consideration and great encouragement during these four years. They are my intimate tutors on my life path.。
英汉委婉语不同点对比研究[论文]
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英汉委婉语不同点对比研究摘要：现代社会突飞猛进地发展，越来越多的人能够接受教育，人们的素质也因此有了很大的提高。
在我们的日常交流中，人们越来越讲究得体，说话越来越委婉。
因此，委婉语成了现代社会不可或缺的一部分。
汉英委婉语的功能基本是相同的，但其中也有少许的不同之处。
本文旨在就汉英委婉语的内容进行对比，找出其不同点，并且试着探究这些差别产生的原因。
只有注意到这些差别并尽量避免冲突，跨文化交际才能顺利进行。
关键词：委婉语内容跨文化交际1. 引言委婉语（ euphemism）一词发源于希腊语，意思是说好听的话，古希腊人在祭祀时，都得讲吉利话，即使用委婉语（张曲，2007）。
委婉语不仅仅是一种语言学现象，而是一种文化现象。
现在，在人们社会生活的每一个方面都可以看到委婉语的使用。
委婉语就是用来淡化或美化一些人们通常认为是禁忌，或令人难堪的事物的词语，句子，或一段话（陈彦彦，2007）。
中英文中有很多委婉语，因为他们是一种语言学现象，因此存在很多相似点。
然而，文化能反映在某种语言上，作为一种特殊的文化符号，委婉语能够反映特定的文化现象。
不同的国家有着不同的文化，所以不同国家的委婉语也有着其不同点。
国内外很多人对委婉语进行了研究。
然而，很少人对中英委婉语不同点进行系统地的分析。
为了跨文化交际的顺利进行，不能想当然地认为中英委婉语都一样。
因此本文旨在试图对中英委婉语中的不同点进行对比并分析其原因。
2. 英汉委婉语的不同点一般说来，英汉委婉语中的相同点远远多于其不同点。
英汉语中在禁忌、说话的得体性方面就有着很大的相似。
除了这些相似点外，其的不同点应引起人们的注意。
2.1 年长由于美国是一个工业化国家，其文化是以个人主义为中心，独立与进步这两个品质被给予极高的重视。
英语国家的人追求创新，因为害怕遭到歧视，他们害怕变老。
单词“old”对西方人来说是一个禁忌因为它意味着在思想或行动上缓慢。
因此，一些含单词“old”的英语短语都是贬义的，比如“ old-fashioned， old school， old gentleman”等。
英语论文-英汉“死亡”委婉语文化对比分析
英汉“死亡”委婉语文化对比分析摘要:委婉语是人类社会中存在的一种语言现象。
由于东西方文化的不同，在委婉语的使用上也存在许多差异。
本文对中西委婉语跨文化现象进行了对比研究，揭示了其内在联系。
关键词:委婉语;传统委婉语;文体委婉语;宗教文化委婉语（Euphemism）一词源自希腊语的前缀eu=well 和词根pheme=speaking。
根据《英语委婉语详解词典》的定义，委婉语是一种用无害的或悦耳的词语替代那些较直接的、唐突的言词，用善意的话语把事实掩盖起来的修饰手段。
它不仅是一种社会语言现象，更是一种文化现象。
一、委婉语的分类和功能英语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 euphemisms)。
所谓传统委婉语，是与禁忌语密切相关的。
如生、死、病、性等禁忌事物，如果直接表达，就是禁忌语，给人的感觉是粗鄙、生硬、无礼；反之如果间接表达，就是委婉语，给人的印象是典雅、含蓄、中听、有礼。
所谓文体委婉语，实际上是恭维语，溢美之词与禁忌语无关。
委婉语的功能有:避讳功能、避俗功能或雅化功能、礼貌功能、掩饰功能和褒扬功能（淡化或夸张功能）。
死亡是人类普遍面临的重大问题之一，在日常生活中时有发生。
由于英汉两种文化背景不同，所反映出的对死亡的看法存在很大差异。
二、英汉两种语言死亡委婉语不同的原因1、不同的宗教文化带来的表达差异基督教在英语国家的人们生活中发挥着重要作用，其关于死亡的委婉语多半来自《圣经》，与基督教信仰密切相关。
许多基督徒都相信“来世”和“原罪”之说，在他们看来，死亡就意味着"to go to heaven"(进天堂)、"to be called to Cod"(被召唤到上帝那) or "to cancel ones account"(销账)。
在中国，没有一种宗教能像基督教在英语国家所具有的重要地位和影响。
浅议英汉委婉语的差异对跨文化交际的影响
浅议英汉委婉语的差异对跨文化交际的影响委婉语是一种独特的语言表达形式,英汉两种语言中都存在大量的委婉语。
委婉语在跨文化交际中频繁地被使用。
不了解英汉委婉语的差异会导致跨文化交际失败。
本文介绍了委婉语的定义及特征;从三个方面(即语言本身的特点;文化传统方面的不同;以及社会生活方面的差异)阐述了英汉委婉语的差异;并从三个方面(即委婉语字面意义相同而文化内涵迥然;委婉语的使用受到了语境、对象和意图的制约;英汉委婉语的个性是跨文化交际的一大障碍)论证了英汉委婉语的差异对跨文化交际的影响。
标签：委婉语;差异;跨文化交际一、什么是委婉语所谓委婉语,是指人们在交际过程中,出于种种考虑,有些话语不便或不能直说,需要用含蓄曲折而又能传达本意的词语代替,这种语言就是委婉语(euphemism)。
委婉语是英汉语言共有的现象,目的是为了达到较好的交际效果。
《现代英语用法词典》给委婉语下的定义是:“一种适度的或模糊的(vague)改变说法的表达方式,以代替直率地、确切地表达某种不愉快的实话”。
根据《英语委婉语详解词典》的定义,“委婉语是用一种无害的或悦耳的词语替代一种较直接的、唐突的言词,用善意的话语把事实掩盖起来的修辞手段”。
利奇指出:“委婉语(在希腊语中是谈吐优雅的意思)就是通过一定的措词把原来令人不悦或比较粗俗的事情说得听上去比较得体、比较文雅。
其方法是使用一个不直接提及事情不愉快的侧面的词来代替原来那个包含令人不悦内涵的词。
……从某个方面来说,委婉语正好和贬义词相反。
人们不是最大限度地扩大一个词的不愉快方面的联想,而是净化这个词带有损害性的情感联想。
”根据以上几种有关委婉语的定义,可以概括出委婉语的几个典型特征如下:(1)委婉语以代为生成基础;(2)委婉语有表里两层意义,表为虚,里为实;(3)话语委婉、温和,可满足说写者减轻话语刺激程度或掩饰某种语言行为动机的心理需要;(4)采用含义模糊、具有弹性或有柔性的话语。
汉英委婉语差异及原因例说
汉英委婉语差异及原因例说摘要：委婉语是语言学习中的重要组成部分，能熟掌握和运用委婉语是会说话的一个重要标志。
对我们来说，对汉英委婉语差异及其原因进行深入的学习对适当的运用委婉语进行跨文化交际具有重大作用。
关键词：汉英委婉语；差异；原因一、跨文化角度下汉英委婉语的差异例说 1．关于“死亡” 这是个中西双方都要避讳的问题，虽同样是运用委婉语来避讳直说死亡，但其表述又有不同之处。
汉语中死亡的委婉表述有：离开了、走了、驾鹤西去了、升天了等等。
英语中的委婉语表述有：去天堂了、去见上帝了等等。
这是由中西方的文化差异造成的，在中国佛教、道教的影响比较大，主张成佛成仙所以关于死亡的委婉语有：“成佛”、“仙逝”、“羽化”等。
西方国家多信奉基督教，信奉“原罪说” 认为人生来有罪，要一直赎罪。
所以西方国家有很多“死亡”的委婉表达与此有关（1）西方信奉上帝造人，因此人死后说去见上帝了或回到地球了。
（2）原罪论主张人生来就是有罪的，为了赎罪，因此死去就是“支付大自然的债务”可见，由于宗教文化不同，英汉委婉语在表达上差别还是很大的。
2.关于“谦敬” 谦敬语是委婉语的组成部分，中国人从古至今注意使用谦敬语，因为中国自古为礼仪之邦，文明古国，注重礼节，在言行上也十分注重，对对方用敬语，自己用谦语。
如：敬语（您、贵府，阁下，令千金），谦语（敝人、寒舍、小女）。
再如中国人对别人的夸奖表示谦虚，常说：“哪里哪里，您过奖了”。
而西方国家注重效率，说话办事简单干练，也有语言特点的关系，你就是你，我就是我，不存在刻意的谦敬，对于别人的夸奖也欣然接受，如：“Thank you”。
这与中西双方的文化传统有关。
3.关于“拒绝”中国人顾及双方面子主张婉拒，汉语中大部分拒绝都会是婉拒，如：“我今天有点紧急的事，不然一定陪你去。
”委婉拒绝别人的请求，让自己和对方都更容易接受，也保全了对方的面子。
而西方国家，多直接拒绝，并报以歉意，如：“sorry，I have to do my homework.”。
从英汉委婉语对比看中西文化差异
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中西方委婉语在跨文化交际中使用的比较
中西方委婉语在跨文化交际中使用的比较中西方国家有着不同的历史文化背景，委婉语作为一种表达方式在跨文化交际中有着举足轻重地位，只有互相理解差异才能更好地交流合作。
委婉语是用温和、含糊和迂回的说法替代粗俗、生硬和直率的说法。
明确委婉语在跨文化交际中避讳、避俗、礼貌和掩饰的功能,进而在外语习得过程中留意、积累、掌握委婉语的运用,以提高自身的跨文化交际能力。
委婉语（euphemism）是人类语言中的一种普遍现象，是指用婉转含蓄或拐弯抹角的说法代替会使人不越货不够尊敬的言词。
委婉语是语言实现其交际功能的一个重要和必要的途径，因而委婉语研究在语言研究中应有十分重要的地位。
在实际的交际活动中，不可避免地人们要谈及一些忌讳性话题，但又不能直截了当的表达，于是委婉语便应运而生。
委婉语作为文化的一部分，根植于各国文化系统中，体现了五彩的社会心理状态和语言文化内涵。
在经济低糜的战争年月下，语言普遍粗野化，委婉语出现频率较少；若在太平盛世，人们自然追求语言文明，委婉语出现频率相对增多。
近代社会科技进步、生产力发展，经济状况变化大，进展快，人类也不断变动、进步，出现大量的社会、心理、语言的忌讳，这成为产生委婉语的前奏。
中西方委婉语在跨文化交际中体现着不同的文化内涵，也有着不同的语用功能。
首先体现在英汉语委婉语的语用功能中的避讳功能。
委婉语的产生源于禁忌，它是委婉语的原始功能。
在远古时代，人们就相信预言这种符号与它的真实内容之间存在一种同一和效应关系，它不仅能赐福与人，而且具有降祸的神奇魔力。
为避凶求吉，同时达到交际目的，人们创造了委婉语。
中西方仁在谈到诸如疾病、死亡、性等现象时，都是用委婉语以达到禁忌或文雅的目的。
例如，令人最忌讳的“死”（death）常用“pass away”,“to fall asleep”,“God rest his soul”“,fall asleep”“,to be with God”,“to go west with”等来表达，其目的即减少或消除人们对死亡的恐惧感，从而达到忌讳的交际功能。
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