EuphemisicExpressionsinEnglishLanguage_开题报告

一、文献综述

In our daily communication, misunderstanding or conflicts may arise due to inappropriate use of language. Euphemism plays an important part in lubricating our communication and maintaining good interpersonal relationship. That is to say, euphemisms can be used to avoid taboos, and show politeness. The study of euphemism has a very long history. In the early 1580s, the author George Blunt used the term "euphemism" in English and defined it as "a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word" (Neaman&Silver 1983:4). Many scholars have studied the phenomenon of euphemism from different angles. For example, they have used semantic, rhetorical, sociolinguistic, linguistic and pragmatic approaches to study euphemism.

Many scholars have made studies on euphemism from semantic aspects, exploring the origin and formation of euphemisms in terms of their semantic features. Rawson (1981) and Holder (1995) explore the history of the study of euphemisms and discuss the causes, the origin, the definition, the nature, the classification, the principle of the creation- of euphemisms and their relation to taboos. In the introduction to Kind Words----a thesaurus of euphemisms, Newman and Silver (1991) make thorough description of the history, the development, the characteristics, the motives for euphemizing, the tendency of euphemism, as well as the semantic processes by means of which euphemisms are formed. Ayton (1993) lists various kinds of euphemistic expressions.

Some Chinese scholars(于亚伦1984;李国南1989;束定芳1989;刘纯豹2001;蒋涛1998&张宏国2004) have also made extensive research in this field, such as the origin, the meaning, the classification, the formation, the principle, the formation principle, the usage of English euphemisms and the relation between euphemism and other branches of linguistics, such as lexicography, lexicology, etymology, rhetoric and pragmatics.    

Jiang(蒋涛1998) classifies euphemisms into set euphemism and temporary euphemism, studies their connotations and points out their similarities and differences. According to him, set euphemisms are mainly euphemistic words and phrases that are collected in dictionary of euphemisms and widely acceptable to a language community. They tend to change slowly within a period of time. Temporary euphemisms are those constructed temporarily by various linguistic means in a specific linguistic communication. They not only take the form of words and phrases but also appear in the form of a complete sentence. In contrast to set euphemisms, they tend to alter quickly, some even disappearing after being used once. However, the research findings are mainly made on the linguistic level without taking context into consideration. 

二、^范文提纲

1.Introduction

2.Overview of Euphemism

2.1Definition of Euphemism

2.2Classification of Euphemism

2.3Characteristics of Euphemism

3. The functions of English euphemism

3.1 Being polite to others

3.2 Carrying effective communication

3.3 Saving others’ face

4.Conclusion

三、参考文献

[1]Neaman&Silver（1983）. The Discourse of Advertising. [J] London: Routledge.

[2]Rawson（1995）. Words in Ads [M]. Landon: Longman, 1981.

[3]Holder Advertising in English [M]. London: Longman.

[4]Newman and Silver（1995）. Principle of Pragmatics [M]. Landon: Longman.

[5]Ayton (1993). Cross-Cultural Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Euphemisms. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8, 66-70.

[6]于亚伦. 违反合作原则视角下外交委婉语浅析[J]. 长春教育学院学报,1984,(07):52-54.

[7]李国南. 新闻英语中的委婉语解读及翻译策略初探[J]. 海外英语,1989,(15):223-224.

[8]束定芳. 英语委婉语的构成及功能研究[J]. 现代商贸工业,1989,39(22):164-165.

[9];刘纯豹. 委婉语翻译中的文化因素[J]. 哈尔滨学院学报,2001,38(11):112-115.

[10]蒋涛. 试论委婉修辞在当前高校英语教学中的应用分析[J]. 陕西教育(高教)1998,(11):15-16.

[11]张宏国. 英语委婉语的美学意蕴[J]. 北方文学,2004，(30):225-226.

[12]蒋涛. 汉语委婉语本体研究综述[J]. 戏剧之家,1998,(20):214-215.