英語委婉語使用

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AbstractTheword“euphemism”comesfromtheGreek,eu--means“good”,and–pheme-,“speech”or“saying”,andtogetheritmeansliterally“tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner”.Euphemism,asaculturalphenomenonaswellasalinguisticconcept,hasattractedpeople’sattentionforalongtime.Ithaslongbeenatopicofmuchinterest.Generallyspeaking,peoplewouldusemoreeuphemismsincommunicatingwiththeoppositesex;womenwouldusemorethanmenwould;olderpeoplewouldusemorethanyoungergenerations.Peoplewouldmoreuseeuphemismsin"power"relationsthanincloserelations.Peoplewithhighereducationwouldusemoreeuphemisms.Theabovefactors:age,sex,socialstatus,education,etc.donotworkseparately.Incommunicating,theyareinterlacedwitheachotherandguideourchoiceofeuphemisms.Whethertouseeuphemismsortaboowordsalsodepends,toalargeextent,ontheattitudesofparticipants(particularlyspeakers)andthepurposeofconversations.Thearticleconsistsofsixparts.Partoneexplainswhatthemeaningofeuphemismis.ParttwoissayingtheCooperativePrincipleinbriefly.CooperativePrinciple,thecornerstonetheoryofpragmatics,isoneofthemainprinciplesthatguidepeople’scommunication.TheCooperativePrincipleanditsmaximscanexplainwhattheliteralmeaningisanditsrealintentionincommunicationandensurethatinanexchangeofconversation.Partthreepresents,theformationeuphemism,namely,formalinnovation,semanticinnovation,rhetoricaldevices,andgrammaticalways.Partfourdiscussesthecommunicativefunctionofeuphemismissubstitution,politeness,disguise,defense,etc.Partfiveservesasthemainbodyofthisarticle.Generallyspeaking,euphemismsviolatetheQuality,QuantityandMannerMaximoftheCPduetodifferentreasonslikesubstitution,disguiseetc.AndbasicallyeuphemismsobservetheRelationMaxim.Fromtheanalysis,itcanbealsofoundthatsometimesaneuphemismcanberegardedasviolationoftwomaximsoftheCPatthesametime.Partsixconcludesthewholearticle.

KeyWordsCooperativePrinciple;Euphemism;Communicativefunction

委婉語(euphemism)一詞起源于希臘語。Eu意思是“好的”，pheme意思是“話語”，因此字面上的意思是說好聽的話或用禮貌的方式說話。委婉語是一個語言學(xué)概念，同時也是一種文化現(xiàn)象，長久以來一直受到人們的關(guān)注。總體上講人們在與異性進(jìn)行言語交際時，要比在同性面前更多地使用委婉語，女性要比男性更多地使用委婉語，年長的人要比年青的人更多地使用委婉語。人們在“權(quán)勢關(guān)系”的語境中往往要比在“親密關(guān)系”的語境中更多地使用委婉語。受教育程度越高的人，越注重自己的言談，因而更多地使用委婉語。上述因素年齡、性別、社會地位、教育等并不孤立存在，在交際中，他們交織在一起決定著委婉語的使用。是否使用委婉語還要考慮說話者的態(tài)度和交談的目的。文章由六個部分組成。第一部分解釋了什么是委婉語。第二部分簡單列出合作原則的各項(xiàng)原則。它作為語用學(xué)的理論基石之一，是指導(dǎo)人們語言交際的原則之一。它可以很好地解釋話語的字面意義和實(shí)際意義的關(guān)系，這對于交際委婉語顯得尤為重要。第三部分說明委婉語的構(gòu)成可以有很多種方式：形式變化，語義變化，修辭手段和語法手段。第四部分闡述了交際委婉語出于替代、掩飾、和禮貌等功能。第五部分是文章的主體，并說明委婉語出于替代、掩飾、和禮貌等原因主要違反了合作原則中的質(zhì)、量和方式三個次則，基本上是遵循了合作原則中的相關(guān)原則。第六部分總結(jié)全文。

關(guān)鍵字合作原則;委婉語;交際功能

1.Introduction

IntheOxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglish–ChineseDictionarytheexplanationofEuphemismis"(exampleofthe)useofpleasant,mildorindirectwordsorphrasesinplaceofmoreaccurateordirectones"1.AndintheLongmanDictionaryofContemporaryEnglishtheexplanationofEuphemismis"(anexampleof)theuseofapleasanter,lessdirectnameforsomethingthoughttobeunpleasant"2.Forexample,themanwhowantstoustocallhima“sanitationengineer”insteadofa“garbageman”ishopingwewilltreathimwithmorerespectthanwepresentlydo.

"Theword''''euphemism''''comesfromtheGreekeumeaning''''good''''andphememeaning''''speech''''or''''saying'''',andthusmeansliterally''''tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner''''"3.Euphemismshavevariousreasonsforexistence.Theyconcealthethingspeoplefearthemost—death,thedead,thesupernatural.Theycoverupthefactsoflife—ofsexandreproductionandexcretion—whichinevitablyremindeventhemostrefinedpeoplethattheyaremadeofclay,orworse.Theyarebelovedbyindividualsandinstitutions(governments,especially)thatareanxioustopresentonlythehandsomestpossibleimagesofthemselvestotheworld.Andtheyareimbeddedsodeeplyinourlanguagethatfewofus,eventhosewhopridethemselvesonbeingplainspoken,evergetthroughadaywithoutusingthem.Butsomepeoples

tillmistaketheeuphemismsintheconversationbytheCooperativeprinciple.ViolatingtheCP,peoplealsocancontinuetheconversationwitheuphemisms,whichmaketheauthorinterestinattitudesofparticipantsandthepurposeofconversation.Thatisourbodytoday.

2.Formationofeuphemisms

2.1Formalinnovation

Toavoidtheemergenceofcertainletterorsoundmayachievetheeffectofeuphemizing.Theformalinnovationcanhideaudio-visuallythosewordswedon’twanttosayorweshouldn’tsaysoastoachievebetteroutcomeincommunication.

2.1.1Abbreviation

AbbreviationistheshorteningofawordandmaybeseenintheuseoftheBritishexpressionLADIESforladies’room.TherealsoisGENTSforgentlemen’sroom.

2.1.2Apocopation

Apocopationisanotherformofabbreviationapparentintheuseofvampforvampireheremeaningaseductivewoman.Andlavisforlavatory;homoisforhomosexual;cocaisforcocaine;braisforbrassiere.

2.1.3Initialing

Initialingistheuseofacronymsinsteadoftheircomponentpartsasin"JCfor“JesusChrist”,BMforbowelmovement"4,"W.Cforwatercloset,B.Oforbodyodor,V.Dforvenerealdisease,AIDSforacquiredimmunedeficiencysyndrome,SARSforsevereacuterespiratorysyndrome"5.

2.1.4Backforming

Backformingisthesubstitutionforonepartofspeech(usedinshortenedform)foranother,asin"burgle(rob)whichisderivedfrom''''burglar''''"6.

2.1.5Reduplication

Reduplicationistherepetitionofasyllableorletterofaword.Particularlycommoninchildren’sbathroomvocabulary,itsubstitutes"pee-peefor''''piss'''',poo-poofor''''bowelmovement''''"7.

2.1.6Blendword

Ablendwordisaformofphoneticdistortioninwhichtwoormorewordsaresqueezedtogetherbothorthographicallyandphonetically.Anexampleofthisis"gezundaforachamberpot,atermderivedfromthefactthatthisobject''''goesunderthebed''''"8.

2.1.7Diminutive

Adiminutiveistheformationofanewtermbynickingorshorteninganameandaddingasuffixindicatingaffectionorsmallness."Heinie,forexample,isthediminutiveof''''hindend''''andreferstothebuttocks"9.

2.2Semanticinnovation

2.2.1Borrowing

Mostobviously,euphemismsmaybeformedbyborrowingwordsfromotherlanguages—termsthatarelessfreightedwithnegativeassociations.Thus,weuseGreekandLatinexpressionsformanybodilypartsandfunctions.Wehavecoinedhalitosis(badbreath)fromtheLatin(halitus)for“breath”andwehavesubstitutedmicturitionforthemorevulgarIndo-European“Piss”.Inaddition,Englisheuphemismsalsoborrowedalotofscientificoracademicterms,whicharebelievedtobemoreeuphemisticandobjectivethantheusualterms,suchasmagneticfor“sexy”andperspirefor“sweat”andsoon.

2.2.2Widening

Euphemismsmaybemadebyasemanticprocesscalledwidening.Whenaspecifictermbecomestoopainfulorvivid,wemoveupintheladderofabstraction.Inthisway,cancerbecomesgrowthandagirdlebecomesafoundation.Sometimes,inadditiontowideningwedividethenegativeconnotationsofasingledirecttermbetweentwoormorewords.Insteadofsaying“syphilis”openly,wespeakofasocialdisease.

2.2.3Semanticshift

Alliedtothephenomenonofwideningisthatofsemanticshift.Thisisthesubstitutionofthewhole,orasimilargenerality,forthespecificpartwedonotchoosetodiscuss.Wemaycreatesuchmetonymies(substitutionsofthewholeforthepart)asrearendfor“buttocks”.Sometimes,asintheexpressions"tosleepwith/gotobedwithsomeone"10,weusewordsnamingthelargereventinplaceofmoreprecisereferencestothesexualrelationsthatarepartoftheprocess.

2.3Rhetoricaldevices

2.3.1Metaphor

Euphemismsmaybemadebyaprocesscalledmetaphoricaltransfer,thecomparisonofthingsofonekindtothingsofanother.Theeuphemismschosenareoftenromanticizing,poeticizingandsofteningoftheoriginalwordslike"gotosleep;gotohislonghome;behomeandfree;restinpeace;beatrest;gotoHeaven/Paradise;joinone''''sancestors;begatheredtoone''''sfathers;jointheimmoralsfordie"11,shockforrandombombing,constructivedestructionforseveredamage,havearoadtotravelforhavealongtimetoreachanagreementandetc..

2.3.2Aposiopesis

InEnglish,thereisakindofrhetoriccalledaposiopesisthatcanalsoactasthewayofeuphemizing.Whenwethinkweshouldnotsaysomethingundercertainconditions,wesuddenlystopaswhenwesaysomeoneisout(ofwork);sheisexpecting(ababy);"totakeprecautions(againstpregnancy);todepart(fromthisworld)"12

2.3.3Analogy

Analogycanoftenbeseeninthevocab

ulariesofwork.Atendencytoelevatemenialorunskilledjobs—sometimessubstitutingagrandtitleforalargesalary—canmakeoffalsmelllikearosebypromotinggarbagementosanitationengineersoreventowaste--reductionmanagers.Byimplication,theybecomehighlytrainedtechniciansandexecutives.Health-clubstaffsbecomefitnesscoordinators,andsenatorsnowhavetheirshoesshinedbythefootwearmaintenanceengineer,formerlytheSenatebootblack.Evenifyouarenotagovernmentofficial,yourjanitorisnowyourbuidingmaintenanceengineer.

2.3.4Understatement

Understatementdisplayspeople’sdesiretomaketheirlanguagelesspainfulanddirect.Sothereisneveranuglywomaninthisworld,sheisatleastplain.Teachersonlytellparentsthattheirchildisabitslowforhisage,notretarded.Andcallseniorcitizenforoldperson."Takeother''''sthingswithoutpermission"canbeinsteadof"steal".

2.3.5Periphrasis

Periphrasisisjustbeatingaroundthebush.Peopleoftensayeuphemismsareweaselwords,becausepeoplenevercallaspadeaspadewhenusingeuphemisms.Fartisnotpleasanttoear,sopeoplecallitwindfromthebehind.Someonewantsyoutogoaway,butheonlysayshewillcallyourcarriageforyou.Someonelivingatthegovernmentexpensemaymakeyouenvyhim,butactuallyheisinprison."ManysayingsaboutgoingtoWCmakeagooduseofperiphrasislikewashone’shands,powderone’snose,spendapenny.Sodothe''''drop''''for''''adjustmentdownward''''13"

2.4.Grammaticalways

AccordingtoBolinger,"Euphemismisnotrestrictedtothelexicon.Therearegrammaticalwaysoftoningsomethingdown”.Therefore,euphemizingshouldnotbelimitedtolexicalways;itcanalsobeachievedbygrammaticalways.

2.4.1Tense

InEnglish,tensecanlendalittleeuphemisticcolortotheexpressionsforsomethingundesired.Especiallywhenpeopleusewant,hope,thinkandwonderorwordslikethattheymayalsomakeuseofthetensetosoundmoreeuphemistically.Forexample,Iwonderedifyouwouldmindhelpingme?or"Iwonderedifyoucouldhelpme?"14.Askinghelpthisway,peoplewon’tfeelsoembarrassediftheywererefused.

2.4.2Syntacticalnegation

Thismethodcanlessonthepainfulimpactofthelanguagethatisnotwelcomed.Wesaysheisnotpretty(Actuallysheisveryugly),butthatisacceptable,becausenotprettydoesnotequalto“ugly”,itcouldbe“plain”too.Notprettyhasawiderrangeofmeaningthanugly.Similarusagesareasthefollowing:Idon’tthink,Iamafraid,Iamnotsure,Idon''''tlike,etc.

2.4.3Firstpersonalpronouns

Theuseoffirstpersonalpronounslikewe,ours,us,etc,canalsomakeourspeechessoundmoreeuphemistic.Youwouldfeelmorewelcomedifyouusedweorourquiteoften.Ifadoctorsaidtoyouhowdowefeeltoday,youwouldfeelverywarmandcomfortable,becauseitmakesyouthinkthatthiskinddoctortakesyourillnessasmutualconcern.

3Communicativefunctionsofeuphemisms

Languageisforcommunication,whereaseuphemismsmayleadtobettercommunication.Usingeuphemismscanavoidbeingpresumptuousinlanguagecommunication.Whenwehavetotouchsometopicsthatareunpleasant,wetendtochoosemoreeuphemisticexpressionstorefertothosepainfultopicssoasnottohurtthehearer’sfeeling.WecanfindthetheoreticalfoundationforthismotivationinLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple.Euphemismsjustminimizetheimpolitenessandmaximizethepolitenessincommunication.ThefunctionsofeuphemismsareinagreementwiththoseofPolitenessPrincipletoo,astheybothoffermorebenefittothehearerandleavemorecosttothespeaker,withthepurposethatbothofthetwosideswillfeelrespectedandhavefavorableimpressionofeachother.Aspolitenessisusuallyregardedasthemanifestationofhumancivilization,euphemismisoneofthemosteffectivestrategiestodisplaypolitenesswhilemodulatinginterpersonalrelationshipinhumancommunication.

3.1Substitution

AccordingtothedefinitionsofeuphemismandweknowthatagreatnumberofEnglisheuphemismsserveasthesubstitutionsforverbaltaboos.Thetermtaboo(tameaning“mark”,boomeaning“exceedingly”)ofPolynesianorigindenotesanythinglinguisticandnonlinguistic,whichisprohibitedorforbidden.Tabooreferstothesituationinwhichawordornamecanbeusedinacommunityonlyunderspecialconditions,whetheronlybycertainpersonsoronlyincertaincircumstances.Justasviolatingaculturaltaboocanbequiteoffensive,soisitwithaverbaltabooinpressconferences.The“word”hasbeenandcontinuestobeinmostsocietiesperceivedasapowerfulinstrumentthatmayevokeevilspirits,makebadthingshappenandinstigatetoviolence

andrevolutionandnumerousotheractivities.Whiletabooofwordsoccurswhenaparticulartopicisconsideredvalidfordiscussion,euphemisticexpressionortermsarerequired.Sodiplomaticeuphemismshaveaveryseriousreasonforbeing.Theycanconcealthethingspeoplefearmost—death,thedeadorthesupernatural.Euphemismscanalsoeliminateunhappiness,embarrassmentandfearetc.soastorelievepeoplepsychologically.

3.2Politeness

Politenessisanotherveryimportantfunctionthateuphemismsserveinsociallife."Someoftheeuphemismsareusedtoavoidcrudenessandindecencyforthesakeofapoliteconversation."15GriceformulatedCooperativePrincipleofutteranceinwhichtheMaximofMannerwasdefinedas“Beperspicuousandspecific;Toavoidobscurity;Toavoidambiguity;Tobebriefandtobeorderly.”TheroundaboutnatureofeuphemismsgoesagainsttheMaximofManner,whichcanonlybefairlyexplainedwellbyLeech’sPolitenessPrinciple“ApprobationMaxim:minimizedispraiseofother,maximizepraiseofother”.Inotherwords,euphemismsaretominimizeimpoliteexpressionsandmaximizepoliteexpressions.

3.3Disguise

Besidesthetwofunctionsofeuphemismsmentionedabove,thereisstillanotheronemoreimportantfunctionatworkineuphemisticcommunication,namely,theDisguiseFunction.Herewemeanthatbecauseofthevaguenessofeuphemisms,ithasbecomeaveryimportanttoolforpoliticalleadersorthediplomatsorstatesmentodistortthefactsorandpresentafalsepictureofpeaceandprosperityandtobeautifywhatevertheauthorityhavedone.Forexample,intheIraqWar,theyuse“OperationIraqiFreedom”forbeautifyingtheirmilitaryinvasion,“possiblemovement”referstomilitaryattack,“airoperation”or“airstrikes”forairattack,“enterthewar”toshowtheirreluctancetofightthewaretc.andwemayfindmanysuchkindoftheseeuphemismsinpressconferences.Themostimportantandultimatefunctionorpurposeoftheuseofdiplomaticeuphemismsinpressconferencesistodisguiseorbeautifytheirinvasiveessenceorotherevilactionsortheseparationofwordsfromtruth.InAmericanandBritishsocietiesnowadays,diplomaticeuphemismsarealwayspurposelydevisedtodisguisescandalsinwarsandpolitics,deliberatelyinventedtobeautifylowlyoccupationsandexcessivelyinflatedtopromotesalesinadvertisement.

4.TheCooperativePrinciple

Beforegoingon,welookattwoexamples,asfollows:

(1)"A:Canyoutellmethetime?

B:Well,themailhasalreadycome.

(2)A:AreyougoingtoJohn’sbirthdayparty?

B:I’veheardMaryisgoing."16

Itseemstherearesomemistakeintheconversations.Butinfact,itiscorrect.TheCooperativePrinciplewillhelpusunderstandmore.

TheCooperativePrincipleisasfollows:"Makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasisrequired,atthestageatwhichitoccurs,bytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged."17

AccordingGrice,Cooperativeprincipleisclassifiedintofourcategories:quantity,quality,relationandmanner.Thecategoryofquantityrelatestothequantityofinformationtobeprovided,andunderitfallthefollowingmaxims：

4.1ThemaximofQuality:

"Trytomakeyourcontributiononethatistrue,.specifically:

(i)donotsaywhatyoubelievetobefalse.

(ii)donotsaythatforwhichyoulackadequateevidence"18

4.2ThemaximofQuantity:

"(i)Makeyourcontributionasinformativeasisrequiredforthecurrentpurposesoftheexchange

(ii)Donotmakeyourcontributionmoreinformativethanisrequired"19

4.3ThemaximofRelation:

"Makeyourcontributionrelevant."20

4.4ThemaximofManner:

"Beperspicuousandspecifically:

(i)avoidobscurityofexpression.

(ii)avoidambiguity.

(iii)bebrief

(iv)beorderly."21

Fromwhatmentionedabove,wemayknowthattheCooperativePrincipleenablesoneparticipantinaconversationtocommunicateontheassumptionthattheotherparticipantisbeingcooperative.Thesefourmaximsformanecessarypartofthedescriptionoflinguisticmeaninginthattheyexplainhowitisthatthespeakersoften“meanmorethantheysay”intheircommunications.

"Wemaydecidetowithholdwhateverinformationwepossess:’Nocomment!’Wemayinadvertentlyinfringeamaximorwecansecretlyviolateamaxim—e.g.AcouldmaliciouslyandfalselytellBthatJanethadwalkedintheoppositedirectionfromthepostoffice.or–moreimportantly–wecanmakeablatantshowofbreakingoneofthemaxims(Gricetermsthisfloutingamaxim),inordertoleadtheaddresseetolookforacovert,impliedmeaning."22.Forexamples,

(3)"Atthetimeofrecording,allthemembersofthecastweremembersofTheBBCPlayers.(Implicature:OneormoreofthemarenolongermembersofTheBBCPlayers.)"23

Generallyspeaking,"inGrice’sanalysis,thespeaker’sfloutingofamaximcombinedwiththehearer’sassumptionthatthespeakerhasnorreallyabandonedtheco-operativeprincipleleadstoanimplicature"24.Onethingthatdeservesourattentionisthatthefourmaxims,expressedintheimperativemoodhavesometimesbeenmisunderstoodasinstructionsforaspeakertobehaveinconversation.

5.PossibleviolatingtheCooperativePrincipleintheuseofeuphemisms

Inthelightoftheforegoingliteraturereviewandthetheoreticalbases,weknowthateuphemismsoreuphemisticexpressionsareimportantandpeopleoftenusethemincommunication.Inreality,itcanbefoundthatthesediplomatsandstatesmenetc.alsouseeuphemismsoreuphemisticexpressionsinthequestion-answerpatterns.Thesestatesmenmakesharpthingsorunpleasantthingssoundpleasantetc.otherwisetheuseofeuphemismsmayevencausemisunderstandings.SothenextwewilltalkaboutcommunicationwiththetheoriesofCooperativePrinciple.Forexample,tobespecific,diplomaticeuphemismsofpressconferencesaremainlychosenasthesubstitutionofanagreeableorinoffensivewordorexpressionforonethatisharsh,indelicateorunpleasanttotheotherside.Theyarechosenfromboththelexicalapproachandtherhetoricalapproach.

Incommunicationlikethequestion-answerpatternsinpressconferences,generallypeopleorparticipantsarerequiredtoobservetheCPinordertomaketheirconversationmovesforwardsmoothlyandsuccessfully.Butinreality,inordertomeetacertaincommunicativeneed,especiallyinpressconferencesconcerningdiplomacy,actuallypeopleseldomspeaksbyalwaysfaithfullyobservingthesefourmaximsoftheCP.ThereforeGricehimselfalsosuggests5waysparticipantscandealwiththesemaxims.First,speakerscanstraightforwardlyfollowthemaxims,thatis,theycanspeakthetruthwhilegivingjustenoughrelevantinformationinaclear,unambiguous,succinctandorderlymanner.Manypeopledojustthatmostoftime.Second,someonemayviolateamaxim,asyouwoulddoifyoutoldadeliberatelie.Athirdthingthatcanhappenisthataspeakercan‘optout’ofamaxim,thisseemstobeanuncommonoccurrence.Thefourthpossibilityisthemaximclash;casesinwhichyouwouldhavetoviolateonemaximinordertofulfillanother.Andperhapsthisisthemostcaseofviolationofthemaximsinpressconferences.Thefifthandmostintriguingwaytodealwiththemaximsofconversationistofloutoneofthem.Whenamaximisflouted,aspeakerdoesn''''tobservethemaxim,butcannotbeaccusedofviolatingiteither,becausethetransgressionissoflagrantthatitistotallyobviousthatthespeakerknowsheorsheisnotobservingitandrealizeseveryoneelseintheconversationknowsittoo.

TheexistenceofthemaximsoftheCPmakestheconversationalimplicaturepossibleespeciallyontheconditionslikeinpressconferencesetc..Conversationalimplicatureallowsaspeakerofanysideinpressconferencestoconveymeaningbeyondwhatisliterallyexpressed.Speakersinpressconferencescanoftenuseeuphemismsoreuphemisticexpressionstoproduceconversationalimplicatureormoremeaningthatthehearerscanalsofigureoutitsrealintentionsratherthantheliteralmeaningbyviolatingsomecertainmaxims.

5.1.ViolationofQualityMaxim

"ViolationofQualityMaximmeansbysayingthingsthatarenottrueorthefactandmakingirresponsibleandinsincereremarksbythespeakers.Itcanproducesomespecificalcontent:humor,ordisguisetheintentionsuchasMinistryofDefenceforMinistryofWar,lifeinsurenceforinsurancewhenyouaredead,freedomfightersforterrorists."25Franklyspeaking,euphemismshaveatendencytoviolateQualityMaximinordertoexpressunpleasantthingsorideasetc.inanindirect,roundaboutandpleasantway.Thereforeifhearerswanttoknowtherealintentions,theyshouldinfertheconversationalimplicaturefromtheillocutionarymeaningbasedonthespecialcontext.Moreoverhyperboleandunderstatementalsodon''''tobeytheQualityMaxim,forallthesecontributionaretrue.Letuslookatsomeexamplesasfollows:

(4)Q:BritainandFrancebothputtroopsonstandbyalert…forpossiblemovementintoKosovo.While…h(huán)astheU.S.putanyunitsonstand-byforapossiblemovementtoKosovo?

A:Inviewofthefactthat…ourforcesremainattheircurrentstateofreadiness.There…increasethatstateofalertnessatthispoi

nt.Obviously…onshortstand-by…airoperations,would….

IntheaboveQ-Apatternsofthetranscripts,wecanseediplomaticeuphemismslike“possiblemovement”,“attheircurrentstateofreadiness”and“airoperation”etc.areusedinpressconferencesthatviolatetheQualityMaxim.Fromthespecificcontextweknowthathere“possiblemovement”mainlymeans“possiblemilitaryattack”,“attheircurrentstateofreadiness”refersto“attheircurrentstateoffighting”and“airoperation”refersto“airwar”or“airfight”etc..StillwecanfindmoreexamplesviolatingQualityMaximoftheCPinpressconferenceslike“MinistryofDefense”for“MinistryofWar”,“enteringintoKosovo”or“gointoKosovo”for“invadeKosovo”or“invasion”and“information”for“militaryintelligence”andalso“activedefense”for“attack”etc..Bysayingthat,theauthoritycandistortthefactstosomeextentandalsoreduceitsbadimpressionsonthepublic.Hencetheauthoritycanpresentafalsepicturetothepublicandtobeautifyordisguisewhatevertheyhavedone.

5.2ViolationofQuantityMaxim

"ViolationofQuantityMaximisbyprovidingnon-informativeinformationorbyeitherprovidinglessormoreinformationthanactuallyneeded.Strictlyspeaking,acronymandabbreviation,twomainwaysoftheformationofeuphemism,arethetwomainwaysofviolatingtheQuantityMaxim.Forexample,executeisforexecutedeathpenalty,IneedtogoisforIneedtogotothelavatory,commfuforcompletemonumentalmilitaryfuckup,S.O.Sforson-of-a-bitch."26SomeeuphemismsoreuphemisticexpressionsarecreatedbycontributinglessinformationtoviolatetheQuantityMaximinordertomakeunpleasant,rudeoroffensivewordssoundmorepleasant,politeandelegant.LetushavealookatsomeexpressionsusedinpressconferencesviolatetheQuantityMaximoftheCP.

(5)Q:GeneralNaumannsaid…militarytargets?

A:(Cohen):AsweindicatedtheACTORDwas…Serbianforceswerereallyposingaseriousthreattoseveral…thecoldorfromstarving.ThatACTORDwas…innocentpeople.ThatACTORDremains…GeneralNaumannhasreferredto.

Letushavealookatanotherexample:

(6)Q:General,…Couldyou…intheeventofaconflictand…intermsofaliaisonwiththeNGOsand…?

A:Well,theirroleis…civil-militaryaffairsorganizations,…intheCENTCOMtheater…

Intheabovetwoquestion-answerpatternsinpressconferenceswemaysaythatthesediplomaticeuphemismsviolatetheQuantityMaximbecausetheyfailedtogiveustherightamountofinformationweneededorwemayalsosaythattheyprovidedlessinformation.Byusingtheseeuphemismsthespeakerslikethediplomatsandstatesmenetc.canavoidmentioningtheseunpleasanttermsornotionslikecentralcommandandactivationorderetc.inpressconferences.

Amongtheeuphemismsusedinpressconferences,wemaystillfindthatsomeoftheeuphemismscanberegardedasaspecialcasethatviolateboththeQualityMaximandtheQuantityMaximetc..HenceinabroadsensewemaysaythateuphemismsthatviolatetheQualityMaximcanalsoberegardedasaspecialcasethatviolatetheQuantityMaximbecausethetwomaximsarecloselyrelated.IfaeuphemismviolatesQualityMaxim,italsoviolatesQuantityMaximtoacertainextent.Forexample,theeuphemismslike“possiblemovement”for“possiblemilitaryattack”or“possiblewar”;“broughttheworldtogether”mainlyreferstothosecountriesledbytheUSA.Hencefromthispointofviewwemaythateuphemismslike“possiblemovement”,“broughttheworldtogether”etc.notonlyviolatetheQualityMaximbutalsoviolatetheQuantityMaximbecausetoacertainextenttheydistortthefactsandprovidelessinformationthanpeopleactuallyneed.

5.3EuphemismsandtheRelationMaxim

AswementionedbeforethattheMaximofRelationrefersto“Berelevant”andviolationofRelationMaximmeansthattheutteranceofaspeakerisirrelevanttotheconversationorthespecificcontextforsomereasonsorsomepurposes.SometimeswemayfindEnglisheuphemismsaretouseirrelevantutterancesonthesurfacetoexpresssomethingthatthespeakerswanttosayandcannotsay.InfacttheimpliedmeaningoftheutterancesisrelevantpartiallybecausetheformationofEnglisheuphemismsabidestheseformativeprincipleslikepleasant-soundprincipleetc..Forexample,

(7)"Iapproachedherveryhesitatly.

"Wanttocomeandplay?"

Piquettelookedatmewithasudduenflashofscorn.

"Iain''''takid,"shesaid.

Wounded,Istampedangrilyaway..."27

Here,"Iain''''takid"seemsnorelationtothisconversation.Butthereimplicaturemeaningisonlykidsplay--Iain''''tkid--Iwon''''tplaywithyou.So,itisindirectrefuseofcommunicating.InEnglish“topassaway”isusedinaeuphemisticsensefor“todie”now.Thedenotationof“topassaway”is“togoawayforatime”;while“todie”means“togoawayforever”.“Todie”iseuphemizedas“togoaway”byviolatingtheRelationMaximonthesurface,infact,boththetwophraseshavetherelevantmeaningto“togoaway”.Theirdifferenceliesonlyinthetime,oneisforaperiodoftime,theotherisforever.Sowhenthespeakeruse“topassaway”toreplace“todie”,thehearersmayinfertheconversationalimplicatureof“todie”fromtherelevantmeaning“togoaway”.Sowithtimegoeson,itisnowalmostusedasafixedusagefor“todie”inalmostallthecircumstances.

5.4ViolationofMannerMaxim

ViolationofMannerMaximmeansgivingobscureandambiguousinformationetc..Sometimesunderthecommunicativecircumstances,thespeaker,inordertoavoidmentioningunpleasantandembarrassedthingsinadirectway,saysomethingobscurelyandambiguously,thenthehearersshouldcarefullyinfertheconversationalimplicatureofthespeakerandwhatistheirrealintentionsandmeaningaccordingtothespecificcontext.SowemayfindmanyeuphemismstendtoviolatetheMaximofMannersoastoachievethemild,agreeable,roundaboutandpleasant-soundeffects.

WecanalsotakethefollowingasexamplestoillustratehoweuphemismsviolatetheMannerMaxim."Aeducatorcannotsayastudentislazy,idle,stupid,orclever.Insteadofthemiseducationallyandsociallydisadvantagedgroups,underachieved,thoseonthelowerendoftheability-scale,highverbal-abilitysubjects,disadvantagedhomeenviornments,underprivilegedchild."28Obviously,thesewordsviolatesMannerMaximofbeingbrief.

Anotherexample,"Perhapsyouhadbettergetyouraffairsinorder."Thisisanotionofdeathfromthedoctor.it''''swordybutnotunnecessary.one-way-ticketisfordie.Itreflectone''''sexperienceandcognition.

6.Conclusion

Aswestatedearlier,euphemismisoneoftheimportantanduniversallinguisticphenomena.Duetothespecialcharacteristicslikesubstitution,indirectnessetc.itisbecomingoneofthemaincommunicativeapproachesThisthesishasattemptedtostudytheeuphemisticexpressionsusedinthequestion-answerpatternsfromtheperspectiveofpragmatics.

Thearticleisanoverviewofthefunctionsandcommunicativefunctionsofeuphemism,andfromthepragmaticanalysisofthematerials,itcanbeseenclearlythattheuseofeuphemismsbasicallyviolatetheQualityMaxim,theQuantityMaxim,andtheMannerMaximoftheCooperativePrincipleandthefrequencyofviolatingtheQualityMaximisthehighestamongthethreeones.Thatistosay,theeuphemismsusedinthequestion-answerpatternsgenerallydonotviolatetheRelationMaximoftheCooperativePrinciple.

ThereisanoldsayinginEnglish:Necessityisthemotherofinvention.Thecreationofeuphemismsalsocannotdepartfrompeople’sneedsofthem.Peopleneedeuphemismsforsocialcommunication,toeuphemizethetaboo,toshowtheirpolitenessandtodisguise.Asasociolinguisticphenomenon,theformationofeuphemismsistheresultofthecombinationofvarioussocialpsychologicalfactorsandpragmaticfactors.

StudiesoneuphemismsfromapragmaticperspectiverevealhoweuphemismsflouttheCooperativePrinciplesoastoobeythePolitenessPrincipleincommunicationandhowfactorsfromtheirsocioculturalandcommunicationalcontextinfluencetheirapplicationincommunication.Anychangeofoneormorefactorsofacommunicationevent,willhaveaneffectonourdecisionofwhethertouseeuphemisms.Theexpressiveeuphemismsplayanon-fungibleroleincommunication.Itiseuphemismthatmakeslanguagemorepowerful,magicalandpleasant.People’sspeechdoesreflecttheirbackground,theiractivities,andthevaluestheyhold,therefore,wecanlearnmuchabouttheEnglishpeoplebylookingattheiruseofeuphemisms.ThestudiesonEnglisheuphemismscannotonlyhelptodevelopinterculturalcommunicativecompetence,butalsoenlightenEnglishlanguagelearningandteaching.Therefore,multidisciplinary,multi-angle,andmulti-levelstudiesoneuphemismsarenecessaryforEnglishlearnerstounderstandtheEnglishhistoryandsocietyandcommunicatewithnativeEnglishspeakersbetter.Therearestillalotinthisfieldwaitingtobeexplored,andeuphemismsdeservemoreattentionandcomprehensivestudies.

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