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摘 要委婉语是人类语言使用过程中的一种普遍现象，是人们谈论那些令人不快或尴尬的事情时所使用的较为礼貌的说法。总的来讲，英汉语言在很多方面都存在着共同的禁忌，但由于文化传统的差异，相同的领域可能又存在着不同的表达或程度的深浅。在翻译时若忽视了两者在语言和文化方面的差异，则会产生沟通障碍。本文将从英汉委婉语语言特性及文化的对比入手，进而探讨委婉语的翻译策略，以期促进跨文化交流。24824
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毕业论文关键词：委婉语；文化；比较；翻译策略
Abstract
Euphemism is a common phenomenon in the process of human language using. When people talk about unpleasant or embarrassing things, it is more polite to use euphemisms. Generally speaking, taboos are existing in both English and Chinese language in many aspects. But due to differences in traditional cultures, there are different levels of expressions and levels in the same areas. And ignoring it while translating will lead to miscommunication. This paper will compare the characteristics of English and Chinese euphemisms and culture, then explore the translation strategies for euphemism to promote cross-cultural exchanges.
Key words: euphemism; culture; comparison; translation strategies
Contents
摘 要 i
Abstract ii
I. Introduction 1
II. An overview of relevant theories about euphemisms 2
2.1 Definition of Euphemism 2
2.2 Classification 3
2.2.1 Positive Euphemism and Negative Euphemism 3
2.2.2 Conscious Euphemism and Unconscious Euphemism 4
2.2.3 Other Classifications of Euphemism 5
III. Comparison of English and Chinese Euphemisms 5
3.1 Comparison of Linguistic Characteristics 5
3.1.1 The Lexical Characteristics 6
3.1.2 The Semantic Characteristics 7
3.1.3 The Grammatical Characteristics 7
3.2 Comparison of Cultural Characteristics 8
IV. The Translation Strategies for Euphemism 9
4.1 Literal Translation 9
4.2 Free Translation 11
4.3 Use of Similar Euphemisms in Target Language 12
4.4 Addition 13
4.5 Omission 14
4.6 Foreignization and Domestication 14
V. Conclusion 16
Bibliography 17
Acknowledgements 18
A Comparative Study of Chinese Euphemism and English Euphemism and their Translation
I. Introduction
In some occasions there are certain things that are too embarrassed to speak out. Some words may make someone unhappy when used in communication. If we express the meaning in the direct way, we will make such impression which is vulgar and impolite. In order to make the communication more smoothly and happily, human has created euphemisms.
The word“euphemism” originates from Greek. Prefix “eu” means “good”，stem “pheme” means “speech”. So the whole word with the meaning of “word of good omen”. The emergence of English euphemism can be traced back to the Norman conquest of 1066. At that time Anglo-Saxon native language have been vilified, Norman and local upper class want to avoid vulgar, so they choose to use euphemism. In the Chinese euphemism also called rhyme, euphemism has been interpreted as full of twists and turns in the etymology and in the modern Chinese dictionary is interpreted as tactfully ago. In 1976，Chinese scholar Chen Wangdao published the book introduction to rhetoric. He gave a definition to euphemism and studied euphemism from the angle of rhetoric．Euphemism is very important in our life. If we can not use it well, it will cause misunderstanding. So it is necessary to explore the difference of English and Chinese euphemism.