The Verbal Taboos in English and Chinese on culture context

王丽峰

【摘 要】Verbal taboos in English and Chinese helps us to understand each other as well do not feel uncomfortable on communications. Here， a few points of verbal taboos would be discussed， e.g. definition and so on.

【Key words】verbal taboo； cultural difference

1.Introduction

Taboo word is an essential part in language family. It was born on account people avoid some phenomenon， action or object as harmful for superstition， fear and loathe etc. as a symbol of highly developed human civilization， taboo word has been playing a significant part in our life and day-to-day work. It aces on peoples thinking style， what is more， it affects peoples spirit， and endows many common things with a kind of mythical feeling of the attractive culture. Taboo word exists in peoples subconscious in every second and affects every aspect of peoples daily life deeply. But some words or expressions are to be avoided because tradition or social custom strongly frowns on their use. In English， if they must be mentioned， then the terms should be euphemistic ones. In Chinese， they are also taboo， but the Chinese attitude is less strict.

2.The definition of taboo

Taboo has become a commonly used word in anthropology and studies of religion and folk custom. Igmund Freud， the founder of psychoanalytic school， put forward interesting and detailed discussions on taboos in his classical work totem and taboo. He pointed out that taboos contained two opposite meanings： on one hand， it was lofty， sacred； on the other hand， it was mysterious， dangerous， prohibitive and unclean. On the basis of Freuds views， the Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary defines the word “taboo” as follow： “ a） ban or prohibition on something that is regarded for religious or other reasons as not to be done， touché， used， spoken of etc. b） general reasons as not to discuss or to do something.” Taboos exist in all known cultures， referring to certain acts， objects， or relationships which society wishes to avoid and thus the language used to talk about them. Verbal taboos are generally related to social life.”， the taboos are not spoken directly.

3.Social status of verbal taboo in English and Chinese

In recent years， more and more pleasant-sounding words or phrases are being used in talking about social life and social affairs. For example， there are fewer occupations called jobs； many have become professions. In order to raise the social status of some occupations， people prefer to use euphemism to beautify them. In America， physician and engineer are two respectful professions， so there are numerous euphemisms ended with the suffix-cian and engineer， e.g. “mortician” for “undertaker”， “beautician” for “hairdresser”， “pipe engineer” for “plumber”， and “sanitary engineer for “garbage collector”. Because of these euphemisms emergence， those humble jobs sound graceful. In ones self-introduction， she/he will not feel shamed and embarrassed； when talking of others， she/he seems to be courteous and civilized. Thus they enable people to strengthen the effect of their interpersonal communication. In education field， dressed-up words or phrases are likewise prolific. Some people prefer to “educator” to “teacher”. The comment for a “below-average student” might be that “she/he is working at her/his own level”. That doesnt mean hurt anyones pride， doesnt it？ Can “do better work with help” doesnt sound bad either： its just a less offensive way of saying a student is slow or stupid. Obviously， neither student nor the parents would tolerate that. So “a lazy child” is “an underachiever”. The term doesnt indicate how much/little she/he has achieved. Here are a few other examples： depend on others to her/his work=cheat in class/exams， have a tendency to stretch the truth=sometimes tell lies， take other peoples things without permission=steal.5In Chinese traditional culture， the most typical and obvious illustration of social status is the name taboo. In ancient times， Chinese people believed that name was not an ordinary language sign and that it had a supernatural power attached with peoples spirits. After entering the feudal society， a persons name increased a layer of political and ethical colour on the basis of the former superstitious conception. Imperial government and rules of etiquette made all kinds of taboo regulations on the given names of emperors， sages and ones elders. For example， people in Tang Dynasty substituted “代” （generation） for “世”， “人” （people） for “民” in order to avoid the given name of Tang Taizong “李世民”. Besides， “觀世音” （goddess of mercy） was called “观音” for short. Names of a person or place composing of “丘” were pronounced as “启”. Both in writing and speaking， Chinese people avoid the verbal taboos on the given name of their elders， too. For instance， Liu Wensou in Qing Dynasty never listened to music because his fathers name “岳” was pronounced the same as “乐” （music in English） in Chinese character. Nowadays， when people give names to their children， they still avoid using the similar Chinese characters of their elders given names.

In western countries， to ask questions about ones life and personal matters would be considered prying into an individuals private life， thus they gradually become verbal taboos in the long history. It is because people in English-speaking countries place a high valve on privacy， which includes age， weight， income， marriage and so on. There is a famous English saying “a mans home is his castle”， which means a mans home is sacred to him， no one should come in without permission. Chinese people are renowned as a land of ceremony and propriety. People usually exchange conventional greetings by saying， “youve put on weight” or “you are getting fat” etc. However， westerners think weight is purely a private affair and it is even worse to say， “she/he is fat”， otherwise， such remarks are easily to be understood as a warning.

4.Conclusion

Taboo is a common cultural phenomenon existing in both Chinese and western cultures. Knowing deep cultural differences behind similar phenomena of verbal taboos in Chinese and English enables us to understand one another and communicate more effectively with people from different cultures in the modern society of international interdependence.

References：

[1]Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary. Beijing： The commercial press，4th ed.， 1997，p.1553.

[2]陳原. 社会语言学. 北京： 商务印书馆， 2010， 342-343.

[3]贺芸. 汉英语严禁忌的社会语言学透视. 北京： 学术探索，2012.

[4] Kramsch， Claire. Language and Culture. Shanghai： Shanghai Foreign Language Teaching Press， 2013.

[5]葛校琴. 英汉语言禁忌的深层文化映现. 北京： 外语与外语教学， 2013.