Euphemism And Its Motivation

Euphemism is not only euphemistic words or expressions. It is rather a way of expression by the application of language to communication. In most cases, euphemistic expressions can cover unpleasant, disgusting and even terrifying realities. They can also hide embarrassing or face-threatening things. Therefore, we can say it is a sort of "lubricating oil" in language communication.For quite a long time, euphemism has been a discussion topic for a lot of scholars. Some scholars studied it from the rhetoric point of view; some writers analyzed it from the pragmatic point of view; others made research from the sociolinguistic point of view. This dissertation tries to make a detailed research on the formation, development, and motivations of euphemism, thus helping learners to use euphemisms in a correct way.This dissertation consists of five chapters.Chapter 1 is an introduction. It mainly introduces the definitions and the classifications of euphemism. A general introduction of this dissertation and a review of western and Chinese literature will be given.Chapter 2 talks about the formation of English euphemism. There are three principles that govern the formation of euphemism. They are principles of remoteness, pleasantness, and relatedness. The formation of euphemism is analyzed from five perspectives: phonetic, semantic, pragmatic, grammar, and rhetoric.Chapter 3 is the developing of English euphemism. Euphemism is as old as language. Euphemism originated from taboo. It developed over the history and changed with time. There are generally two rules that govern the change of euphemism: Gresham's Law and the Law of Succession. The theory of Semantic Triangle can better explain the change of euphemism.Chapter 4 makes a thorough analysis of the motivation of euphemism. The cultural motivation of euphemism includes taboo, traditional morality, socialconvention, psychological factor, and religion. The pragmatic principles behind euphemism are the Speech Act Theory, the Cooperative Principle and the Politeness Principle. Euphemism is a kind of indirect speech act. By violating the Cooperative Principle and Observing the Politeness Principle, it can achieve the aim of being polite.Chapter 5 is the conclusion and implication of this dissertation. The knowledge of the motivations will help on daily communication and foreign language teaching and learning.