The charm of euphemism in English and Chinese（from the angles of the indirect and direct）

周陈桑

【Abstract】： Euphemism is a common language phenomenon in all kinds of languages. In our daily sometimes we cannot say some words or sentences very directly. So we usually use euphemism to express our meaning gently. On the basis of the definition of euphemism， this article analyses and compares the similarities and differences of English and Chinese performance method， structure method.

【Key words】： euphemism; direct; indirect; communication

1.Definition

Euphemism is a figure of speech in which something of an unpleasant， distressing or indelicate nature is described in less offensive terms. The word euphemism is derived from the Greek word. The prefix ‘eu- means ‘good， well and the stem ‘pheme means speech. So it is clear that the meaning of euphemism is ‘word of good omen. It is general agreed that the implied， indirect or sounding words which are expressed as taboo or sensitive things are all in the range of euphemism. Euphemism is a common language phenomenon in all kinds of languages but it is also very complex.

2. Traditional Euphemisms

Traditional euphemism is closely related to taboo. Any language has its taboos because they are influenced by objective facts or ideas. When it refers to old， ill， death or other sensitivity topics we should use euphemisms. If one person says these taboos directly others may think this person is of low cultural quality and very vulgar. Conversely， if we can express indirectly， it can not only give a person a kind of elegant and implicit impression but also avoid causing great mental burden and psychological harm to others.

2.1Diseases

There are many diseases and especially some diseases that are easy to cause great mental burden that the parties often do not want to speak directly. So we often use euphemism to express. For example， we use ‘social disease instead of ‘venereal disease; ‘preventable disease instead of ‘syphilis or aids; ‘a growth instead of ‘cancer; ‘mentally ill or ‘mentally handicapped instead of ‘mad， crazy or ‘insane; ‘mental hospital， giggle house instead of ‘madhouse. ‘Jane was in a bad way and asked for two days leave. This sentence uses ‘a bad way to instead ill. In Chinese when we talk to illness we usually use“身體不好”、“身體欠安”. When we say “不治之症” it means cancer. Although both in English and Chinese the listeners can understand its meaning， it is less harsh than direct.

2.2 Sex

It is common sense that if we say the words about sex or the love affairs directly which shows we are brusque and vulgar. In English， the euphemisms about sex affair aspects are beyond count. They call ‘sexual relations without marriage as ‘trial marriage or ‘free love; ‘adultery as ‘be intimate with sb; ‘to have an affair with sb or ‘to make time with. There are more terms to instead having sex with such as ‘to go to bed with， ‘have relations with， ‘make love with， ‘have intimacy with sb， ‘have associations with sb. There is an interesting name of politicians illegal sexual life it is ‘zipper gate. Euphemisms used in sex can reduce the embarrassment.

3. Stylistic Euphemisms

Actually， stylistic euphemisms are compliments and they are mainly applied in education， politics， economy and diplomacy. They are used to express politeness and avoid causing stimulation and collision. In order to satisfy the needs and interests of both parties sometimes we need to use liquidates to express unhappy things. With the development of society， people usually use a pleasant or vague expression to instead undesirable expressions.

3.1 Age

Human regards age as a taboo especially for old people and women. In modern society， people's scientific thought has been increased but people are not willing to face the reality of the age. So in the modern language the taboo words about aging are particularly rich. Because of the loose traditional family structures old people always live lonely so they do not like other people say they are old. In order to show the respect they are many words to express old indirectly. For example， ‘senior citizen and ‘seasoned men both mean old people. If a person is an old politician he will be called ‘elder statement. And old age will be called ‘sunset years. It's a euphemism with optimism.

3.2 Crimes and Law

Criminal and police are the major part to create and use the euphemisms of crimes and law. The two sides in order to cover up their actions make up of sets of code words. For example， they use ‘rob a bank as ‘break a jug; ‘a juvenile delinquent as ‘a problem child; ‘steal as ‘take things without permission; ‘get the ticket for the wrong parking or driving too fast as ‘to feed the bears.

4. Conclusion

Through the comparison of Chinese and English euphemism， we realize that euphemism is a kind of linguistics， but also a social and cultural phenomenon. The emergence and development of euphemism is the result of various social psychology and events. Euphemism is an indispensable part of language. There are many similarities and differences between Chinese and English euphemism. In cross cultural communication， people often make mistakes in euphemism. Perhaps the topic that is often said in a culture is a taboo subject in another culture; perhaps something that is often used in a culture is a violation of the privacy of others in another culture. In order to avoid the mistakes in intercultural communication， it is necessary to understand the cultural connotations and differences between Chinese and English euphemism. Because we say words or sentences in a direct way or an indirectly way can make a huge difference， it is important for us to learn how to use euphemisms in our daily communication with others.

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