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A SOCIOLINGUISTIC AND DYNAMIC
APPROACH TO EUPHEMISM
by
YeAixiang
A Thesis
Submitted to the Graduate School and College of English
in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for
the Degree of Master of Arts
Under the Supervision of Professor Lv Guangdan
Shanghai International Studies University
May, 2005
Acknowledgements
I wish to extend my most sincere appreciation to Professor Lv Guangdan, my
supervisor, for his generous encouragement and unremitting instructions on my thesis plan
and writing. His constructive suggestions for the outline and the preliminary version of this
thesis have been of invaluable assistance in the development of the present one. But of
course, the responsibility for any error present in this paper rests exclusively upon me.
My heartfelt gratitude also goes to Prof. Mei Deming, Prof. Shu Dingfang, Prof. Li
Ji'an, Prof. Zhang Jian, Prof. Yu Jianhua, who have given wonderful lectures in my
master's course, greatly inspiring and enhancing my interest in linguistics and English
literature.
lowe a considerable debt to the numerous authors whose works have provided me
with insights into the planning and development of this thesis.
I am deeply indebted to my affectionate family members and my dear friends whose
wholehearted love and support encourage me to pursue progress all the time.
Abstract
Euphemism, as a common phenomenon in all languages, has been increasingly
arousing interest of many linguists and scholars. Most studies have been approached
mainly from the perspectives of rhetorical, psychological and linguistic. These researches
have made great contributions to euphemism study, but they all neglect the important fact
that the account of language can never be separated from its social and cultural context.
Based on the previous achievements and their limitations, this thesis poses a new approach,
i.e. a sociolinguistic and dynamic analysis of euphemism.
Euphemism as a linguistic concept is also a social and cultural phenomenon. To have
a more scientific study of euphemism, it is necessary to take social, psychological and
cultural factors into account and regard euphemism as a dynamic linguistic phenomenon.
After giving a redefinition of euphemism from a sociolinguistic perspective and a brief
account of the features, classification and social functions of euphemism, the thesis has a
detailed analysis of euphemism with the sociolinguistic theory of culture and context.
Culture covers all aspects of human life and is closely related to all human beings'
behaviors, including linguistic behavior. Language reflects culture and euphemism is a
mirror of culture. The thesis analyzes euphemisms in Chinese and English with a
comparative study of two cultures and concludes that people in different cultures tend to
show similarities and differences in using euphemisms. The theory of linguistic context
suggests that the meanings of some euphemisms can only be understood and learned with
reference to its relationship with other words in the same context. Besides, euphemisms are
largely determined by the environment and extra-linguistic factors as what situational
context indicates.
A further analysis of euphemism is taken with a dynamic approach. Euphemism
varies over time, space and across societies. People of different gender, age and social
class tend to differ in using euphemisms and there are different forms of euphemisms when
the use varies. In modem language, there is a tendency of abuse of stylistic euphemisms.
What's more, euphemism is
III
a constant state of change, either synchronically or
diachronically.
Keywords: euphemism, sociolinguistic, dynamic, culture, context
内容摘要
委婉语作为一种语言中的普遍现象，长期以来一直受到众多语言学家和学者的关
注。他们主要从修辞学、心理学和语言学等静态的角度来进行研究并取得了丰硕成果，
但这些研究都忽略了重要一点，对语言的研究绝不能离开其赖以生存的社会和文化语
境。本文拟在前人研究的基础上，试从一个新的角度即社会语言学的角度对婉语进行
动态的研究。
婉语是一个语言学概念，同时也是一种社会现象和文化现象。要对婉语有一个
更科学的认识，必须将社会因素、心理因素和文化因素各方面综合考虑并把婉语视为
是一种动态的语言学现象。通过对婉语重新定义并简要介绍了婉语的特征、分类和社
会功能，本文主要运用社会语言学中的文化理论和语境理论对婉语进行了详细分析。
文化包含人们生活的各个方面，与人的各种行为息息相关，包括人的言语行为。
语言反映文化，而婉语则是各种文化的一面镜子。本文通过比较分析英语和汉语中的
委婉语，阐明了生活在不同文化中的人在使用委婉语方面有共性也有特性。言语语境
理论解释了一些婉语只有在特定的上下文中才有委婉意义，而且婉语在很大程度上受
到环境和一些非言语因素的制约。
文章进一步对婉语作了动态分析。受时间、空间和很多社会因素的影响，婉语存
在许多变异形式。由于使用者的性别、年龄和社会地位不同，婉语的使用各不相同。
在不同的领域中，也有不同形式的婉语，而且在现代社会中，风格性婉语有被滥用的
趋势。更为重要的是，婉语处在不断的变化之中，应分别从历时和共时的角度进行研
究。
关键词:委婉语社会语言学动态文化语境
Contents
Acknowledgement
Abstract in English
Abstract in Chinese
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Definition of euphemism
1
1.2 Aim of the thesis
2
1.3 Organization of the thesis. .. . .. . . .. .. . . .. . .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. .. . .. . .. .. . .. . . .. .. . ... . .. ... .. .. .. 3
Chapter Two Studies on Euphemism: A General Review
2.1 Introduction
2.2 The rhetorical tradition
5
,
6
2.3 The psychological approach
7
2.4 The linguistic approach
,
7
2.4.1 Phonetic means
8
2.4.2 Semantic means
8
2.4.3 Grammatical means
,8
2.4.4 Pragmatic means
9
2.5 Limitations of the studies
9
Chapter Three A Sociolinguistic Approach to Euphemism
3.1 Introduction
11
3.1.1 Features of euphemism
11
3.1.2 Classification of euphemism
13
3.1.3 Social functions of euphemism
15
3.2 Euphemism and culture
18
3.2.1unguage and culture
18
3.2.2 Euphemism between cultures
19
3.2.3 The similarities of euphemism in English and Chinese
19
3.2.4 The differences of euphemism in English and Chinese
21
3.2.4.1 English euphemism and religion
21
3.2.4.2 Chinese euphemism and class
22
3.2.4.3 Euphemism and social value
24
3.2.5 Euphemism and cross-cultural communication
3.3 Euphemism and context.
28
,
, 30
3.3.1unguage and context
30
3.3.2 Euphemism and linguistic context.
30
3.3.3 Euphemism and situational context.
31
Chapter Four A Dynamic Analysis of Euphemism
4.1 Euphemism varies according to its users
4.1.1 Gender as a variable
34
,
34
4.1.2 Age as a variable
36
4.1.3 Social status as a variable
37
4.2 Euphemism varies according to its uses
38
4.2.1 Euphemism and politics
38
4.2.2 Euphemism and media
4.2.3 Euphemism and education
4.2.4 Abuse of euphemism
4.3 Diachronic analysis of euphemism
'"
,
,
40
,
41
42
42
4.3.1 :Language change
42
4.3.2 Euphemism change
43
4.4 Synchronic analysis of euphemism
46
4.4.1 In terms of scope of use
46
4.4.2 In terms offrequency
47
4.4.3 In terms of formation
47
Chapter Five Conclusion
50
Bibliography
52
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
Chapter One Introduction
1.1 Definition of euphemism
It is very common in everyday life we find it difficult to refer to something directly,
such as death, disease or sex. Nevertheless, such topics are from time to time necessary to
be mentioned. When we talk about these topics, we tend to use mild, indirect or polite
words to replace those that we may feel ashamed to refer directly to.
For example, we say "full-figured" instead of "fat," "plain-looking" instead of "ugly".
When we want to go. to the toilet, we use "Where can I wash my hands?" instead of
"Where's the toilet?" This is what we call "euphemism".
Let's first look at two definitions of euphemism from the dictionaries:
"use of other mild, vaguer and indirect words or phrases in place of what is required by truth or
accuracy."
(Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary of Current English, 1984)
"a word or phrase used to avoid saying another word or phrase that is more forceful and honest
but also more unpleasant or offensive. "
(Cambridge International Dictionary ofEnglish, 1995)
These two definitions point out from a different perspective the features of
euphemism: mild, vague, indirect, inoffensive and more pleasant. This is apparently true.
Nevertheless, both the definitions share something in common: they both confine
euphemism to a word or a phrase, which, however, is far from the case.
To be traced back, the word "euphemism" is derived from a Greek word, with "eu" as
a prefix meaning "well" or "sounding well" and "phemism" meaning "speech". Thus the
word originally bears the meaning of "to speak with good words or in a pleasant manner".
As for "speech", it should not be confined to lexical level, which means it does not simply
refer to a word or a phrase. A sentence, a whole stretch of discourse can also be considered
as "speech". As John Ayto wrote in Euphemisms in 1993, "there is more to euphemism
than just words." (Ayto, 1993:2) According to him, body language, inarticulate sounds,
syntax, grammar or even the way we pronounce words can be euphemistic too. In the light
of this derivation, some dictionaries define euphemism as:
"the substitution of a mild, indirect, or vague expression for one thought to be offensive, harsh or
blunt. "
(Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, 1996)
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
"a mild expression that people use when they want to talk about something unpleasant or
embarrassing without mentioning the thing itself.
(Macmillan English Dictionary, 2002)
These two definitions expand euphemism from lexical level to a more specific word
"expression", thus enrolling in a lot more euphemisms formed by other means,
linguistically or non-linguistically. Hence, they are approaching closer to the truth.
Judith S. Neaman agrees with such definitions and redefines it in Kind Words: A
Thesaurus of Euphemisms as "substituting an inoffensive or pleasant term for a more
explicit, offensive one, thereby veneering the truth by using kind words." (Neaman, 1990:1)
Neaman's interpretation is very explicit, generally revealing the essence and features of
euphemism.
Some rhetorical books assume euphemism as a figure of speech and define it briefly
to comfortable words, gilded words, cosmetic words, prudish phrase, delicate term,
language of deceit, the defense of the indefensible and so on. They all refer to some
features of euphemism from their specific point of view and hence are true in one way or
another.
So far as so many definitions are concerned, we are still far from satisfied. If we study
them more closely, we may easily find all these definitions belong to a linguistic or
rhetoric research, which stops at a static study, taking euphemism as a stable language
phenomenon as if it never changes.
However, the truth is that euphemism is not only a linguistic phenomenon but also a
sociolinguistic one. It varies over time, space and across societies. To have a more
scientific study of euphemism, we need to take all those social, psychological and cultural
factors into account and regard euphemism as a dynamic phenomenon. The use of
euphemism varies from person to person, society to society and culture to culture. So from
a sociolinguistic point of view, let me try to give euphemism a redefinition:
The substitution of a mild, indirect or pleasant expression for a forceful, direct
or offensive one through a linguistic or non-linguistic means with consideration of
language users' social, psychological and cultural factors.
1.2 Aim of the thesis
I am very much interested in the study of the relationship between language and
society, which is what sociolinguistics covers. Language and society are so closely related
that it is utterly impossible to study a language without considering its social factors.
2
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
Euphemism, as a linguistic phenomenon and more a sociolinguistic one, can reflect
in some way the interactions between language and society. With an aim of achieving a
better understanding of how language and society are related with each other, euphemism
undoubtedly becomes one of the best choices available for me.
Through a close study of euphemism, I intend to find how social factors, like a
speaker's sex, age and social class influence his use of language; how social, cultural and
psychological factors affect people's choice of language and how the societal changes are
reflected in language changes. This serves as the major aim of this thesis.
Another motivation for me to choose this subject is to explore deeper into the
practical uses of euphemism nowadays, especially the abuse of euphemism in the area of
politics, war, media and so on. This, in my point of view, is to a large extent linked with
social factors. With a detailed analysis of euphemism used in these areas, I try to find out
how people are driven to abuse euphemisms in this way.
Last and most important reason for me to choose this topic is the limitations of
previous researches into euphemism. Many researches have been carried on around this
topic, but most of them belong to linguistic or rhetorical study from a static perspective.
Little attention has been paid to a sociolinguistic and dynamic analysis of euphemism. So
this thesis is intended to provide an overall understanding of euphemism from both a
sociolinguistic and dynamic perspectives.
1.3 Organization of the thesis
In this thesis, I will try to explore euphemism from a sociolinguistic point of view.
The thesis comprises five chapters.
The first chapter starts from the definition of euphemism and introduces briefly the
aim and organization of the thesis.
The second chapter sets out to review historical researches into euphemism. In this
chapter, the previous researches are divided into three branches of study, rhetorical,
psychological, and linguistic. The limitations of these researches are also examined here.
Chapter three and chapter four serve as the main body of the thesis. In chapter three, I
will try to provide an overall study of euphemism from a sociolinguistic perspective,
discussing the features, social functions, cultural connotation and contextual use of
euphemism.
3
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
Chapter four is a dynamic analysis of euphemism, studying mainly the variations of
euphemism according to its users and uses. The changes of euphemism are also talked
about in this chapter.
The last chapter reaches the conclusion that the research into euphemism from a
sociolinguistic and dynamic perspective can better explain euphemism as a social and
cultural phenomenon.
4
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
Chapter Two Studies on Euphemism: A General Review
2.1 Introduction
Euphemism exists in almost all languages. Most people
III
most societies use
euphemism in their everyday lives. As is stated,
"Without euphemisms the world would grind, unoiled, to a halt, universal animosity covering all. "
(Enright, 1985:3)
As a common phenomenon existing in all societies, euphemism has been receiving
attention for a very long time.
In China, as early as in Ming Dynasty, the scholar Lurong described taboo and
euphemism in his early work. However, he did not provide a systematic study of
euphemism. In the early zo" century, Chen Wangdao and many other language researchers
started a rhetoric study of euphemism.
The sociolinguistic theory in western countries was introduced into China in the
1970s and influenced many Chinese linguists. Chen Yuan's book Sociolinguistics was
published and in this book, he explored into euphemism in a whole chapter and provided a
most detailed description of euphemism at that time in China. Ever since then, in the light
of euphemism researches of foreign countries, a number of academic articles about
euphemism were published one after another in journals like the Journal of Foreign
Languages, Modern Foreign Languages, Foreign Language Research, Rhetorical Studies
and so on.
In 2001, Figures and Vocabulary written by Li Guonan was published. Euphemism is
described in greater details and is studied more systematically, including the feature,
formation, cultural connotation and variation of euphemism. This book can be regarded as
the most elaborate book describing euphemism so far in China. They all made great
contributions to euphemism study.
Meanwhile, in the west, a lot of linguists devoted themselves to euphemism study.
Early in 1580s, the British writer George Blunt for the first time introduced the term
euphemism and defined it as "a good or favorable interpretation of a bad word." Though
the definition is not exactly correct, it is a great step in people's research into euphemism.
Since 1980s, quite a few books about euphemism have been published, to name four of
them:
5
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
A Dictionary ofEuphemisms and Other Double-talk (Hugh Rawson, 1981)
Fair of Speech: The Use ofEuphemisms (DJ. Enright, 1985)
Kind Words: A Thesaurus of Euphemisms (Judith S. Neaman and Carole G. Silver,
1990)
Euphemisms: Over 3000 Ways to Avoid Being Rude or Giving Offence (John Ayto,
1993)
These previous researches can be appreciated from the following three perspectives:
2.2 The rhetorical tradition
In the early researches, for a long time, euphemism has been studied with a rhetorical
approach. Look at two definitions from the dictionaries:
"A figure of speech where a less disagreeable word or phrase is substituted for a more accurate
but more offensive one. "
(Webster's Encyclopedia ofDictionaries, 1978)
"That figure of speech which consists in the substitution of a word or expression of comparatively
favorable implication or less important associations, instead of the harsher or more offensive one that
would more precisely designate what is intended. "
(The Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 1991)
These two definitions define euphemism as a figure of speech and consider
euphemism a way people use to oil their speech.
The Chinese scholar Chen Wangdao holds that euphemism is a kind of figure of
speech and parallels it with other long lists of figures like metaphor, personification and so
on. A lot of language researchers follow him in this perspective. They maintain that
euphemism is a kind of figure of speech, a way to use a neutral or elegant word or
expression deliberately instead of a sensitive or vulgar one so as to establish a graceful and
desirable public image.
It is also believed that euphemism is different from other figures of speech in that it is
not only a means but also an end. (Li, 1993) To study large number of euphemisms in
English, it is easy to find that they are just realized by various expressions to become
euphemistic.
But as for the value of euphemism, there are various remarks. Stefan Kanfer holds
that euphemism is hypocritical and demoralizing while Hilaire Belloc believes that it is
psychologically necessary. According to Lois De Bakey, euphemism may make an idea
more palatable, but they also inflate language, reduce precision, and often tamper with the
6
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
truth. However, in the view of Fred Sherwood, it is not so important to question the
advisability of euphemism itself as to explore the psyche of its employer. (Fan, 1992:168)
2.3 The psychological approach
The psychological view maintains that the emergence of euphemism is closely related
to taboo, the avoidance of particular actions or words for religious or social reasons. It is
believed that the main psychological base of euphemism is taboo. Fear and a desire to
placate the mysterious forces that rule the universe were probably the original reasons for
euphemizing. (Neaman, 1983:13) Thus, euphemisms became outward and visible signs of
people's inward anxieties, conflicts, fears, and shames. (Hugh Rawson, 1981:1)
In the early time, people had superstitious belief about the world and the universe, so
any word about ghost and god became taboo. In the middle of Victoria's time, people even
dared not mention the names of those people who had died; instead they called them
cautiously as the departed or no longer living.
In fact, these underlying impulses are still with us today. We are subject to a variety
of fears. Afraid to flout social and moral conventions, we refer to our lovers as companions,
thus disguising the unconventional or socially unacceptable nature of the relationship. Our
fear of specific diseases has led us to coin a lexicon of euphemisms for cancer, heart
disease, stroke and venereal disease.
In the view of some linguists, politeness is another important psychological base of
euphemism. Many topics, if dressed directly, will make people embarrassed. For the sake
of politeness, people coin a lot of euphemisms to refer to these topics, such as excretion,
sex, pregnancy, giving birth and so forth.
Some other linguists believe that many euphemisms are created because of people's
strong desire to avoid offending others. This fear of causing psychic pain leads people to
use words like discontinue rather than to fire employees. In the eagerness to avoid
deflating others' egos, people tend to create euphemisms that inflate them, for example by
conferring overblown titles on people, places and jobs. The term professor has been
attached to bartenders, magicians and snake oil salesmen, as well as academics.
2.4 The linguistic approach
Euphemism has been studied from a linguistic perspective by a lot of linguists. They
maintain that euphemism can be realized by various linguistic means:
7
A Sociolinguistic and Dynamic Approach to Euphemism
2.4.1 Phonetic means
According to Neaman, euphemisms may be created by phonetic distortion. When we
encounter words that dare not speak their names, we can adopt phonetic means to be
euphemistic. Neaman listed 8 phonetic and spelling means: abbreviation, apocopation,
initialing, backforming, reduplication, phonetic distortion, a blend word and a diminutive.
(Neaman, 1990:11)
Besides, Li Guonan mentioned another five phonetic means to create euphemism.
backslang, respelling of initials, reinterpretation of initials, pig/hog Latin, rhyming slang
(Li Guonan, 2001:201-202).
2.4.2 Semantic means
Joseph M. Williams (1957:202-203) suggests four semantic processes by means of
which euphemisms are created, namely, widening, semantic shift, metaphorical transfer
and borrowing words from other languages.
As for widening, it means we move up in the ladder of abstraction when a specific
term becomes too painful or vivid. (Neaman, 1990:10) In this way, a lunatic asylum
becomes a rest house and abortion becomes miscarriage or procedure.
Semantic shift refers to the substitution of the whole for the specific part that we do
not choose to discuss. We use the expressions to sleep with or to go to bed with someone to
name the larger event in place of more precise references to the sexual relations that are
part of the process.
Metaphorical transfer is the comparison of things of one order to things of another.
The euphemism cheeseparing is a metaphorical way to say someone is stingy or close
handed.
Borrowing words from other languages is a common euphemistic means. In English,
we use Greek and Latin expressions for many bodily parts and functions.
2.4.3 Grammatical means
As Bolinger (1981:148) pointed out, "euphemism is not restricted to the lexicon, there
are grammatical ways of toning something down without actually changing the content of
the message." He gave two examples:
a. He has been known to take a bribe now and then.
b. He is known to have taken a bribe now and then.
8