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Euphemism I. Overall Introduction of Euphemism A. The definition of euphemism (from Greek) —Prefix "eu" ; good, well —Root " phe
Euphemism I. Overall Introduction of Euphemism A. The definition of euphemism (from Greek) —Prefix "eu" ; good, well —Root " phe
admin
2012-06-24
19
问题
Euphemism I. Overall Introduction of Euphemism
A. The definition of euphemism (from Greek) —Prefix "eu" ; good, well
—Root " phem" : (1)______
—Suffix ism : noun —Literal meaning:
to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner. —Earliest time of use in record; the 11th century
B.C.
B. The origin of euphemism; (2)______
—The function of euphemism:
mild, roundabout words instead of coarse, offensive, or painful ones
C. The definitions of euphemism (two most commonly used) ;
—mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh
or blunt or direct one —polite, tactful, or less (3)______term to avoid the
direct naming of an unpleasant painful or frightening
reality Common points; polite, roundabout, and indirect mode of expression
D. Classification of euphemism
1) Classification Type One (by Hugh Rawson from the angle of semantics) ; i. the positive; stylistic ones inflate and magnify the word meaning, making the euphemized seem grander and more important than they really are
ii. the negative; (4)______ones
deflate and diminish the word meaning, defensive in nature offsetting the power of tabooed terms and eradicating everything that people prefer not to deal with directly 2) Classification Type Two: unconscious ones & conscious ones i. Angle of classification: whether people remember their original
(5)______or not
ii. Example: indisposition
—the original meaning : incapacity to deal with
something —its euphemistic meaning: slight illness or ill health II. Different uses of euphemism in cross-cultural communication
A. Definition of " culture" : the entire way of society (customs, traditions, social habits, values, beliefs and language)
B. Uses of euphemism related to different aspects of culture
1) euphemisms related to names
i. Chinese culture; emphasis on names
Example: (6) ______’s name is forbidden to be
called
ii. British and American culture; few emphases
on names
Example; Parents’ name can be called directly;
Children have the same name with their parents
2) euphemisms related to excretions
i. English culture; having variety of euphemisms
—Example;
Original words; go to the toilet, go to stool Euphemistic words; to (7) .to freshen
up, to pick a daisy, to relieve or to relieve nature, get some fresh air etc.
3) euphemisms related to death
—Function; to respect the dead, to memorize them, to praise them, to avoid using the dreadful word
4) euphemisms related to old age
—Chinese; being (8) ______ of being old,
few euphemisms —American; being afraid of being old, a lot
of euphemisms
5) euphemisms related to fatness —English; derogatory
—euphemistic phrases;
weight-watcher, heavyset, (9) _____ —Chinese; commendatory III. Conclusion
—the grease of language, the (10)______of social
culture
Euphemism
Good morning, boys and girls. In today’s lecture, we will focus on euphemism. The word euphemism comes from Greek, "eu-" means "good" or "well" , (1) the root "phem" means "speech".and "-ism" is a noun suffix. It means literally "to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner". The record use of euphemism is found until the eleventh century BC.
As one form of language, euphemism is a common phenomenon. It is widely used in human society. Euphemism can reduce sensitivity and irritation of expression. People use it to substitute indirect word or phrase. Euphemism also reflects some cultural differences. People in different language groups use different ways to express euphemism.
First, we will have a look at the origin of euphemism.
Euphemism originates from verbal taboo, which originates from religion superstition. reflecting the importance of social psychology. Almost every culture has its own taboo. People dare not call something by name directly because of the psychology of fear. So people work out indirect terms to replace them. The euphemisms come into being. People feel they are far away from fear when they use euphemism. In a word, euphemism is mild, roundabout words used in place of coarse, offensive, or painful ones.
So, what is euphemism?
Euphemism has been defined differently in different books. Here I will cited two most commonly used as follows: 1) Euphemism is substitution of mild or vague or roundabout expression for harsh or blunt or direct one. 2) (3) Euphemism is a polite. tactful. or less explicit term used to avoid the direct naming of an unpleasant painful or frightening reality.
All these definitions above share the same point; euphemism is a polite, roundabout, and indirect mode of expression which is used to talk about something unpleasant. It can make the unpleasant things sound better, and make people feel good; it can make both speaker and hearer avoid losing face.
Then, how can euphemism be classified?
Euphemism can be classified into many types from different angles.
Hugh Rawson divides euphemisms into two types:the positive and the negative from the angle of semantics. The positive euphemisms can be named stylistic ones, which " inflate and magnify the word meaning, making the euphemized seem altogether grander and more important than they really are. " (4) The negative euphemisms are extremely ancient.and closely connected with the taboos. They are also called " traditional euphemisms". They deflate and diminish. " They are defensive in nature offsetting the power of tabooed terms and otherwise eradicating from the language everything that people prefer not to deal with directly. "
According to different standards, there also exist many other classifications of euphemisms. For example, (5) all euphemisms, whether positive or negative, can be divided into two classes; unconscious and conscious according to whether people remember their original motivations or not. Some euphemisms developed so long ago that hardly anyone remembers how they were originally motivated. Take "indisposition" for instance, the original meaning of the word is "incapacity to deal with something" and its euphemistic meaning is "slight illness or ill health" , which has been frequently used for so long that people hardly think of the original meaning.
As in cross-cultural communications, we also cannot avoid mentioning some differences in the use of euphemism.
First, what is culture?
Culture refers to the entire way of a society such as customs, traditions, social habits, values, beliefs and language. Different cultures have their own different history, politics and way of thinking. The value and moral concepts implied in English and Chinese Euphemisms are different.
Next, we’d like to talk about some uses of euphemism related to different aspects of culture.
First, euphemism related to names.
The Chinese culture places an emphasis on name. (6) In ancient times, people cannot call the emperor’s name. The common people even have no right to mention the characters having the same sound as the emperor’s name. However, British and American people think that God created the human, all men are created equal, and there are few euphemisms about name in English. They even call their parents’ name directly to show the friendly relation. Furthermore, it is inoffensive for the young to have the same names as the old people. This kind of cultural system is different from that of China.
Second, euphemisms related to excretions.
English has variety of euphemisms in this category. Excreta and acts of human excretion are to be avoided in polite conversation. People do not say "go to the toilet" or "go to stool". (7) They use "to fix one’s face" , "to freshen up" , "to pick a daisy", "to relieve or to relieve nature" , "get some fresh air" etc. as their euphemisms.
Third, euphemisms related to death
Death is an inevitable stage at the end of one’s life’s journey. People use euphemisms to respect the dead, or to memorize them, sometimes to praise them, sometimes only to avoid using this dreadful word.
Fourthly, euphemisms related to old age
Chinese and English have different feeling about "old age". (8-1) Chinese is proud of being old. In Chinese there are few euphemisms for old, which show more respect to old people and old people are thought to be more experienced. (8-2) However, Americans are afraid of becoming old. They want to act, feel and look young. In their opinion, the old people live a lonely life and are no longer energetic, so there are a lot of mild and roundabout expressions to show this concept of "old age" vocabulary.
Last, euphemisms related to fatness
In western countries, "fat" is a symbol of stupid, so to mention the word "fat" directly is impolite. The people who have no self-made dint will deliver fat, so the word fat is a word which contains the derogatory sense. The euphemism of "fat" is "weight-watcher" in English. And people say "heavyset" or_"on the heavy side" to express euphemistic sense. But the fatness contains commendatory more in the Chinese language.
As a phenomenon of language, euphemism is observed everywhere in all human societies and it is widely used in all human interactions. People always try to avoid the language leading to unpleasantness. (10) It is not only the grease of language, but also the accumulation of social culture. Euphemism indicates that the language is restricted and affected by society and culture.
That’s all for today’s lecture, thanks for listening. In our next lecture, we will get a close look at the principles of euphemisms.
选项
答案
emperor
解析
在跨文化交际方面,中英两种文化对名字有不同的禁忌。中国人特别看重名字,根据句(6)可知,在中国古时候,人们是不允许直呼皇帝其名的,故答案填emperor。
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