Abstract and Key Words

Abstract: The common characteristics of public speeches are simplicity and straightforwardness. However, in partial English-speaking countries, especially the UK, people tend to speak in a euphemistic way. And when it comes to politics, the politicians are most likely to become implicative by using understatement. This paper illustrates and discusses the application of understatement in political speeches respectively from rhetoric and linguistic views, aiming to help English learners not only understand its devices of expression and characteristics of language, but also perceive the deep meaning of speeches, enjoying them in a better way.

Key words: understatement; implication; euphemism; political speeches

摘要：演讲的特点是直截了当、简明易懂，然而，在以英语为母语的部分西方国家，以英国为典型，其表达方式讲究委婉含蓄，低调婉转。特别是英语政治演讲辞，演讲者言辞犀利，唇枪舌战，精妙地运用了低调陈述。本文通过以英语政治演讲内容为例，从修辞学与语言学的角度分别对低调陈述修辞进行探讨，旨在帮助英语学习者在理解低调陈述的实现形式、表现手段、语言特性和修辞特点等的同时，更好地欣赏演讲艺术、演讲技能，理解演讲的深层含义，提高欣赏水平，领略演讲的魅力。

关键词：低调陈述; 含蓄委婉; 政治演讲

1. Introduction
Understatement is a figure of speech. It is always used in our daily life, social communication, including some special social situations such as political, economical, military, diplomatic ones. It aims to make it easy for others to accept and even to avoid sharpness, ease tense, express modesty and so on.
In recent years, scholars abroad and at home are still in searching for understatement. Some of them have got some important achievements by analyzing the functions, characteristics and manners of structure from aspects of linguistics, semantics, rhetoric, etc. However, there are not many researches in practical application of understatement in passages and no systematic conclusion about it.
This paper illustrates and discusses the application of understatement in political speeches respectively from rhetoric and linguistic views, aiming to help English learners not only understand its devices of expression and characteristics of language, but also perceive the deep meaning of speeches, enjoying them in a better way.