A Pragmatic Approach To The Study Of Diplomatic Euphemism

Euphemism plays an indispensable part in our social life, which aids to achieve successful social interchange and co-ordinate human rapport. Despite the large number of studies done on euphemism, we find that diplomatic euphemism, as a sub-stream, still has further room to explore. Considering the importance of diplomatic euphemism in foreign affairs and the difference between diplomatic euphemism and the other euphemism in everyday use, we believe it is of significance to study it. As a result of this, our essay endeavours to approach the issue from the pragmatic perspective and justify its existing grounds. We believe pragmatics, the study of language use, can render us the nature, motivations, real meaning and functioning mechanism of the diplomatic euphemism used in a given context. This thesis contains four parts, which can be further divided into seven chapters. Part one introduces the use of euphemism in diplomatic communication and specifies the need of a pragmatic approach. Part two includes two chapters ----Chapter 1 and Chapter 2. In Chapter 1 we present a literature review to diplomatic euphemism and then in the next chapter, we give a panoramic view to diplomatic euphemism, including its relation with diplomatic language, its triggering causes and its definition, which we hope to pave way for our further analysis. Part three is the major content of this paper in which various pragmatic theories and principles are taken as our theoretical grounds to ensure a sound description to the euphemizing phenomenon in diplomatic use. This part can be further divided into four chapters. Chapter 3 treats euphemizing as an indirect linguistic device and offers four pragmatic reasons for the use of diplomatic euphemism. In Chapter 4 we investigate the internal mechanism of the flouting of the Cooperation Principle by euphemizing and the implications duly derived. Chapter 5 deals with the principal motivation of euphemizing in diplomatic communication----politeness. Under the framework of the Politeness Principle, diplomatic euphemism is paraphrased as pragmatic strategy/ strategies realizing its politeness effects. Dependent on the Relative Theory, Chapter 6 proposes a cognitive and hearer-oriented approach to our issue. Part four is the conclusion to this paper, involving a summary on our topic and the room for further study.