A Study of Euphemism in Business English.docx
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AStudyofEuphemisminBusinessEnglish
本科毕业论文
题目:
AStudyofEuphemisminBusinessEnglish
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专业:
英语
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Contents
1.Introduction-------------------------------------------------------------------1
2.Euphemism-------------------------------------------------------------------1
2.1TheDefinitionofEuphemisminEnglish--------------------------------1
2.2TheCausesofEuphemism-------------------------------------------------3
2.2.1Taboo-----------------------------------------------------------------------4
2.2.2Politeness------------------------------------------------------------------4
2.2.3Concealing-----------------------------------------------------------------4
3.ThewaysofUsingEuphemisminBusinessEnglish-------------------5
3.1NegativeWeakening-------------------------------------------------------5
3.2PassiveVoice---------------------------------------------------------------6
3.3SubjunctiveMood----------------------------------------------------------7
4.TheCommunicativeFunctionsofEuphemisminBusinessEnglish--8
4.1ToLightentheAtmosphere------------------------------------------------8
4.2ToSavingFaceofBothSidesofCooperation--------------------------9
4.3ToEstablishaLong-termFriendlyBusinessRelationship------------9
5.Conclusion--------------------------------------------------------------------10
Abstract
Euphemismisalinguisticrhetoricphenomenonandaculturalphenomenon.Itisasubstitutionforanexpressionthatmayoffendorsuggestsomethingunpleasanttothereceiver.EuphemismisoftenusedinbusinessEnglishtoexpressdifferentopinionsmoregentlyandpolitely.Ithasthefunctionoflubricantincommunication.Itcannotonlyimprovenegotiator’slanguageskills,butalsoembodyhisculturaloutlookandeasethetensesituationinnegotiation.Inbusinessfield,peopletendtouseeuphemisminordertoachievesomespecialpurposeslikeexpressingdisagreementormakingacomplimentandsoforth.ThispapermainlydiscussthecommunicativefunctionsandwaysofusingeuphemismsinbusinessEnglishsothatthebusinesspersoncanhaveabetterunderstandingandappreciatetheeuphemisticexpressioninthehopeforprovidingpeopleforsmoothcommunication.
Keywords:
euphemism;businessEnglish;communicativefunction;waysofusing
Euphemisms
摘要
委婉语是一种修辞现象,也是一种文化现象。
它是一种避免冲突和冒犯的替代表达方式。
委婉语通常用在商务英语中以更平和更礼貌的表达不同的观点。
委婉语在交流中充当润滑剂的作用,它不仅可以提高谈判者的语言技能,而且也体现了谈判者的文化观并且可以缓解紧张的谈判局势。
在商业领域,人们往往使用委婉语来表达不同看法、赞美等等。
本文主要讨论商务英语中委婉语的交际功能和委婉语在商务英语中的表达方式,以使谈判者能够充分理解并运用委婉表达来实现交流的通畅。
关键字:
委婉语;商务英语;交际功能;委婉语的用法
AStudyofEuphemisminBusinessEnglish
1.Introduction
SincejoiningtheWTO,thecommunicationbetweenChinaandEnglish-speakingcountriesisbecomingmorefrequent.Especiallyinbusinesscorrespondenceandnegotiations,businessEnglishismoreandmorepopular.Businesspersonscancreateagoodatmosphereofbusinessactivitieswithproperwordsandcourtesysothateachofthepartiesachievestheintendedpurposeoftrading.Euphemismisa"lubricant"incommunicationactivities.Byusingeuphemisms,businesspeoplepolitelyandindirectlystatetheirviewsandwishesandmakerequestsinordertocreategoodbusinessenvironmentwithequalityandconsultation.Inthatway,thetwopartnerscanestablishastablecooperativebusinessrelationship,ultimatelytheywillgettheproductpromotionandmarketdevelopment.
Inthispaper,theauthorisgoingtoclarifythecommunicativefunctionsofeuphemismandwaysofusingitinbusinessEnglish.Inthefirstpart,theauthorstartwiththedefinitionandoccurrenceofeuphemismtocertifythateuphemismismoreimportantindailylifeespeciallyinbusinesscommunication.Inthesecondpart,theauthoranalyzesthewaysofusingeuphemismsinbusinessEnglish.Inthefollowing,therearecommunicativefunctionsofeuphemism.Intheend,theauthorgivesaconclusiontoherview:
Euphemism,insomepoint,playsacrucialroleinbusinessnegotiation,andbusinesspersonsshouldpaymoreattentiontoit,sothattheycanachievemorefromit.
2.Euphemism
2.1TheDefinitionofEuphemisminEnglish
Earlyinthe16thcentury,BritishauthorGeorgeBluntfirstbringsaboutthetermeuphemism,anddefinesitas"agoodorfavorableinterpretationofabadword".EuphemismoriginallycomesfromGreek,eumeanswell,androotphememeansspeaking.Itisakindofexpressingmethodwhichaimsatmakingpeoplefeellessembarrassedbyusingsomewordswithvagueandambiguousmeaninginsteadofthosewhichmaymakepeoplefeelunpleasantandnotrespected.
Acommentatorin“TheWordsworthBookofEuphemism”byJudithS.NeamanandCaroleG.Silver,saysthat:
DidyouknowcallingapersonanIrvingmeantyouthoughthewasboring?
Howaboutknowingateno'clockscholarwasalazyortardyperson?
Thesearejustacoupleofthepolitewaystocharacterizepeoplewithoutactuallyinsultingthem.HevividlyexpressesNeamanandSilver’sidea,justassaidinTheLongmanDictionaryofContemporary:
Euphemismisauseofaplaster,lessdirectnameforsomethingthoughttobeunpleasant.
Therhetoricalviewtreatseuphemismasafigureofspeech,comfortablewords,gildedwords,cosmeticwords,mildexpression,prudishphrase,delicateterm,languageofdeceit,thedefenseoftheindefensibleetc.
“Dictionaryoflanguageandlinguistics”,writtenbyHadumodBussmann,translatedandeditedbyGregoryP.TrauthandKerstinandKazzazi,defineseuphemisminRhetoricaltrope:
Apleasantreplacementforanobjectionablewordthathaspejorativeconnotations,e.g.topassawayfor“todie”.Euphemismsarecommoninpoliticallanguage:
e.g.aperiodofnegativegrowthfor“recession”.Likehyperbole,euphemismsoftenlosetheirsemanticsignificance,sothataneweuphemismhastotakeitsplace:
e.g.graveyardbecamecemetery,andthenbecamememorialgarden.
Euphemismisauniversalphenomenonintheprocessofusinglanguage.Itisnotonlyasociallinguisticphenomenon,butalsoaculturalphenomenon.Whetherindailylifeorforeigncommunication,weallhaveverbalcommunications.Sincedifferencesexistinlivinghabitsandcustoms,anddifferentcultureshavedifferentsocialtaboos,therefore,wehavetolearntouseeuphemismstoavoidembarrassmentordispleasure.Euphemisms,indifferentbackgroundsanddifferentenvironments,adjustthelevelofcourtesytominimumthedamagetootherpartytoachieveintendedcommunicationpurposes.Euphemismsreflectavarietyofsocialpsychology,whichalsoreflectavarietyofsocialcommunicativefunctions.Euphemismshaveawiderangeofapplicationsinmanyfields,anditisveryhelpfultocarryouteffectivecross-culturalcommunications.
2.2TheCausesofEuphemism
Euphemismisthesocialpsychologyreflectedinlanguage.Differenttimesreflectdifferentsocialpsychology.Overall,therearethreereasonsfortheoccurrenceofeuphemism.
2.2.1Taboo
Euphemismistheproductoftaboo.Inearlyhumancivilization,scienceisnotdeveloped,andpeoplelackofunderstandingofnaturalphenomena.Meanwhile,religionprohibitstheuseofcertainwords,whenpeoplehavetoindicatesomethingprohibitedthattheydon’twantto,therecomestheeuphemism.Forexample,Peoplesay“theThunder”insteadofsayingZeus(thesupremerulerinancientGreek)andJupiter(thesupremerulerofRoman).PeoplecallgodbycallingHolyOne(saint),theSavior,OurFatherandtheAlmighty.Onewidespreadtaboowordisdeath.Peopleofdifferentlanguagesareshyaboutusing"die",Sotheyseeksomeneutralwordstoreplaceit,suchas“togotothewest,topassaway,tobreatheone’slast,bewithgod”andsoon.
2.2.2Politeness
InEasternandWesterncultures,whenpeopletalkaboutunspeakableorunrefinedtopics,theymayuseeuphemismstoreplacethem.Forexample,whenmentioningbodyparts,urine,sex,pregnancy,peopleusedeuphemisms.Theyborrow“washone’shand”,“toanswernature’scalling”torefertoexcretion.Weusuallysayaslenderratherthanaskinnywoman.Inordertopromotetheharmonioussocialcommunication,peopletrytouseeuphemisticwaytoavoidvulgarlanguage.
2.2.3Concealing
Euphemisms’hidingfunctionsmainlyoccurininternationalaffairsandnationalpolitics.Inordertoreduceunhappinesscausedbyusinglanguage,politiciansusevagueeuphemismstohidethefact,sothattheycanconcealtheirscandal.Someannouncementsandpressesalsooftenuseeuphemismstoavoidconflict.Forexample,whenturningtothestrike,peoplesay“industrialaction”toreplaceit.TheReaganadministration'staxincrease,theysayit“revenueenhancement”ratherthansaytaxincrease.
2.3ThewaysofUsingEuphemisminBusinessEnglish
Inbusinessactivities,inordertowincustomers,andstriveforgreaterinterestofspacetoachievebothpartners’intendedpurposes,euphemismisessential.InBusinessEnglish,fromtheestablishmentoftraderelationstoinquiry,offer,counteretc.,alotofeuphemismsareneededtonarrowsemantics,toparaphrase,tomakesemanticsobscuredandsoon.Toachievethisgoal,euphemismsareusedinmanyforms.Thefollowingarediscussedintheconceptofgrammar.
2.3.1NegativeWeakening
InbusinessEnglishcommunication,whenexpressingnegativeopinions,itseemsabitrecklesstousenegativewordsdirectly.It’seasytocausecontradictionandantipathy.Ifbothpartiesnegotiatewithdispleasure,it’sdifficulttoestablishalong-termfriendlybusinessrelationship.Inordertoavoidthetoughstanceandoutspokenlanguage,businesspersonshavetoconsidertheacceptanceofeachother.Inthiscase,it’sessentialforbusinesspersonstousenegativeformtopolitelycomplimentorcriticizetheotherparty.Aswith“T