Euphemisms and T aboo2008级4班吕佳佳There exists a close relationship between euphemisms and taboo. Taboo can be used as a criterion to judge whether a word is euphemisms or not. Taboos and euphemisms exist in every language. They play an important part in c ulture. Dealing with them appropriately enables us to successfully communicate. And euphemisms and taboo plays an important role in our daily life. Therefore it is necessary for people to have a clear view of some fundamental knowledge about them.No doubt, euphemism is a widely and frequently used figure of speech. As a hot research issue in the field of linguistics, it needs a concise and definite criterion to judge the scope of euphemism. Western linguists think the word “euphemism” comes from the Greek “eu”( meaning “good”) and “pheme”(meaning “speech” or “saying”), and thus it literally means “to speak with good words”. Later on, euphemism is defined differently and more precisely. As traditional western linguistics restricts euphemism study to the lexicon, euphemisms are, therefore, words or phrases in place of things considered to be rude or unpleasant.In simple terms, an euphemism is just a less explicit substitute for an explicit term or phrase. It manages to conceal the offending nature of the word or phrase, but still gets the meaning across. This has led to the birth of many satirical movies, shows and books t hat effectively use the art of “double meaning”phrases in an attempt to humor people.From a moral point of view, the person who produces this content has a responsibility to ensure that his content does not offend any particular person, least of all, children. For instance, talking about sexual intercourse openly in a movie is bound to have a bad effect on children, and this will greatly offend their parents. As an alternative, the birth of phrases like “to sleep with” or “to make love to”have found their way in popular culture, and they are less graphic and explicit indicators of the same action. Read more on grammar and composition.The word taboo was borrowed from the Tangan language, originally used in Polynesia with religious connotations. Now in sociolinguistics it refers to a prohibition on the use of, mention of, or association with particular objects, actions, or person.What is taboo or not taboo depends on the context. Some expressions denoting some body functions are avoided on formal occasions but quite normal in doctor-patient conversations when the patient complains about his physical problems to the doctor. Taboos and euphemisms are mostly culture-specific. What is taboo in one culture may not be so in another culture. It is a norm among English-speaking people not to ask about each other's income, but in Chinese culture there is no such a norm (though it is hard to predict whether there will be the same norm). In many cultures taboos and euphemisms are associated with religion and superstition. Taboos and euphemisms exist in all natural languages but what is taboo is culture-specific.Concerning about euphemisms and taboo, a large amount of information existed in different languages and cultures cause much anxiety to people when they communicate with each other. In terms of this puzzling problem, adequate examples are needed to help people understand how they are appropriately used in different situations. The following examples illustrated can be fully to alleviate people‟s puzzle.One of the most common euphemism examples in the English language is the phrase “passed away” to refer to someone who has died. To simply say that a person has died could be viewed as offensive by some people, and therefore a politically correct way of saying this had to be thought of. This is something that people are sentimental about, and all measures must be taken so as to not offend somebody. Here are some humorous euphemism examples for you.The most common euphemism examples for kids are found in the realm of movies and cinema, and most filmmakers have even adopted this technique and made it beneficial for themselves. Movies like “Scary Movie” and shows like “Southpark” regularly make use of euphemisms to denote something explicit, but make a parody out of it at the same time. This glossary of literary terms will teach you more about such tools.Euphemisms are terms used to refer to things or actions which soften the name they are usually called. Usually it is a positive word to cover some harsh, unpleasant reality. For example, when someone dies, we often say they are sleeping, have passed away, etc. When they work, euphemisms may change the way we think about or see the thing named. This may be good. If asking about a loved one who has “passed away” gives some sense of peace to the person who loved him/her, then surely it is a useful term which both protects feelings and shows our respect and concern.However, sometimes euphemisms are used to impress or worsen, to hide something that we really should know, to mislead and deceive. For example, the military uses many euphemisms to hide the dark reality of war. In “The World of Doublespeak,” Willia m Lutz tells us that the military calls killing the enemy “servicing the target” and tried to get funding for the neutron bomb by calling it an “enhanced radiation device” (Language Awareness, p.60). In Crazy Talk, Stupid Talk, media professor Neil Postman derides the term “Operation Sunshine” which the U.S. government gave to some experiments it once conducted with the hydrogen bomb in the South Pacific. He sees this euphemism as morally wrong.Postman warns us, however, that people who avoid the use of euphemisms in favor of more “earthy” language are not necessarily speaking more honestly or plainly. “To ask where the …shithouse‟ is, is no more to the point than to ask where the …restroom‟ is. But in the difference between the two words, there is expressed a vast difference in one‟s attitude toward privacy and propriety”.A euphemism is the use other words or phrases instead of the words required by truth or accuracy. That is, people don‟t say directly wh at they mean due to politeness. For example, blind people are sometimes called “sight-deprived” and old people are often called “senior citizens.” The euphemistic “sight-deprived” and “senior” are usedto avoid offense — people may feel hurt when they are described as old or blind.In fact, a euphemism is a kind of indirect speech. In such speech the speaker gets the listener to understand what he really means according to the shared background information. When someone says, “Could I ask where the restroom is” he does not mean to ask a question. It is a request. The speaker makes this request indirectly with a question to say that he wants to use the toilet.In the English language, the most obvious taboos are not religious or superstitious concepts but have to do with some private parts of the body, some functions of the body, private matters (such as income), distressing things (such as crisis and unemployment), and death. When euphemisms are in use for some time, speakers may not be aware of them. Many English expressions still in use are euphemistic, such as developing countries, the underprivileged, economic recession, mentally retarded, etc. In fact, euphemisms are in flux. The word crisis was replaced by depression, which in turn was replaced by recession.A taboo is something forbidden by religions, laws, morals or society and it is a common social phenomenon of every nation. In Western countries many people consider the date the thirteenth or Friday to be unlucky. This has its roots in religion. According to the Bible, Judas, who betrayed his master, Christ, was the thirteenth person at Christ‟s last supper. And Friday was said to be the day Jesus was crucified.It is also a taboo to ask somebody about private matters such as money, their age and health. There is also a body language taboo. Taking the distance in social conversation for example, unless they know each other well, British and American people dislike being too close to each other while talking. Westerners of the same sex also do not hold hands, as many people in China do.With the devel opment of society, people‟s living standards have improved a lot. Thus, it is completely necessary for us to master some knowledge about euphemisms and taboo, and to know when and where to use them appropriately to communicate with each other. The proper use of them can help build a harmonious relationship among people and a respect between each other.In English is also often used to cover some of the more serious social problems such as poverty, crime, etc., for example: debt (in debt) has been called the money was ahead of its time (cash advance), or in difficulty (in difficulties) ; an unemployed mother (unemployed mother) is called welfare mother (the mother receiving welfare payments). High crime rate in today's society, also appeared in many related euphemism, especially in highly euphemism care of juvenile offenders, such as juvenile delinquents has been underplayed as problem children. Can not easily say that they are in prison, or their parents will be unhappy, so that they are in the adjustment center (adjusted education Center), more ridiculous is that they enjoy the government's expense (government spending).Euphemism meaning because there is a certain degree of ambiguity (vagueness), in communication is often used to disguise the speaker would not directly say something. Therefore, in order to take into account the social dignity of others, for some negative people and things not directly answered, but the use of a more circuitous in answering the vague term would not be weakened, thereby reducing thefriction to maintain good interpersonal relationships, play an active role. Euphemism of this positive feature is very important, especially prominent in the education sector, teachers evaluate the students used positive language to replace the negative term. For example, in English class, when a student has answered questions raised by the teacher, if the tenant is not properly answered, the teacher will not be immediately given a negative response. But that of a “not bad”, so the one hand, to encour age students to continue their efforts, on the other will enhance the confidence of the students to strive for the next step forward.In our actual life, we know that some harsh, blunt, unpleasant offensive and taboo things or acts should not be expressed directly in our daily life. So it is very important for us to know how to avoid these linguistic taboos. Most linguistic taboos can be avoided by the employment of euphemisms. In other words, euphemism is a means of expressing the words or things that are prohibited.Through the above analysis, we can have a preliminary understanding about the euphemisms and taboo. Therefore, in our actual life, we can build a harmonious relationship with others by appropriately using them. And thus it can improve a more harmonious society.。