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1、AbstractEuphemism,asacommonlinguisticphenomenoninworldculture,iswidelyusedineverysocialclassandfield.Englisheuphemism,asoneofmanyeuphemismsexistingintheworld,hasitsowndeeporigin,whichincludeboththereligiousoriginandthehistorical,literaryorigin.ThisthesiswilltrytodiscusstheoriginofEnglisheuphemismfro
2、meveryaspectofreligion,race,politics,literary,andhistory.Languagereflectslife,andisalwayscloselyrelatedtothesociety.Duringthecommunication,duetosomecertainrestrictionofbehaviorandmorality,peopletendtouseeuphemismusedasakindoflubrication,makingtheharsh,indelicatewordssoundtactfulandpleasant.Englisheu
3、phemismplaysaveryimportantroleinpeoplessocialcommunication.ThispaperwillalsoexpoundthesocialcommunicativefunctionofEnglisheuphemismfromthethreeaspects:evasivefunction,politefunction,andcosmeticfunction.HavingagoodunderstandingoftheoriginandsocialfunctionofEnglisheuphemismandtheEnglishlanguageculture
4、canavoidmanyconflictsintheprocessofsocialcommunication.KeyWordsorigin;communicativefunction;evasion;cosmeticfunction;politeness【摘要】委婉语是世界文化中普遍存在的语言现象,它广泛应用于社会各阶层和领域。英语委婉语作为众多委婉语中的一种,具有其产生的深厚渊源,其中包宗教与政治的,也包括文学与历史的。本文试图从宗教、种族、政治、文学、历史等方面入手来探讨英语委婉语的产生渊源。语言反映生活,并且总是和社会紧密联系在一起,在语言交谈中,由于一定的行为规范和道德准则的制约,人们
5、通常使用委婉语-这一“润滑剂”,使刺耳,不文雅的话变得委婉愉悦。它在人们的社会交际过程中发挥着重要作用。本文从其避讳功能、礼貌功能以及掩饰功能三方面阐释了英语委婉语的社会交际功能。通过充分理解英语委婉语的起源及其社会交际功能,进一步理解英语语言文化,以避免社会交际中的各种冲突。【关键词】起源;交际功能;避讳;礼貌;掩饰1.IntroductionEuphemismisaculturalphenomenonaswellasalinguisticconcept.Everylanguagehasitsowneuphemism,sodoesEnglish.Itisdeeplyrootedinsocia
6、llifeandhasagreatinfluenceonsocialcommunication.AsanindispensableandnaturalpartofEnglishlanguage,Englisheuphemismhasattractedpeoplesattentionforalongtime.SinceEuphemismwascoined,ithasplayedaveryimportantroleinpeoplescommunication.Thecommunicationwithouteuphemismisunimaginable.Euphemismisusedlikelubr
7、ication,whichmakesthecommunicationgoonsmoothly.ThisthesiswillhaveanoverviewoftheoriginofEnglisheuphemism,andstateitssocialcommunicativefunction.Englisheuphemismasalinguisticconcept,ithascloserelationshipswiththewesternculture,andittrulyreflectsthelifeandvaluesofEnglishpeopleandtheirhistory.Euphemism
8、isaparticularlygoodmediumforaccesstotheforceoflanguagethathasprovidedaneffectiveapproachtounderstandingthehumanmind.ThestudyofEnglisheuphemismcanhelpusunderstandthewesterncultureandpromotetheinternationaldevelopmentbecauseeuphemismiswidelyusedininternationalnegotiations.Sothereisagreatneedforustostu
9、dyEnglisheuphemism,including:itsorigin,itssocialfunction,etc.2.ThedefinitionsofEnglisheuphemismEuphemismisauniversallinguisticphenomenon.Nearlyineverylanguage,therearesomedisgustingwords,whichmakepeoplefeelembarrassed.Intheprocessofcommunication,theunsuitableortoodirectwordswillmakepeoplefeeluncomfo
10、rtable,evenangry.Thenthereisagreatneedforustouseatactfulwaytoexpressemotion,exchangeideas.Thatistosay,touseapleasant,mildorindirectwordsorphrasestaketheplaceoftabooedwords.Itisknownthateuphemismisaformoflanguageintentionallycreatedinsocialrelationtoachieveidealcommunication.Withoutthemanylanguagewou
11、ldseemtobevulgarandrude,voidofpolitenessandvividnesstosomeextent.Asacommoncommunicationintheprocessofpeopleusinglanguage,euphemismisanimportantwayforpeopletocoordinatethesocialrelationships.Likeakindoflubrication,euphemismenablespeopletoexpresswhatcannotbeuttereddirectlyandensurescommunicationtobeca
12、rriedsmoothly.Itisalanguagestrategyincivilizedsocietyforavoidingtaboo.Itisunimaginableifthecommunicationiswithouteuphemism.Theword“euphemism”wasderivedfromtheGreekword“euphemismos”,whichmeans“fairspeech”.Theprefix“eu”means“good,soundwell”and“pheme”means“saying”or“speech”.Andthustheliteralmeaningof“e
13、uphemism”is“tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner”.Thatistosay,euphemismisusedasanalternativetounpleasantexpression,inordertoavoidpossibleloseofface,eitheronesownfaceorthroughgoingoffense,thatoftheaudience,orsomeofthirdofparty.Thisunpleasantexpressionmaybetabooed,fearsome,orforsomeotherreasonsthat
14、speakerscantorintendnottousesomecertainexpressiondirectlyonsomeoccasion.“InWebstersEncyclopedicUnabridgedDictionaryoftheEnglishLanguageisthesubstitutionofamild,indirect,orvagueexpressionforonethoughtsubstituted.RawsonBlunt,aBritishwriter,definedeuphemismasagoodfavorableinterpretationofabadword.”1“Encyc
