中西方死亡委婉语对比研究.doc

A Comparative Study of Death Euphemism Between Chinese and Western Culture ABSTRACT Language is the carrier of culture. Death euphemism is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but also a kind of social and cultural phenomenon. Its production was influenced by each nation’s political system, religion, economy, culture, etc. Through the analysis of the similarities and differences between Chinese and English death euphemism, this article presents the similarities between Chinese and English death euphemism from the aspect of “parting”, physical activity, army life, illness and committing suicide and makes an emphasis on the introduction of the differences between them. The differences are mainly as follows: in political system, China adopts the feudal hierarchy while the west adopts the constitutional monarchy and advocates the equality ideology. In social and economic life, China is an agricultural country while the capitalistic economy developed rapidly in the west. In folk customs, China adopts inhumation while cremation is adopted in the west. In religious belief, people in China believe in Buddhism and Taoism, while in the west, people believe in Christianity. By the comparative study, it helps people learn the similarities and differences between Chinese and English death euphemism and that helps to improve personal language accomplishment and know the language taboo of the east and the west. Moreover, it is meaningful for people to know how to properly use death euphemisms in different situations. Thereby, it can promote cross-cultural communication. Key words: death euphemism comparative study cross-cultural communication 摘 要 语言是文化的载体，死亡委婉语不仅是一种语言现象,也是一种社会现象和文化现象。它的产生受到了各个民族的政治制度、宗教信仰、经济、文化等方面的影响。本文通过对汉英死亡委婉语的相同点和不同点的分析，展现出了英汉死亡委婉语在离别，身体活动，军队生活以及疾病和自杀方面的共同之处，同时着重介绍了两民族关于死亡委婉语表述的不同之处：在政治制度方面，中国实行的是封建等级制度，而西方采用的是君主立宪制度和崇尚平等思想；在社会经济生活方面，中国处于农耕社会而西方的资本主义经济高度发达；在风俗习惯方面，中国实行土葬制度，而西方实行火葬制度；在宗教信仰方面，中国信奉佛教和道教，西方信奉基督教。通过以上的对比研究，使人们学习到了汉英死亡委婉语的相同和不同之处，有助于人们提高语言修养和