English Euphemism And Its Pragmatic Principles

As an indispensable and natural part of English language, euphemism has been arousing wide interest. Many linguists and scholars have studied the linguistic phenomenon from different angles. Based on their achievements, the author examines the pragmatic principles that guide the use of euphemisms.Scholars at home and abroad have proposed many "pragmatic principles", in which some concern only about the language itself rather than the use of language; others, to a large extent, are derived from the two basic principles: the Co-operative Principle (CP) and the Politeness Principle (PP). These two principles are the basic guiding principles in the application of euphemisms. To some degree, to meet a certain need, people often flout some maxims of the Co-operative Principle in order to show politeness. Trough a variety of examples, this paper probes the ways in which most euphemistic expressions violate the generally observed Grice's Co-operative Principles and observe the Politeness Principle to cater people's various socio-cultural needs, thus to lubricate communication.Furthermore, euphemisms change constantly and their meanings are dominantly influenced by cultural factors. Therefore, for English learners, it is more important to get acquainted with the essence of euphemism application, that is, the pragmatic principles, so as to form the solid foundation for the successful communication.This thesis consists of four chapters. Chapter One gives the literature review;Chapter Two examines the definition, origin and the metabolism of euphemism; Chapter Three probes into the Co-operative Principle and Politeness Principle that guide the use of euphemisms while Chapter Four draws the conclusion that the pragmatic study of euphemism is of great importance.