Abstract

     Euphemisms are mild, indirect or less offensive words or expressions in place of coarse, painful ones, when the speaker or writer fears more direct wording might be harsh, unpleasantly direct, or offensive. Centering round several points of euphemisms, this paper attempts to do a comprehensive cultural analysis of English euphemisms and Chinese euphemisms. To begin with, it briefly discusses the definition and the history of euphemisms; then, it makes a cultural comparison between Chinese and English euphemisms. In this part, similarities and differences are discussed; lastly, it studies the communicative functions of Chinese and English euphemisms including several aspects regarding avoiding misunderstanding, showing politeness etc. The successful mastery of euphemisms may serve as lubricant in communication. 

Key words: euphemism, culture, similarities, differences, commuicative functions

摘要

委婉语是一种温和的,间接的或较少进攻性的词或短语，而不是粗俗的,伤人的,当说话人的担心更直接的措辞会严厉刺耳,让人不快地直接 ,或者是有进攻性的。围绕委婉语的几个要点,本论文试图做全面的分析,并对中西方委婉语进行文化上的比较。首先,简要论述了委婉语的定义与历史;然后,对中西方委婉语进行了文化上的比较，在这个部分中,讨论了两者的异同点;最后探讨的是在我们的日常生活中委婉语的交际功能，包括关于避免误解,展示礼貌等。成功地掌握委婉语在交际中可起到润滑的作用。

关键词：委婉语；文化；相似点；不同点；交流用途

1.Introduction
 Euphemisms are to use unknown indirect and vague statements instead of direct and unpleasant expressions to make others feel happy. Euphemisms are indispensable language components which cause widespread concern. Many linguists, scholars have studied euphemisms from rhetoric, linguistics, pragmatics and social linguistics. At present, the research of this aspect is rewarding. This article will make a reference on other academic research results, by comparing the cultural features of Chinese euphemisms and the English euphemisms. Western scholars have long studied the euphemisms. In the early 1980s, the British writer Gorge Blunt first cited the word "euphemism" in English, and gives such a definition: a euphemism is a good interpretation of a bad word. Successively many scholars such as Menken, Neaman and Sliver have studied euphemisms. Menken(1936) discusses meticulously how euphemisms generate and pop up in the book “he American Language” and James George Frazer is the first to make a system research of euphemisms among various scholars. In the book “A study in Magic and Religion(2002)”, Frazer uses a lot of space to study languages, behaviors, taboos and names. In 1982, British linguist Hugh Rawson compiled "A Dictionary of Euphemism and Other Double-talk" which summarizes the research achievements of British and U.S. Linguists on euphemisms. Domestic scholar 束定芳 gives the book high appraisal.