Chinese Euphemism And Chinese Foreign Teaching

There are many euphemisms in Chinese today, it make the language seems appropriate in communication. So learn how to use euphemisms rightly is a very important part of study Chinese.Because of the people want to adapt the traditional cultures, customs and the psychological needs, Chinese euphemism appeared. It mostly involve the death and funeral, illness and disability, secretion and excretion, sex and fertility, physiological changes in body organs, crime and punishment, war and disaster, family and marriage, occupation and circumstances, money and economy, animals and plants etc. It can be constitutes by voice, vocabulary, semantics and rhetoric. It has the function of taboo, manners and eases the communication atmosphere.Based on a questionnaire about three different universities in China and the United States, we found that even the high level foreign students, there are still many problems about learn and use Chinese euphemisms. For example:they cannot distinguish a Chinese euphemism from a sentence; they do not know the Chinese euphemism’s specific usage; and they cannot understand the Chinese euphemisms in a right way, and so on. The reason is that the Chinese euphemism is very complex; and there are a few of contents about the Chinese euphemism in the teaching materials; and the cross-cultural background also obstructs the students.Based on previous research, we propose that we can solve the problems by improve the practice design and textbook design. And the teachers should teach more contents about Chinese culture. Especially to help students establish the typical context about the Chinese euphemisms. Let the foreign students to understand the Chinese euphemisms more comprehensively and accurately. Finally, enable them to communicate with Chinese better and better.