Chapter 1 Introduction
Euphemism appeared almost as early as language was produced. In the long history，it has accumulated many different definitions from different scholars. From Englishetymology we know that the word euphemism comes from the Greek word eixprmia(euphemia) means "the use of words of good omen，，，which in turn is derived from theGreek root-words，meaning glory, flattering speech, praise etc. And thus it literallymeans “To speak with good words" (Halliday, 2001). When it comes to a specificdefinition, it varies according to different books. First，usually we can find its definitionin current English dictionaries, which define euphemism as follows:(A) A polite, tactful, or less explicit term used to avoid the direct naming of anunpleasant painful or frightening reality. (Webster，s Third New International Dictionaryof the English Language) (1961).(B) Euphemism is the substitution of mild，indirect，or vague expression for onethought to be offensive, harsh or blunt. (The Random House College Dictionary) (Stein,1979).(C) A word or phrase used to avoid saying another word or phrase that is moreforceful and honest but also more unpleasant or offensive. (Cambridge InternationalDictionary of English) (Procter, 1995).(D) A polite word or expression that people use when they are talking aboutsomething which they or other people find unpleasant or embarrassing, such as death orsex. (Collins CobuildEssential English Dictionary) (Owen, 1989).(E) A polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoidshocking or upsetting someone. ( Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English),(1995).In spite of the different wording and perspectives, these definitions share acommon point: Euphemism is a circumlocution: a word or phrase that we sometimesuse to refer to a topic which is surrounded by taboos, such as death, god, sex and madness, as well as things of which we are ashamed. In these contexts, some words areregarded as too offensive or explicit or unpleasant, and we feel it is compulsory to saysomething milder or vaguer. The kind of substitute expressions tends to be highlyidiomatic.Today, we tend to accept more about this kind of a broad sense of euphemism.Here we give some examples of the usage of euphemisms.
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
Before further exploration，we'd better have a general review about the previousstudy of euphemisms, which may help us clear the ground. The study of Englisheuphemisms has a long history. As early as in Anglo-Saxon period, they were used so asnot to offend political or religious leaders. In the early 1580s，a British writer, GeorgeBlunt，first begun to use the term "euphemism" in English and defined it as "A good orfavorable interpretation of a bad word.” (Neaman and Silver 1983:4). Later，a lot ofprogress has been made with devotions of lots of linguists. There are many scholars，such as H. P. Grice (1967)，Hugh Rawson (1981)，Geoffrey Leech (1983)，Newman andSilver (1983), Brown and Levinson (1987)，Allan and Burridge (1991) etc, and theirresearches have contributed greatly to the study of euphemism. In 1967 Herbert PaulGrice developed cooperative principle in his work Logic and Conversation. In 1981，theBritish scholar Hugh Rawson published his classic Rawson's Dictionary of Euphemismsand Other Doubletalk which was a milestone of the achievements made on theeuphemism study over decades.In 1983，the famous British linguist Geoffrey Leech published his book Principlesof Pragmatics, this book presents a rhetorical model of pragmatics; that is, a modelwhich studies linguistic communication in terms of communicative goals and principlesof 'good communicative behavior*. The same year, American linguists Neaman andSilver published a dictionary Kind Words—A Thesaurus of Euphemisms as well，inwhich he elaborated the history and formation of euphemism in a detailed way. In 1987,Brown and Levinson published their work Politeness, Some Universals in LanguageUsage, The aut
