Abstract
As an indispensable and natural part of English language, euphemism has been arousing wide interests. Many linguists and scholars have studied the linguistic phenomenon from different angles. Based on their achievements, the paper examines the pragmatic principles that guide the use of euphemisms. Scholars have considered the Co-operative Principle (CP) and the Politeness Principle (PP), the two principles are the basic guiding principles in the application of euphemisms. To some degree, to meet a certain need, people often disobey some maxims of the Co-operative Principle in order to show politeness. Through a variety of examples, this paper probes into the ways in which most euphemistic expressions violate the generally observed Grice’s Co-operative Principles and discusses the Politeness Principle to cater people’s various socio-cultural needs. The paper examines the definition, origin and the evolution of euphemism. Furthermore, euphemisms change constantly and their meanings are dominantly influenced by cultural factors. Last but not least, for English learners, it is important to get acquainted with the essence of euphemism application. So the pragmatic principles are a solid foundation for successful communication.
Key words: English euphemism; Cooperative Principle; Politeness Principle
摘 要
作为英语不可分割的一部分，英语委婉语是英语国家的人们在进行交际时，为了排除各种因素的干扰、保障交际的顺畅进行，从而通过在语言符号的所指与能指之间造成疏离来代替、掩饰、衰减婉语的禁忌、直接和粗鄙的一种婉转、间接的策略性表达方式。古今中外许多学者都对英语委婉语进行了多方面、多角度的研究。基于前人的研究成果，本文将探讨英语委婉语与言语交际中语用学原则的关系。本文对中外学者提出的众多指导英语委婉语使用的语用学原则一一分析，并认为由格赖斯提出的合作原则和里奇提出的礼貌原则是使用英语委婉语的两条基本原则；而其他所谓原则或者不属于语用范畴，或者是合作原则与礼貌原则在某种程度上的衍生。一般的，人们在交际中必须遵守格赖斯的合作原则的四个次则。然而，在现实交际中，大多数英语委婉语的使用往往违背了这四个次则中的任意一个，以遵守礼貌原则。本文将以大量的实例来分析这一现象，并论述英语委婉语功能的发生过程。文章还深入探讨了英语委婉语的定义，起源及其发展变化规律。随着社会的高速发展，许多英语委婉语如昙花一现，稍纵即逝。所以英语学习者要透过现象看本质，深入研究指导英语委婉语使用的语用学原则，才能对其本质有正确、深入的认识，为进行成功的跨文化交流打下良好的基础。
关键词：英语委婉语;合作原则;礼貌原则
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Literature review of euphemism 2
2.1 The definition of euphemism 4
2.2 The origin of euphemism 6
2.3 The evolution of Euphemism 8
3. The pragmatic principles of euphemism 11
3.1 The definition of the two principles 12
3.2 The Co-operative Principle (CP) and euphemism 13
3.3 The Politeness Principle (PP) and euphemism 14
5. Conclusion 18
Reference 20
