1、英语委婉语起源思考 abstracteuphemism，asacommonlinguisticphenomenoninworldculture，iswidelyusedineverysocialclassandfield.englisheuphemism，asoneofmanyeuphemismsexistingintheworld，hasitsowndeeporigin，whichincludeboththereligiousoriginandthehistorical，literaryorigin.thisthesiswilltrytodiscusstheoriginofenglisheu
2、phemismfromeveryaspectofreligion，race，politics，literary，andhistory.languagereflectslife，andisalwayscloselyrelatedtothesociety.duringthecommunication，duetosomecertainrestrictionofbehaviorandmorality，peopletendtouseeuphemismusedasakindoflubrication，makingtheharsh，indelicatewordssoundtactfulandpleasant
3、.englisheuphemismplaysaveryimportantroleinpeoplessocialcommunication.thispaperwillalsoexpoundthesocialcommunicativefunctionofenglisheuphemismfromthethreeaspects：evasivefunction，politefunction，andcosmeticfunction.havingagoodunderstandingoftheoriginandsocialfunctionofenglisheuphemismandtheenglishlangu
4、ageculturecanavoidmanyconflictsintheprocessofsocialcommunication. keywordsorigin;communicativefunction;evasion;cosmeticfunction;politeness 【】委婉语是世界文化中普遍存在的语言现象，它广泛应用于社会各阶层和领域。英语委婉语作为众多委婉语中的一种，具有其产生的深厚渊源，其中包宗教与政治的，也包括文学与历史的。本文试图从宗教、种族、政治、文学、历史等方面入手来探讨英语委婉语的产生渊源。语言反映生活，并且总是和社会紧密联系在一起，在语言交谈中，由于一定的行为标准和
5、道德准那么的制约，人们通常使用委婉语-这一“润滑剂，使刺耳，不文雅的话变得委婉愉悦。它在人们的社会交际过程中发挥着重要作用。本文从其避讳功能、礼貌功能以及掩饰功能三方面阐释了英语委婉语的社会交际功能。通过充分理解英语委婉语的起源及其社会交际功能，进一步理解英语语言文化，以防止社会交际中的各种冲突。 【关键词】起源;交际功能;避讳;礼貌;掩饰 1.introduction euphemismisaculturalphenomenonaswellasalinguisticconcept.everylanguagehasitsowneuphemism，sodoesenglish.itisdeeply
6、rootedinsociallifeandhasagreatinfluenceonsocialcommunication.asanindispensableandnaturalpartofenglishlanguage，englisheuphemismhasattractedpeoplesattentionforalongtime.sinceeuphemismwascoined，ithasplayedaveryimportantroleinpeoplescommunication.thecommunicationwithouteuphemismisunimaginable.euphemismi
7、susedlikelubrication，whichmakesthecommunicationgoonsmoothly.thisthesiswillhaveanoverviewoftheoriginofenglisheuphemism，andstateitssocialcommunicativefunction. englisheuphemismasalinguisticconcept，ithascloserelationshipswiththewesternculture，andittrulyreflectsthelifeandvaluesofenglishpeopleandtheirhis
8、tory.euphemismisaparticularlygoodmediumforaccesstotheforceoflanguagethathasprovidedaneffectiveapproachtounderstandingthehumanmind.thestudyofenglisheuphemismcanhelpusunderstandthewesterncultureandpromotetheinternationaldevelopmentbecauseeuphemismiswidelyusedininternationalnegotiations.sothereisagreat
9、needforustostudyenglisheuphemism，including：itsorigin，itssocialfunction，etc. 2.thedefinitionsofenglisheuphemism euphemismisauniversallinguisticphenomenon.nearlyineverylanguage，therearesomedisgustingwords，whichmakepeoplefeelembarrassed.intheprocessofcommunication，theunsuitableortoodirectwordswillmakep
10、eoplefeeluncomfortable，evenangry.thenthereisagreatneedforustouseatactfulwaytoexpressemotion，exchangeideas.thatistosay，touseapleasant，mildorindirectwordsorphrasestaketheplaceoftabooedwords. itisknownthateuphemismisaformoflanguageintentionallycreatedinsocialrelationtoachieveidealcommunication.withoutt
11、hemanylanguagewouldseemtobevulgarandrude，voidofpolitenessandvividnesstosomeextent.asacommoncommunicationintheprocessofpeopleusinglanguage，euphemismisanimportantwayforpeopletocoordinatethesocialrelationships.likeakindoflubrication，euphemismenablespeopletoexpresswhatcannotbeuttereddirectlyandensuresco
12、mmunicationtobecarriedsmoothly.itisalanguagestrategyincivilizedsocietyforavoidingtaboo.itisunimaginableifthecommunicationiswithouteuphemism. theword“euphemismwasderivedfromthegreekword“euphemismos，whichmeans“fairspeech.theprefix“eumeans“good，soundwelland“phememeans“sayingor“speech.andthustheliteralm
13、eaningof“euphemismis“tospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner.thatistosay，euphemismisusedasanalternativetounpleasantexpression，inordertoavoidpossibleloseofface，eitheronesownfaceorthroughgoingoffense，thatoftheaudience，orsomeofthirdofparty.thisunpleasantexpressionmaybetabooed，fearsome，orforsomeotherrea
14、sonsthatspeakerscantorintendnottousesomecertainexpressiondirectlyonsomeoccasion.“inwebstersencyclopedicunabridgeddictionaryoftheenglishlanguageisthesubstitutionofamild，indirect，orvagueexpressionforonethoughtsubstituted.rawsonblunt，abritishwriter，definedeuphemismasagoodfavorableinterpretationofabadwo
15、rd.1“encyclopediabritannica（1994）alsodefineseuphemismasafigureofspeechinwhichsomethingofanunpleasant，distressingorindelicatenatureisdescribedinlessoffensiveterms2 fromtheabovementioned，wecouldclearlyseethateuphemismischaracterizedbyavoidancelanguageandevasiveexpression.thespeakersusewordsorexpressio
16、nsasaprotectiveshieldagainsttheangerordisapprovalofnaturalorsupernaturalthings.itisoneformoflanguageandalinguisticphenomenon 3.theoriginsofenglisheuphemism 3.1thereligiousoriginofenglisheuphemism theearliestenglisheuphemismscomefrom“taboo.theword“taboocomesfromtogan，akindofpolynesian.itindicatesevasivelanguageoraction.3theemergenceofenglisheuphemismistomeettheneedof
