The　Cognitive　Analysis　of　Euphemism

崔丹　李世妍

【Abstract】Euphemism is a kind of inoffensive expression employed for some taboo topics. This paper， based on daily examples， analyzes its motivation and usage. From these analyses， readers will understand how euphemism emerges and works to uphold civility.

【Key words】Euphemism; Motivation; Using Occasion

【作者簡介】崔丹（1974.05-），女，哈爾濱人，哈爾濱工程大學外語系副教授，博士 ，研究方向：語言學，教學法;李世妍（1994.09-），女，江蘇南通人，哈爾濱工程大學外語系碩士研究生，研究方向：英語筆譯 。

【基金項目】2018年黑龍江省教育科學“十三五”規劃課題“一帶一路”政經類文本中的隱喻翻譯策略及教學應用研究，項目批準編號：GJC1318022。中央高校基本科研業務經費，課題名稱：一帶一路視域下“中國分析”中的隱喻翻譯策略研究，階段性成果，項目編號3072019CFW1205。

1. Introduction

People usually misunderstand word meanings are invariable. Researchers， however， begin to appreciate its complexity： “Word meanings， it is suggested， are dynamic and negotiable，” （Warren， 1992：128）. Actually， words are often disguised in various forms and this makes euphemism. This paper is expected to provide the definition， motivation and application of the concept.

2. Definition of Euphemism

Euphemisms “are embedded so deeply in our language that few of us， even those who pride themselves on being plainspoken， ever get through a day without using them，” （Rawson， 1981：1）. They are implicit or roundabout expressions employed for replacing those that may be offensive in certain cases.

3. Motivations for Creating Euphemism

In communication， there are many cases expressing in a euphemistic way. This may be motivated out of the following considerations：

3.1 mentality of fear

The first motivation come from two aspects： the respect for the senior and the fright of uncontrollable events. The first case is when people talk about their parents and other superior and the other is when people talk about some supernatural events like death and gods.

3.2 Politeness Principle

In public occasions， it is impolite to refer to private conditions， then euphemism is admissible to help express properly so as to leave a good impression to others and avoid hurting their relationship. For example， ladies monthly bleeding may be replaced by “blue days” or “period time”.

3.3 Benefit Principle

Sometimes， to maintain benefit， one will use euphemisms to disguise the nature of speech. This may be particularly common in politics. For example， politicians often replace “the poor” by “the vulnerable” to weaken social problems and win support from voters.

4. Application of Euphemism

The function of euphemisms is to protect the people involved from possible effrontery and offence. The following occasions may be applicable：

4.1 Unpleasant Events

It is very common to mention topics that may cause negative emotions， where conversers will adopt cued expressions. For instance， when it comes to death， many expressions are created to weaken its unpleasant implications： “to sleep”， “to be at peace”， “to depart”， and so on.

4.2 Physical Shortcomings

We sometimes encounter people who are physical disordered. Communicating with them usually needs the help of euphemisms. For instance， “being deaf” may be called “defective hearing” or “being hearing-deprived” and “being crippled” may be “being differently abled”.

4.3 Certain Body Functions

In public occasions， it is inappropriate to mention some physiological acts. For instance， despite the claim of ‘narrowing the focus， the boundaries of sexual euphemism are deceptively wide， encompassing the sexual act itself， associated body parts， and even clothing that is in direct contact with these body parts， i.e. underwear （Nash， 1995）. It seems sex has become a great ‘secret （Giddens， 1992）. Therefore， pregnancy， a matter related to sex， is often substituted by “be in the delicate condition” or “be expecting”.

4.4 Certain Professions

Sometimes， people may mention social occupations or institutions gently as an attempt to bridge occupational gap and show respect for individualism.

5. Conclude

To conclude， euphemism reveals linguistic choices of another human being， of “notions which are not open to observation”. George Orwell put： “...if thought corrupts language， language can also corrupt thought.” It could benefit those trying to understand language or wrestling with nature of humanity.

References：

[1]Giddens， A.. The Transformation of Intimacy： sexuality， love and eroticism in modern society[M]. Cambridge： Polity Press，1992.