The Study On Death Euphemisms In The Two English Versions Of Hong Lou Meng From Perspective Of Translation Ethics

As a common language phenomenon, euphemism is a pleasant or implicit word or expression used to take place of the direct one which is harsh or rude, it is often used out of courtesy or politeness to avoid embarrassment and avoid offending others. It is a mirror and can clearly reflect the different values, thinking patterns, beliefs and customs between different cultures and nationalities. Hong Lou Meng is a great masterpiece with great art and thought, which describes the feudal society in ancient China in18th century. It covers all the aspects in social life as well as euphemisms. This paper centers on the death euphemisms in Hong Lou Meng, which is discussed specifically in terms of classification, features and the reasons for being. This paper also takes a comparative analysis of death euphemisms in the two versions from perspective of Chesterman’s five models of translation ethics, and explores which models of the five the two translators obey and what translation strategy the two translators adopt and the reasons.