Application of Euphemism in Business English

◆ABSTRACT：With the development of globalization， English-based international business activities are becoming more and more extensive. Therefore， English has become an indispensable linguistic tool in conducting any international business. In business activities， with a goal of receiving satisfaction and trust of customers， people not only can express their views and wishes politely and implicitly but also can create harmonious atmosphere by using appropriate euphemism， which can help us to achieve purposes of both parties.

1 Introduction

From the historical perspective， economic globalization develops with growing social productivity， and is a natural outcome of scientific and technological progress. It has powered global growth and facilitated movement of goods and capital， advances in science， technology and civilization， and interactions among people.

2 Literature Review

There is a long history of the study of English euphemism. In Anglo-Saxon period， a period of war， people firstly used English euphemism to avoid offending political and religious leaders. In 1967， Paul Grice， the famous American linguistic philosopher， created the cooperative principle in his work Logic and Conversation. Grice believes that the two sides seem to follow a certain principle in the process of human communication and dialogue inadvertently in order to cooperate effectively and complete the communicative tasks. Thus Grice put forward the session “Cooperative Principle”. In1983， distinguished British linguist  Geoffrey Leech published his work Principles of Pragmatics， which describes a rhetorical model of pragmatics and this model studies linguistic communication according to communicative goals principles of properly communicative behaviors.

In China， there are also a number of scholars who have studied euphemism and published numerous remarkable works. Shu Dingfang （1989） described the basic principles of euphemism and fundamental characteristics of euphemism expressions. In addition， the author also believes that there are also more workable principles in international communication such as self-protective principle besides the cooperative principle and politeness principles.

3 The Overview of Euphemism in Business English

As many scholars have studied euphemism and the applications of it in business English， we can come to a conclusion that a systematic analysis of euphemism in business English of significance. In this part， a detailed analysis on euphemism and its application in business English are presented.

3.1 Euphemism

The word “euphemism” comes from Greek. “Eu” means “good” and pheme means “speech” or “saying”， so “euphemism” means “speaking with good words or in a pleasant manner”.We can find its definition in current English dictionaries， which define euphemism as follows：

（A） Stein believes that euphemism is the substitution of mild， indirect， or vague expression for one thought to be offensive， harsh or blunt. （The Random House College Dictionary） （1979）.

（B） In Procters opinion， euphemism is that a word or phrase used to avoid saying another word or phrase that is more forceful honest but also more unpleasant or offensive. （Cambridge International Dictionary of English） （1995）

（C） From Owens perspective， euphemism is that a polite word or expression that you use when they are talking about something which they or other people find unpleasant or embarrassing， such as death or sex. （Collins Cobuild Essential Dictionary） （1989）

We can classify euphemism in a comprehensive way： verbal euphemism and nonverbal euphemism. In this thesis we mainly focus on verbal euphemism.

3.2 Functions of Euphemism in Business English

At first， the evasive function of euphemism is introduced. When it comes to sex and reproduction， body excretion and elimination and some religious matters， we would consider evasive function to avoid using taboos， enabling the speaker to talk about the tabooed things freely.

In speech communication， politeness is also used to save ones or others face. In business activities and international business activities， most interactions are governed by politeness. In business activities， both parties would try to make the other accept their opinions and requirements. Therefore， if one partys statement is too rigid and aggressive， it would hurt each others face.

At last， defensive function is also important. When it comes to defensive function， that is to say， people， considering ones rank and social status in the process of communication， try to maintain ones benefit and respect. People avoid using vulgar words and express in an agreeable and mild way. So we should learn to refuse when we disagree with the others views.

For instance：

I am so sorry to say， Allen， I understand your position， but it is more than difficult for us to accept such terms. There is no doubt that the products of your company are of good quality， but we are afraid that we will have a hard time to persuade our customers at price. After careful consideration of our company， so we are look forward to the next cooperation with you.

From the above example， it can be seen that in business activities， the cooperation of each other has to be rejected in order to protect our interests.

4 Application of Euphemism in Business English

This part describes the applications and importance of euphemism in business negotiations business letters and business advertisements by analyzing several real business cases.

4.1 In Business Negotiation

In business negotiation， euphemistic strategies are frequently used because using euphemism in business negotiation can create friendly and cooperative atmosphere between the two parties involved， relieve the tension of business negotiation and break the deadlock when a negotiator express different opinions. We cannot agree to your request.

a .I am afraid that we cannot agree to your request.

b .It was unwise of you to delay the delivery.

c .It seems to me that it was unwise of you to delay the delivery.

In these examples， it can be clearly seen that a and b are used to express disagreement， and c and d a kind of criticism， both of which will harm the hearers face. In this case， the hedging phrases “Im afraid” and “It seems to me” should be added. By this way， the speaker can reduce the force imposed on hearers and make words more acceptable.

a .Can you send us a sample by airmail？

b .Could you send us a sample by airmail？

c .I wondered whether you could send us a sample by airmail？

It can be seen that politeness and harmony in the above example increase due to using the past tense. Therefore， we could use the past tense to increase politeness and create comfortable and harmonious atmosphere.

Therefore， as long as we learn how to use euphemism in business negotiations， we can capture business opportunities and get success in business negotiations.

4.2 In Business Letters

It is inevitably that some conflicts and unpleasantness occur during business trade. It is unadvisable to show their emotions directly with some negative or unpleasant information. On the contrary，  they are supposed to put ourselves in others position take others requirements and interest into consideration， so as to ease tension buy using some euphemistic words， such as “appreciate”， “sorry”， “regretful”， “thank”， “glad”， “pleased”， “obliged”， “wish” and so on， instead of using the negative and intensified ones. The following example may be a good case in point.

Dear Sirs，

We have seen your advertisement in recent Economy Daily on your range of classroom furniture.

We are interested in improving our schools hardware facility including desks and chairs.

We wish to enquire into the possibility of ordering a large number of desks and chairs perhaps a smaller amount of blackboard.

Please send us your latest catalogue and price lists for all your classroom furniture. We would appreciate a quotation CIT Mombasa， if possible.

We should be obliged if you would send us some samples of desk， chair， and blackboard， as this model seems to be the most suitable to our conditions.

Yours faithfully

In the above letter of inquiry， the potential buyer is in inquiry of ordering a large number of classroom furniture. He represented his emotion by a euphemistic phrase “are interested in” instead of other definite expressions such as “greatly want to”. In addition， the potential buyer conveys his true intention of ordering a large number of desks and chairs perhaps a smaller amount of blackboard by using “wish”.

In the above example， the seller expresses explicitly his pleasant state of mind in the beginning of the letter by using “thank you”， “are glad to”， which also can create a harmonious atmosphere in the process of communication with potential buyer and make partner feel joyful. In short， the applications of those euphemistic words are more than polite and friendly in business activities.

4.3 In Business Advertisements

As is known to all， nowadays， billions of dollars are spend on advertisements. “Advertisements are one of the publicity measures to send related information about something to the public” （Rush， 1998）. Advertisements are of increasing importance in todays business word and so businessmen are supposed to learn how to employ it in order to help companies to promote their sales and build their images in the international market. Some examples about business advertisement are as follow：

In America， a company， for the purpose of bringing exquisite association to audiences， publicizes its pantyhose with “Queen Size”. Actually， pantyhose with “Queen Size” is created by advertisers to refer to the trousers fit for the women who are fat. As we all know， the word “fat” makes women feel unpleasant easily， so advertisers made up their minds to use “Queen Size” as euphemism in their ads， which doubles this kind of pantyhose.

In conclusion， from the above examples， we realized that the importance of using euphemism in business advertisements. We should pay more attention to find out the euphemisms applied in business ads and learn how to use them in order to gain expected results.

5 Conclusion

Euphemism is a common phenomenon in all languages. Opinions are often expressed with euphemism in business English in an indirect， polite and face saving way to substitute the ones with disagreeable or less respectful meaning. Therefore， it is expected that some more detailed researches and materials about euphemism in English are expected to be done by other scholars and literary critics in the future.

References

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[3]Grice，H.P.Logic and Conversation [M].Oxford：Oxford University Press，1967.

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[5]从莱庭.英语委婉语详解词典[M].武汉：湖北教育出版社，2001.

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作者简介

祁德志，硕士在读，研究方向：英语笔译专业。