A Contrastive Study Of Euphemism In English And Chinese

Euphemism, a common linguistic phenomenon in people's use of language, is regarded as a mode of expression in every language and culture. Nevertheless, there is no denying the fact that euphemism in different languages and cultures has great differences between each other. English and Chinese euphemisms manifest their different cultural backgrounds and social psychology.Based on the achievements of forerunners, the present writer attempts to probe into further research on the difference between English and Chinese euphemism. This thesis consists of six chapters: Chapter One, the introduction of the paper, gives a brief account of the motivation, comparability, methodology and format of the thesis. Chapter Two looks back on the historical studies on euphemism both at home and abroad. Chapter Three delves into the definition, feature, function and classification of euphemism from a relatively new perspective. Chapter Four is the core of the thesis. Regarding aesthetic linguistics and the relationship between language and culture as the theoretical basis, a contrastive study of euphemism in English and Chinese is carried out mainly from the aesthetical and cultural perspective. People's aesthetic consciousness has great influence on the generation and utilization of euphemism. Moreover, the tenacity and utility of aesthetic consciousness...