A Comparative Analysis Of Euphemism In The Chinese And Vietnamese Languages

The main objective of this thesis is to study about euphemism used in Chinese and Vietnamese language. The author studies the euphemistic construction and the pragmatic functionality of euphemism in order to identify and at the same time discusses all possible explanations for the similarities and differences in language and culture between the two countries.First of all, the thesis does a thorough comparison and analysis on the euphemistic construction. Uniquely, Chinese euphemism is structured from character separation, assonance device, employing antonyms and Chinese Xiehouyu, while Vietnamese euphemism uses Noilai and Han-Viet. Both of them, however, employ some similar method of building such as using vague words and expressions, synonyms, proper nouns, negatives and personification, etc...Finally, the thesis compares and analyzes the pragmatic functionality of the euphemism. Practically, it is classified into four different types:euphemism functions to avoid taboo, euphemism functions to be polite and considerate, euphemism functions to disguise direct meaning and euphemism functions to avoid vulgarity. In accordance with the classification, comparative analysis is also carried out in all of four types. As a result, the author thoroughly demonstrates and analyzes the similarities and differences of the euphemism in the two languages.