A Comparitive Study On The Formation Of English And Chinese Euphemisms

This is a stUdy on the formation of English and Chineseeuphemisms. The comParative aPProach adopted in the researchprovides a clear view on both the common euPhemistic straegies inEnglish and Chinese (they are: synonym, metaPhor, understatement,periphrasis, particularization; loan word, etc) and the differenteuphemistic devices of each langUage (English: initialing, phoneticdistortion, rhyming slang, using the names of other nations, Chinese'assonance, tone-changing, emPloying the structure of the Chinesecharacters, using the words that have the opposite meaning). Theetymology origins of the Chinese and English euPhemisms were alsoexPlored by the means of contrast. As a comPlementary study,cultUral differences between English and Chinese and its impact oneuphemism formation were studied. The study enhances ourawareness of the linguistic features as well as the cultural featUres ofthe formation of English euphemisms and Chinese euphemismsrespectively. I am glad that this thesis adds to the few comparativestudies on English and Chinese euphemism formation.'...