Meaning Construction Mechanism of Euphemism within CBR Model

【Abstract】Euphemism， as a common linguistic phenomenon， is widely employed in our daily social communication as an effective strategy to make impersonal relationship harmonious and social communication smooth. Based on Liu Chunbaos A Dictionary of English Euphemisms （2001）， this paper aims to study euphemism esp. its meaning construction mechanism under the CBR model—an integration of Conceptual Blending Theory （CBT） and Relevance Theory （RT）.

【Key words】euphemism； CBT； RT； CBR model； meaning construction

I. Introduction

As Enright states， “mankind cannot bear very much reality， and only the most robust can survive on a diet of raw truths and untenderized plain talking （1985， p.93）”. From this angle， the individuals are supposed to apply a more agreeable， reassuring and pleasant strategy in communication so as to make their interpersonal relationship harmonious and their social communication smooth. Therefore， it is crucial to understand the meaning construction mechanisms of euphemistic expressions.

II. CBR Model

Actually， the two theories CBT and RT have their respective merits and demerits in explaining the meaning construction mechanism of euphemism. Based on this feature， we believe that the two theories are complementary to each other to certain degree. Therefore， this paper proposes a new integrated CBR model， which is more scientific to interpret euphemism， thus more contributive to explain the meaning construction mechanism of euphemism.

2.1 Conceptual Blending Theory （CBT） and Euphemism

As a common language phenomenon in human communication， euphemism is a reflection of the mode of cognition and closely connected with the psychological mechanisms of human beings. Under such circumstance， its necessary to explore the human cognitive process when euphemisms are used by investigating the inner mechanisms governing the meaning construction in the process of daily communication within the framework of cognitive linguistics. CBT， as a general wide-ranging cognitive operation， can explain the meaning construction mechanism in a broad manner， navigate the space of possible construal， and explore the radically different social and emotional consequences they can trigger.

In semantics， the real intention of conceptual integration in euphemisms is to produce a new meaning on the euphemisms through the process of conceptual integration.CBT is capable of endowing a profound analysis for euphemisms. In understanding euphemisms， vivid supernatural images may form in the brain， usually a result of conceptually interpreting and combining the euphemisms and indirect expressions in a creative way.

2.2 Relevance Theory （RT） and Euphemism

RT defines communication as an ostensive-inferential process which requires the speaker and listeners mutual participation in the process of utterance comprehension. To achieve a successful communication， the speaker tries to produce such informative intention that the listener can infer the intended communicative information； the listener attempts to create relevance by understanding discourse and establishing context with the least processing effort.

In the formation of euphemisms， we hold that the substitution of a euphemistic word for a less pleasant word shall be based on the similarity or close relationship between the two expressions. In the euphemistic expressions， sometimes two seemingly unrelated words are put together and one word is used to substitute another for the sake of politeness or situation restraints， this is because people produce a relevant association between them in the cognitive field， explaining the two things with the help of the relationship between two concepts （Zhao Yanfang， 2000， p.89）. Generally， relevance determines the possibility of our creation and understanding of euphemisms which makes the purpose of being euphemistic possible. Therefore， relevance determines the relationship between euphemisms and the euphemized subjects， which should be carefully handled in RT in order to construct and understand the meaning construction mechanism of euphemisms in a better way.

2.3 Integration of CBT and RT—CBR Model

To some extent， it is powerful in the interpretation of verbal communication within CBT and RT respectively.CBT presents a new perspective in the interpretation of linguistic phenomena， in which mental construction， cross-space mapping， selective projection and integration model are illustrated and emphasized. Then， the pragmatic inference is the focus of RT， with relevance as the foundation in communication. Regardless of these strengths， they have their own weaknesses in interpreting meaning construction mechanism.

In view of this， an integrated CBR model can be developed to interpret the meaning construction mechanism of euphemism In this model， from input I to input II， the speaker will show the maximal manifestness by communicative intention. Accordingly， the listener will try to make an inference and seek the optimal relevance based on the speakers manifestness and context. Therefore， the desired euphemistic effect can be achieved.

III. Meaning Construction of Euphemism within CBR Model

As a common phenomenon in our daily language， a fundamental characteristic of euphemism is the implicitness of its euphemistic meaning. In understanding euphemisms， the listener should assume that the words spoken by the speaker has maximum relevance to the contextual hypothesis and deserve necessary efforts for processing with the help of wider contexts. With relevance between the euphemistic meaning and backstage meaning and context as the foundation of euphemism generation， CBR provides a theoretical framework for interpreting the dynamic meaning construction mechanism in understanding euphemisms.

According to Liu Chunbaos dictionary， most of the euphemisms are constructed on the basis of rhetoric means， such as metonymy， metaphor， understatement， etc. The literal meaning and implied meaning of euphemisms in this kind are completely different， which cannot be understood literally， so the understanding of which is not involved with two levels but three： euphemism-literal meaning-actual meaning. Therefore， the following example adopts CBR model to interpret the meaning construction of euphemisms.

There are many blossoms on the girls face.

In order to save peoples face and make conversations go smoothly， people try to avoid harsh words and impolite expressions when they communicate with each other. In the verbal communication， euphemism is often employed and viewed as the best way to avoid embarrassment and shamefulness. In our example， when a person mentions a girls appearance， he says “There are many blossoms on the girls face.” The key point to understand the sentence is to know the meaning of “blossom”. In fact， “blossom” here refers to “pimple” on ones face. Seemingly， there are no obvious connections between the two. Then how could “blossom” take the place of “pimple” and how is this euphemistic implicature created？ To a great extent， the audiences background knowledge of “pimple” and “blossom” has a big effect on the understanding of the euphemism. “Pimple” refers to small raised inflamed spot on the skin and “blossom” refers to mass of flowers on a tree or shrub （Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary， 4th edition： 1110， 140）. According to their meanings， we can seek the similarities from their differences and connect them together in our mind. Whats more， Through seeking optimal relevance in the process of understanding this euphemism， the listener can get his inference to comprehend the euphemistic effects on the basis of context. That is， many inflamed spots on the girls face look like beautiful blooming flowers on a tree.

From the above explanations， we can see that with the knowledge in our mind and the concrete cognitive context， the details of “pimple” in the target domain which provides are fused with those of “blossom” in the frame network of the blending. And the implicature or euphemistic meaning of the sentence “There are many blossoms on the girls face.” is that “Many inflamed spots on the girls face look like beautiful blooming flowers on a tree.”

IV. Conclusion

In this paper， our main purpose is to adopt CBR model to interpret the meaning construction mechanism of euphemism. The two theories CBT and RT are integrated in terms of cognitive context， inference， and optimal relevance among the mental spaces in an attempt to interpret the meaning construction of euphemistic mechanisms. Indeed， through the previous discussion on euphemisms， the powerful interpretation of CBR model for euphemism has been proved definitely feasible.

Nevertheless， this paper， to some extent， is only a tentative study on the meaning construction mechanism， i.e. the generation of euphemistic effects and understanding of euphemisms from a cognitive pragmatic perspective. There are bound to be a lot of limitations herein. Hopefully further efforts will fill up the limitations and make a comprehensive analysis of euphemism in cognitive pragmatics.

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作者簡介：羅小利（1975-），女，重慶市渝中區人，現任職于四川省渠縣二中，外國語言學及應用語言學專業，碩士，研究方向：認知語言學。