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The Pragmatic Analysis Of English Euphemism

Posted on:2007-03-20Degree:MasterType:Thesis
Country:ChinaCandidate:J G YaoFull Text:PDF
GTID:2155360185984973Subject:Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
English euphemism is a common linguistic as well as cultural phenomenon in daily life. English euphemism emerges in the works by such literary giants as Shakespeare as well as in the statements made by the populace. It is not only euphemistic words, expressions, sentences, discourses, but also a way of expression by the application of language to communication. In most cases, English euphemism can cover unpleasant, disgusting, terrifying realities and can also hide embarrassing or face-threatening things. Therefore, we can say it is a sort of "lubricating oil" in language communication, which oils the human relationship and helps to save face of communicators.English euphemism holds great interest for both eastern and western scholars and some exciting progress has been made both at home and abroad, but the scope of the previous study has been so far mainly restricted to the level of lexicon. Few people have studied English euphemism in specific context. The task of pragmatics is to put utterances into certain context and to discover how language is used in different context. The originality of this thesis lies in the study of English euphemism from the perspective of pragmatics. It analyzes the relationship between English euphemism and the Cooperative Principle, the relationship between English euphemism and the Politeness Principle, and concludes that English euphemism results from the intentional violation of the maxims of the CP and the observation of the PP. And this thesis also discusses the phenomenon of pragmatic vagueness in the formation and functions of English euphemism. It shows that most English euphemisms are vague in nature and the pragmatic vagueness of English euphemism is very important in the realization of the pragmatic functions of English euphemism.
Keywords/Search Tags:English Euphemism, Formation, Pragmatics, Context, the Cooperative Principle, the Politeness Principle, Pragmatic Vagueness
PDF Full Text Request
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