1、从合作原则看英语委婉语研究AbstractTheword“euphemism”comesfromtheGreek,eu-means“good”,andpheme-,“speech”or“saying”,andtogetheritmeansliterally“tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner”.Euphemism,asaculturalphenomenonaswellasalinguisticconcept,hasat tractedpeoplesattentionforalongtime .Ithaslongbeenatopicofmuchinte
2、rest.G enerallyspeaking,peoplewouldusemoree uphemismsincommunicatingwiththeoppositesex;womenwouldusemorethanmenwould ;olderpeoplewouldusemorethanyoungerg enerations.Peoplewouldmoreuseeuphemi smsin“power“relationsthanincloserelations.Peoplewithhighereducationwouldusemoreeuphemisms.Theabovefactors:age
3、,sex,socialstatus ,education,etc.donotworkseparately.Incommunicating,theyareinterlacedwitheachotherandguideourchoiceofeuphemis ms.whethertouseeuphemismsortaboowordsalsodepends,toalargeextent,ontheattitudesofparticipan tsandthepurposeofconversations.Thearticleconsistsofsixparts.Partoneexplainswhatthe
4、meaning ofeuphemismis.Part twoissayingthecooperativePrincipleinbriefly.cooperativePrinciple,thecornerstonetheoryofpra gmatics,isoneofthemainprinciplesthat guidepeoplescommunication.Thecooper ativePrincipleanditsmaximscanexplain whattheliteralmeaningisanditsrealint entionincommunicationandensurethati
5、n anexchangeofconversation.Partthreepr esents,theformationeuphemism,namely,formalinnovation,semanticinnovation,rhetoricaldevices,andgrammaticalways .Partfourdiscussesthecommunicativefu nctionofeuphemismissubstitution,poli teness,disguise,defense,etc.Partfive servesasthemainbodyofthisarticle.Gen eral
6、lyspeaking,euphemismsviolatetheQuality,QuantityandmannermaximofthecPduetodifferentreasonslikesubstitution,disguiseetc.AndbasicallyeuphemismsobservetheRelation maxim.Fromtheanalysis,itcanbealsofou ndthatsometimesaneuphemismcanberegardedasviolationoftwomaximsofthecPatth esametime.Partsixconcludesthewh
7、olear ticle.keywordscooperativePrincipl e;Euphemism;communicativefunction【摘要】委婉语一词起源于希腊语。Eu 意思是“好的” ，pheme 意思是“话语”，因此字面上的意思是说好听的话或用礼貌的方式说话。委婉语是一个语言学概念，同时也是一种文化现象，长久以来一直受到人们的关注。总体上讲人们在与异性进行言语交际时，要比在同性面前更多地使用委婉语，女性要比男性更多地使用委婉语，年长的人要比年青的人更多地使用委婉语。人们在“权势关系”的语境中往往要比在“亲密关系”的语境中更多地使用委婉语。受教育程度越高的人，越注意自己的言谈，
8、因而更多地使用委婉语。上述因素年龄、性别、社会地位、教育等并不孤立存在，在交际中，他们交织在一起决定着委婉语的使用。是否使用委婉语还要考虑说话者的态度和交谈的目的。由六个部分组成。第一部分解释了什么是委婉语。第二部分简单列出合作原则的各项原则。它作为语用学的理论基石之一，是指导人们语言交际的原则之一。它可以很好地解释话语的字面意义和实际意义的关系，这对于交际委婉语显得尤为重要。第三部分说明委婉语的构成可以有很多种方式：形式变化，语义变化，修辞手段和语法手段。第四部分阐述了交际委婉语出于替代、掩饰、和礼貌等功能。第五部分是的主体，并说明委婉语出于替代、掩饰、和礼貌等原因主要违反了合作原则中的质、
9、量和方式三个次则，基本上是遵循了合作原则中的相关原则。第六部分总结全文。【关键字】合作原则;委婉语;交际功能1.IntroductionI ntheoxfordAdvanced LearnersEnglishchineseDictionaryth eexplanationofEuphemismis“useofpleas ant,mildorindirectwordsorphrasesinpl aceofmoreaccurateo rdirectones“1.An dintheLongmanDicti onaryofcontemporaryEnglishtheexplana tionofEuph
10、emismis“theuseofapleasanter,lessdirectnamef orsomethingthoughttobeunpleasant“2.Forexample,themanwhowantstoustocall hima“sanitationengineer”insteadofa“g arbageman”ishopingwewilltreathimwithmorerespectthanwepresentlydo.“Thewo rdeuphemismcomes fromtheGreekeumeaninggoodandphememeaningspeechorsaying,andt
11、husmeansliterallytospeakwithgoodwordsorina pleasantmanner“3 .Euphemismshavevariousreasonsforexi stence.Theyconcealthethingspeoplefea rthemostdeath,thedead,thesupernatur al.Theycoverupthefactsoflifeofsexan dreproductionandex cretionwhichinevitablyremindeventhemostrefinedpeoplethattheyaremadeofcl ay,o
12、rworse.Theyare belovedbyindividualsandinstitutionst hatareanxioustopresentonlythehandsom estpossibleimagesofthemselvestothewo rld.Andtheyareimbeddedsodeeplyinourlanguagethatfewofus ,eventhosewhopride themselvesonbeingplainspoken,evergetthroughadaywithoutusingthem.Butsomepeoplestillmistaket heeuphemi
13、smsintheconversationbythecooperativeprinciple.ViolatingthecP,peoplealsocancontinuetheconversationwitheuphemisms,which maketheauthorinterestinattitudesofpa rticipantsandthepurposeofconversatio n.Thatisourbodytod ay.2.Formationofeuphemisms2.1Forma linnovationToavoi dtheemergenceofcertainletterorsoundm
14、ayachievetheeffectofeuphemizing.Thef ormalinnovationcan hideaudio-visually thosewordswedontw anttosayorweshould ntsaysoastoachiev ebetteroutcomeinco mmunication.2.1.1 AbbreviationAbbre viationistheshorte ningofawordandmaybeseenintheuseoftheBritishexpressionLADIESforladiesroo m.TherealsoisGENTS forge
15、ntlemensroom .2.1.2ApocopationApocopationisanotherformofabbreviationapparentintheuseofvampforvampirehe remeaningaseductivewoman.Andlavisfor lavatory;homoisforhomosexual;cocaisf orcocaine;braisfor brassiere.2.1.3InitialingInitialin gistheuseofacronym sinsteadoftheircomponentpartsasin“jcfor“jesuschris
16、t”,Bmforbowelmovement“4,“w.cforwatercloset,B.oforbodyodo r,V.Dforvenerealdisease,AIDSforacqui redimmunedeficiencysyndrome,SARSfors evereacuterespirat orysyndrome“5.2.1.4BackformingBackformingisthesubstitutionforonepartofspeechforanother ,asin“burglewhichi sderivedfromburgl ar“6.2.1.5ReduplicationRed
17、uplic ationistherepetiti onofasyllableorletterofaword.Particu larlycommoninchildrensbathroomvocabulary,itsubstitute s“pee-peeforpiss,poo-pooforbowelm ovement“7.2.1.6BlendwordAblendw ordisaformofphoneticdistortioninwhichtwoormorewordsaresqueezedtogetherbo thorthographicallyandphonetically.An exampleo
18、fthisis“gezundaforachamberpo t,atermderivedfromthefactthatthisobj ectgoesunderthebe d“8.2.1.7DiminutiveAdiminutivei stheformationofanewtermbynickingorshorteninganameandaddingasuffixindicatingaffectionorsmal lness.“Heinie,forexample,isthediminutiveofhindendandreferstothebuttock s“9.2.2Semantic innova
19、tion2.2.1Bo rrowingmostobviou sly,euphemismsmayb eformedbyborrowingwordsfromotherlanguagestermsthatarelessfreightedwithn egativeassociations.Thus,weuseGreeka ndLatinexpressionsformanybodilypartsandfunctions.wehavecoinedhalitosisfromtheLatinfor“brea th”andwehavesubstitutedmicturitionfo rthemorevulgar
20、Indo-European“Piss”.In addition,Englisheuphemismsalsoborrowedalotofscientificoracademicterms,whicharebelievedtobemoreeuphemisticandobjectivethantheusualterms,suchasmagneticfor“sexy”andperspirefor“sweat”andsoon.2.2.2wideningEuphemismsmaybemadebyasemanticprocesscalledwidening.whenaspecifictermbecomest
21、oopainfulorvivid,wemoveupintheladderofabstraction.Inthisway,cancerbecomesgrowthandagirdlebecomesafoundation.Sometimes ,inadditiontowideningwedividethenega tiveconnotationsofasingledirecttermbetweentwoormorewords.Insteadofsaying “syphilis”openly,w espeakofasocialdis ease.2.2.3Semanti cshiftAlliedtoth
22、e phenomenonofwideningisthatofsemanticshift.Thisisthesubstitutionofthewhole,orasimilargenera lity,forthespecificpartwedonotchoose todiscuss.wemaycreatesuchmetonymiesa srearendfor“buttoc ks”.Sometimes,asin theexpressions“tos leepwith/gotobedwithsomeone“10,weusewordsnamingthelargereventinplaceofmorepr
23、ecisereferencestothesexualrelationsthatarepartof theprocess.2.3Rhe toricaldevices2.3 .1metaphorEuphemi smsmaybemadebyaprocesscalledmetaphoricaltransfer,thecomparisonofthingsofonekindtothingsofa nother.Theeuphemismschosenareoftenro manticizing,poeticizingandsofteningo ftheoriginalwordslike“gotosleep;
24、got ohislonghome;behom eandfree;restinpeace;beatrest;gotoHe aven/Paradise;joinonesancestors;beg atheredtoonesfathers;jointheimmoral sfordie“11,shockforrandombombing,c onstructivedestructionforseveredamage,havearoadtotravelforhavealongtimetoreachanagreementa ndetc2.3.2AposiopesisInEnglish,t hereisaki
25、ndofrhetoriccalledaposiopesisthatcanalsoactasthewayofeuphemizing.whenwethinkwesho uldnotsaysomethingundercertaincondit ions,wesuddenlystopaswhenwesaysomeoneisout;sheisexpecting;“totakeprecautions;todepart“122.3.3AnalogyAnalogycanoftenbeseeni nthevocabulariesofwork.Atendencytoel evatemenialorunski ll
26、edjobssometimes substitutingagrand titleforalargesala rycanmakeoffalsmelllikearosebypromo tinggarbagementosanitationengineerso reventowaste-reductionmanagers.Byim plication,theybecomehighlytrainedtec hniciansandexecuti ves.Health-clubsta ffsbecomefitnessco ordinators,andsenatorsnowhavetheirsh oesshi
27、nedbythefootwearmaintenanceeng ineer,formerlytheSenatebootblack.Eve nifyouarenotagovernmentofficial,your janitorisnowyourbuidingmaintenanceen gineer.2.3.4Under statementUndersta tementdisplayspeop lesdesiretomaketheirlanguagelesspai nfulanddirect.Sothereisneveranuglywomaninthisworld,sheisatleastplai
28、n.Teachersonlytellparentsthattheirchildisabitslowforhisage,notretarded.Andcallseniorcitizenforo ldperson.“Takeothersthingswithoutpe rmission“canbeinsteadof“steal“.2.3.5PeriphrasisPeriphrasisisjustbeatin garoundthebush.Peopleoftensayeuphemi smsareweaselwords,becausepeoplenevercallaspadeaspadewhenusin
29、geuphemisms.Fartisnotpleasantt oear,sopeoplecallitwindfromthebehind.Someonewantsyoutogoaway,butheonlysayshewillcallyourcarriageforyou.Someonelivingatthegovernmentexpensemaymakeyouenvyhim,butact uallyheisinprison.“manysayingsaboutg oingtowcmakeagooduseofperiphrasislik ewashoneshands,po wderonesnose,s
30、pen dapenny.Sodothedr opforadjustmentdownward13“2.4.GrammaticalwaysAc cordingtoBolinger,“Euphemismisnotrestrictedtothelexico n.Therearegrammaticalwaysoftoningsom ethingdown”.Therefore,euphemizingsho uldnotbelimitedtolexicalways;itcanal sobeachievedbygram maticalways.2.4.1 TenseInEnglish,tensecanlend
31、alittleeuphemisticcolortot heexpressionsforso methingundesired.Especiallywhenpeopleusewant,hope,thinkandwonderorwordslikethattheymayalso makeuseofthetensetosoundmoreeuphemis tically.Forexample ,Iwonderedifyouwou ldmindhelpingme?or“Iwonderedifyoucouldhelpme?“14.Askinghelpthisway,peo plewontfeelsoemba
32、rrassediftheywerer efused.2.4.2SyntacticalnegationThi smethodcanlessonth epainfulimpactofthelanguagethatisnotwelcomed.wesaysheisnotpretty,butthatisacceptable,becau senotprettydoesnotequalto“ugly”,itcouldbe“plain”too.Notprettyhasawiderra ngeofmeaningthanugly.Similarusagesareasthefollowing:Id ontthink
33、,Iamafraid,Iamnotsure,Idontlike,etc.2.4.3Firstpersonalpronoun sTheuseoffirstper sonalpronounslikewe,ours,us,etc,canalsomakeourspeechessoundmoreeuphemistic.youwouldfeelmorewelcomedifyouusedweorourquiteoften.Ifadoctorsaidtoyouhowdowefeeltoday,y ouwouldfeelverywarmandcomfortable,be causeitmakesyouthink
34、thatthiskinddoctortakesyourillness asmutualconcern.3 communicativefunct ionsofeuphemismsL anguageisforcommun ication,whereaseuphemismsmayleadtobe ttercommunication.Usingeuphemismscan avoidbeingpresumptuousinlanguagecomm unication.whenwehavetotouchsometopicsthatareunpleasant ,wetendtochoosemor eeuphe
35、misticexpressionstorefertothos epainfultopicssoasnottohurtthehearer sfeeling.wecanfindthetheoreticalfoundationforthismoti vationinLeechsPolitenessPrinciple.Euphemismsjustminimizetheimpolitenessandmaximizethepoli tenessincommunication.ThefunctionsofeuphemismsareinagreementwiththoseofPolitenessPrincip
36、letoo,astheybothoffe rmorebenefittotheh earerandleavemorecosttothespeaker,withthepurposethatbothofthetwosideswil lfeelrespectedandhavefavorableimpressionofeachother.Aspolitenessisusuallyregardedasthemanifestationofhumancivilization,euphemismisoneofthemostef fectivestrategiestodisplaypoliteness while
37、modulatinginterpersonalrelation shipinhumancommuni cation.3.1Substit utionAccordingtothedefinitionsofeuphemismandweknowtha tagreatnumberofEnglisheuphemismsserv easthesubstitutionsforverbaltaboos.ThetermtabooofPolynesianorigindenotesanythinglinguisticandnonlinguistic,whichisprohibitedorforbidden.Tabo
38、oreferstothesituationi nwhichawordornamecanbeusedinacommuni tyonlyunderspecialconditions,whether onlybycertainpersonsoronlyincertaincircumstances.justasviolatingacultura ltaboocanbequiteoffensive,soisitwithaverbaltabooinpressconferences.The“w ord”hasbeenandcont inuestobeinmostsoc ietiesperceivedasap
39、owerfulinstrumentthatmayevokeevilspirits,makebadthing shappenandinstigatetoviolenceandrevo lutionandnumerousotheractivities.whi letabooofwordsoccurswhenaparticulart opicisconsideredvalidfordiscussion,euphemisticexpressionortermsarerequired.Sodiplomaticeup hemismshaveaveryseriousreasonforbein g.Theyc
40、anconcealthethingspeoplefearmostdeath,thedeadorthesupernatural.E uphemismscanalsoeliminateunhappiness,embarrassmentandfearetc.soastorelie vepeoplepsychologically.3.2Politene ssPolitenessisanotherveryimportantfunctionthateuphemismsserveinsocialli fe.“Someoftheeuphemismsareusedtoavoidcrudenessandindec
41、encyforthesakeofapoliteconversation.“15GriceformulatedcooperativePrinc ipleofutteranceinwhichthemaximofmannerwasdefinedas“Beperspicuousandspecific;Toavoidobscuri ty;Toavoidambiguity;Tobebriefandtobeorderly.”Therounda boutnatureofeuphe mismsgoesagainstthemaximofmanner,whichcanonlybefairlyexplainedwel
42、lbyLeechsPolitenessPrinc iple“Approbationmaxim:minimizedispraiseofother,maximiz epraiseofother”.Inotherwords,euphemismsaretominimizeimpoliteexpressionsandmaximizepoliteex pressions.3.3Disg uiseBesidesthetwofunctionsofeuphemismsmentionedabove,thereisstillanotheronemoreimportantfunctionatworkineuphemi
43、sticcommunication,namely,theDisguiseFunction.Herewemeanthatbecauseofthevaguenessofeuph emisms,ithasbecomeaveryimportanttool forpoliticalleadersorthediplomatsors tatesmentodistortthefactsorandpresentafalsepictureofpeaceandprosperityandtobeautifywhatevertheauthorityhavedone.Forexample,intheIraqwar,the
44、yuse“operationIraqiFree dom”forbeautifyingtheirmilitaryinvasion,“possiblemovem ent”referstomilita ryattack,“airoperation”or“airstrikes ”forairattack,“ent erthewar”toshowthe irreluctancetofightthewaretc.andwemayfindmanysuchkindo ftheseeuphemismsinpressconferences.T hemostimportantandultimatefunctiono
45、r purposeoftheuseofdiplomaticeuphemism sinpressconferencesistodisguiseorbea utifytheirinvasiveessenceorotherevil actionsortheseparationofwordsfromtru th.InAmericanandBritishsocietiesnowa days,diplomaticeuphemismsarealwayspu rposelydevisedtodisguisescandalsinwa rsandpolitics,deliberatelyinventedto be
46、autifylowlyoccupationsandexcessive lyinflatedtopromotesalesinadvertisem ent.4.Thecooperat ivePrincipleBefor egoingon,welookatt woexamples,asfollows:“A:canyoutellm ethetime?B:well,themailhasalreadyco me.A:Areyougoingt ojohnsbirthdayparty?B:Iveheardmar yisgoing.“16Its eemstherearesomemistakeintheconve
47、rsations.Butinfact,itiscorrect.ThecooperativePrinciplewillhelpusunderstandm ore.Thecooperativ ePrincipleisasfollows:“makeyourconversationalcontributionsuchasisrequired,atthestageatwhichitoccurs,bytheacceptedpurposeordirectionofthetalkexchangeinwhichyouareengaged.“17Accor dingGrice,cooperat iveprinci
48、pleisclassifiedintofourcate gories:quantity,quality,relationandmanner.Thecategoryofquantityrelatestothequantityofinformationtobeprovided ,andunderitfallthefollowingmaxims：4 .1ThemaximofQualit y:“Trytomakeyourc ontributiononethatistrue,.specifical ly:donotsaywhatyo ubelievetobefalse.donotsaythatforwh
49、 ichyoulackadequateevidence“184.2ThemaximofQuantity:“makeyourcontribu tionasinformativeasisrequiredforthec urrentpurposesofth eexchangeDonotmak eyourcontributionm oreinformativethanisrequired“194.3ThemaximofRelation:“makeyourcontri butionrelevant.“2 04.4Themaximofma nner:“Beperspicuo usandspecifically:avoidobscurityofex pression.avoidamb iguity.bebriefbe orderly.“21Fromwhatmentionedabove,wemayknowthatthecooperativePrincipl eenablesoneparticipantinaconversatio ntocommunicateontheassumptionthat
