A Comparative Study Of Culture Connotations In English And Chinese Euphemism

The term "euphemism" comes from Greek and the literal meaning of the word is "to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner". Euphemism is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a cultural phenomenon. It originates from "word fetishism" in the early age of human civilization. Now, it is commonly used by people in every aspect of social life and functions to avoid taboos, be polite and disguise etc. To a great extent, it serves as the "lubricating oil" in language communication. Without proper application of euphemism, people may usually feel confused or embarrassed in communication. In most cases, euphemism enable to cover the unpleasant, disgusting or terrifying realities and create a harmonious atmosphere for the communicators. The study of euphemism has long been the focus of researchers home and abroad.Both English and Chinese have a lot of euphemisms. For a long time, the study of euphemism has been mainly confined within the aspects of rhetoric, semantics, dictionary compiling, and pragmatics. Systematical contrastive studies between English and Chinese euphemisms have been found inadequate. Based on the previous studies, this dissertation intends to make a comparative study of the cultural connotations in English and Chinese euphemisms to make up the inadequacies.The thesis consists of five chapters. Chapter one is the introduction part and it aims to present the research background, significance and structure of the thesis. In chapter two, the author offers the overview of euphemism such as the definition, classification, social functions and the related theories: Cooperative Principle, Politeness Principle and Face Theory. The use of euphemism may flout certain maxims of Cooperative Principle and abides by some maxims of Politeness. It helps to save face of communicators. Based on the related theories, in chapter three, the author analyses the cultural connotations embedded in English and Chinese euphemisms from the aspects of similarities and differences on cultural bases. As far as the similarities are concerned, the study focuses on the common cultural factors from the closely related points: taboo, politeness, aesthetics and the psychological need of self-defense. Although euphemisms in English and Chinese have grown from different cultural backgrounds, they have similarities on cultural bases. The differences are analyzed from the respective roots of traditional culture and value orientations. In a word, the main purpose of the thesis is to explore cultural roots leading to the similarities and differences between English and Chinese euphemisms. Chapter four focuses on the aspects of development and convergence. It points out that the development of euphemism is a dynamic process. The underlying rules governing the development of euphemisms both in English and Chinese and the developing tendency are analyzed in this part. Chapter five concludes the whole thesis and discusses the implications for intercultural communication and foreign language teaching and learning. At last, limitations of the present study and suggestions for further studies are presented.Language is the carrier and reflector of culture, euphemisms in different cultures may have different characteristics of the social culture. We know more about the traditional cultures of both languages. The findings in the comparison of cultural aspects can provide us knowledge helpful for the better understanding and use of euphemisms. They are of considerable value and function as the guidance to the foreign language teaching and learning, intercultural communication, translation and so on.