The Ten Commandments of Bible has prescribed, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.” That’s why there are so many euphemisms. In oral English, using “God” causally would be considered blasphmous. If someone say “God damni it” he is treason and heresy, and would be punished [14] . Some of them adopt the semantic method, such as the Creator, the Maker, the Supreme (Being), Holy One, the Almighty, the Eternal, Our Father, the Saviour, King of Kings, Lord of lords, the Light of the World, Sovereign of the Universe. Some of them adopt the phonetic method, such as Gad, Gosh, Golly, Godfrey etc. There are many euphemisms for “the devil”, such as old enemy, old Ned, Old Nick, Old One, Ole’un (Old Man), Old Scratch, Old Serpent, the Old Boy etc. For example, “He was frightened as if Old Harry were before him.” In English they often use “heck” instead of “hell”. “hell” has other expressions: “the other place, a very uncomfortable place, the other way etc.” For example, “We were all going direct to Heaven; we were all going direct the other way.” [15]
3.1.2 The euphemisms for death
Euphemism is often caused in speaking of things that are painful and distressing to think about. Death is one of expressions. The euphemisms for death are a widely used item, especially when it concerns one’s own families and friends. It has a lot of expressions[16]. For example, if anything should happen to me (= when I die); to pass away/ on; to depart; to go to sleep; to be no longer with us; to be interred. “Death” also has some humorous expressions: “to pop off; to push up daisies; to cash in one’s chips; to kick the bucket ”. “Death” also has an intimate relationship with religion. There are many euphemisms from Bible, for example, to return to dust/ earth; to pay the debt of nature; to be called to God/ to answer the final summons; to go to heaven; to be at peace, to be asleep in the Arms of God; to yield up the ghost; to launch into eternity; to have one’s name inscribed in the Book of life etc. Some words, which concern “death”, also have euphemistic expressions. For example, “coffin” is called “casket”; “dead body” is called “earthly remains”; “funeral” is called “memorial service”; “graveyard” is called “memory garden”.
3.1.3. The euphemisms for illness, natural and man-made calamities
Most westerners avoid talking about some serious diseases. For instance, “terminally ill” is a euphemism for “cancer”; American and British newspapers often name “syphilis” as “social disease”; “leprosy” is called “Hansen’s disease”; “constipation” is called “irregularity”. “tumour” is called “a growth”; “commit suicide” is called “self-deliverance or self-violence”. People often use initialing to avoid talk about some diseases directly, such as AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome); Big C (Cancer); VD (Venereal Disease) etc. “to die because of a crash” is called “old Newton took him”; “hara-kiri” is called “happy dispatch”; “an unnatural death” is called “to be blown across the creek”
3.1.4. The euphemisms for sex
Nearly all languages consider “sex” a taboo word. In the west, when children asked their parents where they came from, their parents often answered the baby was a visit from the stork. People can say “pregnant” instead of “expecting” or “in the family way”; “fart” is also written into the dictionary. You can say it directly instead of saying, “wind from behind” It is just because of the movement of “sex liberty” and “sex liberation”. People can have a freer talk about “sex” than Victorian age. On the contrary, some other new euphemisms for sex appeared one after another. “Sexual knowledge” is called “facts of life”; “pornographic movies” is called “adult films”; “cohabitation” has become very common in western society. It is also called a kind of marriage: “trial marriage” or “unmarried wife”. Nevertheless, with the sharp increase of the rate of divorce, there appeared many euphemisms for divorce: “to break up”, “to split up, and “matchruptcy” (a blending of “match” and “bankruptcy”). And the homosexuality would be called “Greek arts”, “queer”, “gay”. There is another interesting phrase “to go to Reno”. “Reno”, a small city in the west of Nevada, is famous for its easy and fast procedures of divorce. So “to go to Reno” also becomes a euphemism for divorce.
3.1.5. The euphemisms for birth
Contrary to the Chinese traditional opinion, in western countries, “being pregnant” and “having a baby” are not considered “a blessed event”. Australian English even call it “a blasted event”. In America, “to wear the apron high”, “to wear/have the belly high” are euphemisms for “to be pregnant”, while in Britain, “to wear the bustle wrong” is a euphemism for “to be pregnant”. In 19th century, a slim waist is the ideal figure for British women. Therefore, “to be pregnant” is also called “to be awkward”, “in a bad way/shape”; “to make a woman pregnant” is called “to spoil/ruin a woman’s shape”. Some one even called “to be pregnant” “to be caught” or “to be fallen”. Some vague expressions also show a kind of restless mood, such as: that way, in a certain/particular/delicate condition etc. The use of humor is another feature of euphemism for “being pregnant”. American people are likely to say “to have a watermelon on the vine”, or “to swallow a watermelon seed”. British people are likely to say “to have a bun in the oven” or “to have an Irish toothache” (to make fun of Irish people who are pregnant as commonly as having a toothache).
3.2. Courtesy
Another reason to use euphemism is that it avoids the harsh and direct word in a polite way, and makes the sentence sound more pleasant. To grasp the polite function of euphemism can help you build a good relationship with others. The polite functions are especially reflected in the occupations, or trades. It relate with Politeness Principle of Leech[17]. It is obvious that advertisement is aimed at helping businessmen propaganda their goods, for the sake of soliciting customs. As a pleasant way, using euphemisms in advertisements has become more and more widespread. Now, “secondhand store” has been replaced by “resale store”, “super”, “giant”, “special”, such words, have become more popular. Moreover, we can often see the same phenomenon about the expressions for classes of cabins. To defend passengers ’honor, “First Class” is changed to “Deluxe Class”, “Second Class” is to “First Class”, “Third Class” to “Business Class”, and “Economic Class” to “Tourist Class”. This function undoubtly plays an active role of improving the progress of society:
3.2.1. The euphemism for the office and trade
For example, “mental hospital or mental health center” is a euphemism for “madhouse”; “mortuary or funeral” is a euphemism of dead house. Some small companies or small enterprises like to use the word “industry”, such as hotel industry, tourist industry, garage industry, women’s beauty industry etc.
3.2.2. The euphemism for occupation
In order to promote the social status of the occupation, almost every humble occupation has a sweet-sounding name. There are mainly two forms:
1). Compound. That is to choose some sweet-sounding occupational names to make up compound or compound phrases. For example, today we can find many occupations in America and Britain named with “engineer”: sanitary (or sanitation) engineer; building (custodian, dwelling) engineer; automobile engineer; dry cleaning engineer, pipe engineer; heating engineer; packing engineer; sales engineer; housewife→domestic engineer; the person who is in charge of killing mice and cockroaches→exterminating(extermination) engineer. There are some other common titles: automotive repairman→automotive internist; garden worker→landscape architect; prison guard→correctional officer; pest-killer→pest control operator; butcher→meat technologist. Some humble occupations have many euphemistic names at the same time. For example, people often call “hair stylist” “tonsorial artist”, while people call “female hairdresser” “woman surgeon”; “undertaker” also has many expressions: bereavement counselor, grief therapist, funeral director, funeral service practitioner. Besides “engineer” housewife also can be called “household executive”, “homemaker”, even “domestic manager”; “Prostitute” also has many euphemisms, such as pavement princess, working girl, streetwalker, call girl, business girl etc.
2). Derivation. That is to choose some Latin and Greek prefixes whose meanings refer to “a person”, such as “-(o) logist”. “mixologist” is a euphemism for “a bar’s waiter”; dustman for garbologist; female hairdresser for cosmetologist; undertaker for mortician; cobbler for shoetrician; locksmith for locktician. Some special occupational names have adopted two prefixes. For example cosmetologist and cosmetician both refer to “female hairdresser”. Moreover, Latin prefix “-arian” is originally used in religion, but now it is also used in the occupation, such as: bartarian, sanitarian. Another Latin prefix “-ian” is also used popularly, such as custodian (entrance guard or dustman). Some people even want to change the native prefix “-er” to the Latin prefix “-or” because they think the foreign prefix is more elegant and sweet-sounding, such as weldor, wild animal trainor.
3.2.3. The euphemisms for the aged and weight
The age, especially a woman’s age is regarded as a sensitive privacy. And most of the western people are afraid of getting old, so they call “old people” “senior citizens”. ”old age” and “senility” can easily cause the fear of the old people. Some euphemistic expressions take the place of them, such as “getting on (in years), past one’s prime, feeling one’s age, second childhood, a distinguished gentleman, a grande dame, third age”. The old people become “an elder statesman” or “old age pensioner” or even use initialing “OAP”. They are not “old” but “long-lived”. Old people’s home, of course, is not an ideal place for old men to live in. There are many euphemistic expressions: a home for adults, a nursing home, a rest home, a private hospital, a convalescent hospital. The old people who live there are called euphemistically “a resident”.
In western country, it is very impolite if you talk about someone’s figure and weight without reservation. If someone is “fat”, “overweight” is often used to replace it. “weight-watchers” is also a euphemism for “fat people”. To female, “a fat girl” is called “a fuller figure or plump”; to male, “fat” is called “stout”; to child, it is called “chubby”. On the contrary, if someone is too thin, euphemism is also used. To male, it is called “lean”, and to female, it is called “slim, slender, willowy or svelte”.
3.2.4. The euphemisms for poverty and unemployment
The topic of poverty and unemployment might cause some embarrassment, so people often use euphemism when their talks concern such things. For example, “dismissal” is often called “lay off, ease out, get the walking ticket/pink slip”; “bankruptcy” is called “out of the game”; “penniless” is called “out of pocket, in reduced circumstances, badly off, needy etc.”; “the poor people” is called “the have-nots, the underprivileged, the disadvantaged”; even their houses also have a sweet-sounding name-“substandard housing”. The euphemism for unemployment has many expressions. Most of them are humorous, such as “between jobs”, “between shows”, “to be developing a new project”, “to receive a Mexican raise/ an Irish promotion” (to raise a promotion without raising the salary), “to be self-employed”. In America “unemployed men” are called “claimants”, while, in Britain, they are called “to be on public assistance”. Of course, some euphemisms are pessimistic: The British unemployed men can take 50 percent off the ticket of a film and a drama, so they also can be called “the less fortunate”.
3.2.5. The euphemisms for excretion
All words concerning “excretion” except tears are considered taboo words. The euphemisms for “lavatory” have many ways of expressions, such as water closet, cloakroom, comfort station, toilet (which is popular in Britain), restroom (which is generally used in America). In America, “convenience station” is written English, while “bathroom” is oral English. “John” is slang, while “poet’s corner” is a crack joke. In Britain, they use “Jakes” instead of “John”. They use “public comfort station” instead of “public convenience station”. Men’s lavatory is called “Gent’s, the John, the washroom”; Women’s lavatory is called “Ladies’, the powder room, powder one’s nose (Br.); powder one’s puff (Am.); Mrs. Jones”. There are also many ways to express “urination” and “defecation”, such as, to go to the bathroom/ restroom/ powder room, to do one’s business, to answer nature’s call. .
There are other expressions. For instance, I have to retire for a moment. / I would like to be excused. Interrogative sentences can also be used: Where is the restroom? Where can I wash my hands? Ladies can say, “I’d like to add some makeup.” in order to avoid the awkwardness.
3.3. Disguise
Opposite to the positive influences of euphemism, there are some different sayings about it. Some people condemn euphemisms as demoralizing because of its hypocrisy while others like Hilaire Belloc consider them a ‘psychological necessity”[18]. One of the most important reasons is that euphemism is used to conceal some scandalous behaviors and crimes. Therefore, euphemism can also bring about the negative influences, which are embodied in the following two aspects according to its concealing function:
3.3.1. The euphemisms for the requirements of politics and war.
Because of the requirements of politics and war, the British and American politicians used some euphemisms to conceal the internal truth, and cheat the public. For example, the “Water Gate” is called “scenario” [19]. Some American writers criticized that these euphemisms created from the “Water Gate” were demoralizing and hypocritical. “Time” even said directly, “These euphemisms all tell it like it isn’t.” [20] The person who steals the information is called “plumber”; The person who is against government is often called “dissidents”; American and British people name “riot” as “disturbance” or “disorder”; “strike” is called “walk-out, down tools, industrial action or industrial dispute”; “economic crises” is called “recession” or “depression”. In the aspect of military affair, “the number of the dead” is called “body count”; “aggression” is called “pre-emptive action” or “involvement”; “rout” is called “phased withdrawal”、“strategic withdrawal”、“light and scattered action” or “break off contact with enemy”. The euphemisms for “to kill” are often called “to take care of, to dispose of, to remove, to rub out, to puff out, to put away, to touch off etc.” “U.S. overseas military employment” is called “American presence”; “civilian casualties” is called “collateral damage”; “bombing and blasting” is called “softening up the resistance”. People seldom mention “nuclear weapons”, but “an anti-personnel weapon”. “Non-nuclear weapon” is called “a conventional weapon”. American media called their invasion to Haiti by their marines “an incident”, called the investigation of American airplanes in Russian territorial air space “an over flight”. We can see the concealing function of euphemisms becomes the needs of the struggle, the tool of cheating people.
3.3.2. The euphemisms for crime
Crime is also a very sensitive topic. The judge can say, “I hereby sentence you to five years in prison.” While the families and friends of the criminal are likely to use the euphemistic expression, such as “to send to the big house, to send up the river, to be living at the government’s expense.” “juvenile delinquents” is a euphemism for “young criminals”; “prison” is called “correctional center”; “burglary” is called “surreptitious entry”; “rape” is called “criminal assault”; “the officer’s act of stealing or embezzling” is called “They misuse public funds.” “Death penalty” is called “capital punishment”.
3.4. The countries’ names as euphemism
In English, there is another special euphemistic expression. That is to use other countries’ names instead of some harsher or more offensive words. The appearance of these euphemisms is mostly because of the historic and cultural reasons. For instance, because French had ruled Britain, British people like to make fun of the French. They called “syphilis” “the French disease”. “French letter” is a euphemism for “condom”; “abortive pill” is called “French lunar pill”; “pornographic novels/prints” is called “French novels (prints)”. It seems that the French does all the bad things. In 17th century, the war between Britain and Dutch also led to a lot of anti-Dutch words, including euphemisms. “Prostitute” is called “Dutch widow”; “commit suicide” is called “Dutch act/cure”; “Dutch courage” is an “artificial courage”; “Dutch cheer” is a euphemism for “liquor”. It was said that the Dutch often drank some liquor to build up their courage. Besides French and Dutch, Britain also makes fun of other countries. “Condom” has other euphemistic expressions in terms of country’s name, such as Spanish letter, American letter, and Italian letter. “Abortive pill” is also called “Portuguese female pill”; “Russian roulette” is a euphemism for “to intend to commit suicide”; “Mexican raise. Irish promotion” means “to be dismissed”; “Egyptian physical training” means “to sleep at daytime”; “Chinese” is also included in this usage, and it refers to a kind of “heroin”. “Chinese white” is a euphemism for “spirited heroin”; “Chinese red” also refers to “heroin”. In a word, the British and the American relate a lot of offensive things with other countries’ names. That is why “exotic” has the meaning of “erotic”. “Exotic club” became the “striptease night club”; “exotic dancer” became the “go-go dancer”. Besides English, other western countries also have such euphemistic phenomena. In fact, it is Linguistic Chauvinism.
4. Conclusion
Euphemism appears with false appearance, and exerts a subtle influence on exposing the truth. That is to use the neutral or pleasant words to express some awkward or offensive contents. As to the English learners, we should not only pay attention to its application on appropriate occasions, but to its influences. Its active functions can coordinate the interpersonal relationships, release the contradictions and avoid the conflicts. The negative functions are to confound right and wrong, beautify the shameful behaviors and conceal the essence. Language itself has not the class character, but different people, political parties and countries can consider it a tool to serve for them. That is why someone named euphemisms as “comfortable words” or “cosmetic words”. In daily life, we should pay attention to the influences that the active and negative functions of euphemisms bring us, and keep the negative functions from corrupting our thoughts.
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浅谈英语委婉语的交际功能
英汉谚语的比较