A Pragmatic Analysis Of English Euphemism In English Teachers' Discourse

Euphemism is a common phenomenon in human languages. It is widely used in our daily communication. Many linguists and scholars have studied this linguistic phenomenon from different angles for years. On the basis of their achievements, the author will analyze the euphemisms used in English teachers' discourse from the pragmatic perspective and get some implications for the second language teaching. In this thesis, the author first analyzes the history, definition, classification and formation of euphemism as a linguistic concept. Then the thesis focuses on the exploration of euphemisms used in English teachers' discourse violating and observing some pragmatic principles in language teaching and communication, and the implication for foreign language teaching. The Cooperative Principle is one of the important principles in communication. In order to obtain certain communicative goal, teachers use some euphemisms in discourses. These euphemisms violate the CP and observe the PP and the face theory. By using the euphemisms teachers can not only avoid hurting students' emotion, but also reach their teaching aim and education purpose. The application of English euphemism to a great extent takes the affective factors into consideration, whose importance in language teaching can't be neglected. Therefore, applying English euphemisms appropriately and effectively in English language teaching and in the communication between teachers and students has a great practical significance.