新闻英语中委婉语的语用功能分析.doc

Abstract Euphemism is frequently used in the English journalistic reports of various media which are hard to understand for readers whose mother tongue is not English. However, as euphemisms in those journalistic reports have relatively fixed pragmatic functions and forms, we can know the meaning of the euphemism easier if we grasp pragmatic functions of the euphemism in journalistic English. In this thesis I will analyze the general forms of the euphemism and analyze the pragmatic functions of euphemism by giving some examples in journalistic English. Key words: euphemism, pragmatic functions, journalistic reports. 1. Introduction 1.1The origin and the formation of euphemism The word euphemism comes from the Greek “eu”(good) and “euphemism”(speech) and thus means literally “to speak the good words or to express in a pleasant manner”. It’s exemplified in the ancient Greek terms for the furies – the Eumenides or the Erinyes. Eumenides mean “the kindly ones” or “the friendly ones” and the Erinyes means “the revered ones’. These two euphemisms served in part to tame the terrifying goddesses or at least to avert their attention. In fact, gods, whether benign or malevolent, were treated with respect. Since the names of the gods were considered identical to normal people, so to speak a name was to evoke the divinity whose power then had to be confronted. Such dangerous practices were reserved for priest who skilled in negotiating with the supernatural. But even they were often forbidden to utter the real names of the powers. So the fear and desire to placate the mysterious forces which rule the universe were probably the original reasons for euphemizing. Afterwards, Greek culture spread all over the European and American countries. With times changing and society developing, politeness becomes another motive for the using of euphemism to avoid offending others. This desire to avoid offending others leads us to use “kind words”. Daily euphemisms are used for politenes