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Abstract：In modern society，euphemism has been applied in a wide range of social and personal life.From the perspective of pragmatic function，this paper enumerates typical cases and discusses three pragmatic functions of English euphemism：①Taboo and taboo function；②Courtesy function；③Disguise function.
Key words：euphemism；pragmatic function；verbal communication
1 Introduction
Euphemism has a long and traditional history.Euphemism is derived from the Greek Euphemismos，namely，the prefix “eu” is“good” sounding “well ”，and the word root of “phemo” as “researched （talk） ”，is the translation of the direct “good researched”，it is used to replace more directly，take the liberty of the abrupt words，or with a kind word covering up the truth of the matter.In this paper，three social functions of English euphemisms will be deeply analyzed by applying a large number of examples，They are replacement of taboo words，courtesy function and disguise function.
2 The social function of euphemism
2.1 Replacement of taboo words
Euphemism originated in the early stage of human civilization，when science and culture were not developed and people believed in ghosts and gods.In the middle of the Victorian Dynasty，people did not even dare to mention the name of the deceased and replaced it with the departed or no longer living.In modern society，people are also sensitive to the death of the poor，the old，the sick and the fat.A large number of euphemisms about this came into being.In the west，there are no “old people，” just senior citizens or the long-lived.This is because Chinese society values respect for the elder，believing that the elder are experienced and are a symbol of wisdom.On the contrary，when people in western society get old，they will be driven out of the mainstream society，which means that it is useless for society.Accordingly，retired people are often referred to as pensioners and disabled persons or crippled man is called a special man （disabled）.When it comes to “death”，people tend not to say it directly，but to obliquely replace it with many other kinds of euphemisms.English and Chinese have similar usages，and when it comes to death，it is often used euphemistically，such as pass away，depart，go to sleep，go to heaven and go to other world.Western christians call death the go to one’s maker.The homonym euphemism in contemporary Chinese is “to see Marx”.To soften the coffin of fear，it is often called a casket or box.Graveyad was called memorial park. The social division of labor between the United States and the United States is far from each other，and there is a sense of status anxiety among people who are engaged in menial jobs.In order to eliminate this sense of anxiety，the British and American newspapers give them pleasant euphemisms names，and people use euphemisms to improve the social status of certain occupations.For example，when waiter or waitress in a restaurant is called dining room attendants，the waiter is promoted to the position of attendant.When the operator（operator） is called the communication monitor，the operator（operator） is elevated to the position of inspector.Another example：when cook is called chef，his status immediately changes from cook to chef.In the same euphemism，the rat killer becomes an exterminating engineer.Dog catcher is honored as animal control warden.The use of euphemism in such occasions can not only maintain the self-esteem and confidence of readers and interlocutors，but also achieve the positive effect of coordinating the relationship between people，balancing the mentality and alleviating contradictions.
2.2 Courtesy function
Politeness is the mark of human civilization.Politeness principle is an important principle in human social activities.In the process of communication，people always pay attention to politeness and try to avoid conflicts.The “gentleness” of English euphemism makes it have the function of politeness，which can be roughly concluded from two aspects：
2.2.1 A euphemism for poverty and unemployment
Poverty and unemployment are also sensitive topics in daily life.In communication，everyone wants to get respect each other，so when it comes to the poor or the related situations，if people directly refer to each other for the poor，it will clearly irritate each other and make other unpleasant and embarrassing，so the poor euphemism came into being.For example，in Chinese，for a penniless poor man，people often use “money is tight” or “temporary liquidity problems” or “some economic difficulties” to express.The English language is also penniless.People avoid saying poverty directly；The term “underprivileged people” or “to be down on one’s luck” is used to describe poor people.
Unemployment is a widespread phenomenon in the society and people don’t want to talk about it directly.Therefore，the welfare workers are used to replace unemployed workers.We dismiss as lay off.
2.2.2 Euphemisms about expressing indecent things To avoid vulgarity，the English language often uses go to washroom，go to W.C.，and answer nature’s call.Saying “I have to go to the toilet” in the middle of a conversation is rude and inappropriate.It would be better to use vague language.For example：“May I please leave the room？ ” May I leave for a moment？ “Or” I’m going to do my business.I’m going to do something.
2.3 Function of concealment
The use of vague words is one of the means to form euphemisms.At this time，euphemism is quite deceptive，so it becomes a tool for politicians and profiteers to deceive people.It is used to cover up political scandals，wars，economic conditions，crimes and other ugly social phenomena.The concealment function of English euphemism can be roughly divided into two aspects：
2.3.1 To cover up some social problems
The disguise and politeness function of English euphemism mainly refers to that people adopt euphemism to express some harsh social reality or people’s own defects or weaknesses，so as to avoid causing spiritual and psychological harm to others and appear polite.Taking “poverty” as an example，in the traditional concept of western countries，the amount of material wealth is one of the criteria to measure the individual’s ability to survive and the realization of self-value.Therefore，poverty means not only the embarrassment of life and the low social status，but also the inadequacy of individual ability，which is despised by people.So，in English，for the word “poor”，seldom used to represent the “poor”，instead“needy”，“underprivileged”，etc.The phrase “slum” is used to describe it，with a better word being served as a “across housing” （non-standard housing），“depressed areas” and “special areas” to protect the pride of the occupants and the government.“Poor countries” also do not use “poor nations” or “backward nations”，lest cause in these countries，and the following phrases are used to indicate：“developing nations”，“emerging nations，emerging countries”，“less - developed countries” （less developed countries），etc.
2.3.2 To cover up political scandals
Euphemism in daily life is for taboo or politeness，and political life euphemism for the purpose of disguise is also the fertile land for euphemism.At the beginning of this century，labor relations were once very tense，and there was a wave of strikes.In order to cover up the truth of the contradiction，the press interpreted the labor relations as industrial relations and turned the labor dispute into the so-called industrial dispute.In the 1973 Watergate incident，a series of euphemisms emerged，called water gate language.Watergate language，such as “conflict”，“police action”，“go the hangout” and so on，were all elaborately constructed and “euphemism for deceiving people|”. 3 Conclusion
The above is a brief overview of the social functions of English euphemism.In a word，euphemism is a universal language phenomenon and a cultural phenomenon in human society.It is an important means to use language to coordinate human relations and plays the role of “lubricant” in human social communication.Its social function enables people to express their thoughts more freely so as to achieve the purpose of communication.With the continuous development and progress of society，the social function of euphemism will become more and more prominent.However，it should be emphasized that we should use appropriate euphemisms in a specific environment according to the influence of communicative objects，topics and environment.In addition，as people’s way of thinking，social values and moral values are constantly changing，people’s use of euphemisms，functions and expressions will also change accordingly.Therefore，we need to keep learning and mastering euphemisms，so as to give full play to their functions in social communication and use euphemisms appropriately.
參考文献
[1]李鑫华.英语修辞格详论[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2000.
[2]胡国强.英语委婉语的多维审观[J].通化师范学院学报，2003-5，24（3）.
[3]王雅军.实用英委婉语词典[M].上海：上海辞书出版社，2005.
[4]彭北萍.试探委婉语[J].青海师专学报（哲学与社会科学版），2002（2）.
Key words：euphemism；pragmatic function；verbal communication
1 Introduction
Euphemism has a long and traditional history.Euphemism is derived from the Greek Euphemismos，namely，the prefix “eu” is“good” sounding “well ”，and the word root of “phemo” as “researched （talk） ”，is the translation of the direct “good researched”，it is used to replace more directly，take the liberty of the abrupt words，or with a kind word covering up the truth of the matter.In this paper，three social functions of English euphemisms will be deeply analyzed by applying a large number of examples，They are replacement of taboo words，courtesy function and disguise function.
2 The social function of euphemism
2.1 Replacement of taboo words
Euphemism originated in the early stage of human civilization，when science and culture were not developed and people believed in ghosts and gods.In the middle of the Victorian Dynasty，people did not even dare to mention the name of the deceased and replaced it with the departed or no longer living.In modern society，people are also sensitive to the death of the poor，the old，the sick and the fat.A large number of euphemisms about this came into being.In the west，there are no “old people，” just senior citizens or the long-lived.This is because Chinese society values respect for the elder，believing that the elder are experienced and are a symbol of wisdom.On the contrary，when people in western society get old，they will be driven out of the mainstream society，which means that it is useless for society.Accordingly，retired people are often referred to as pensioners and disabled persons or crippled man is called a special man （disabled）.When it comes to “death”，people tend not to say it directly，but to obliquely replace it with many other kinds of euphemisms.English and Chinese have similar usages，and when it comes to death，it is often used euphemistically，such as pass away，depart，go to sleep，go to heaven and go to other world.Western christians call death the go to one’s maker.The homonym euphemism in contemporary Chinese is “to see Marx”.To soften the coffin of fear，it is often called a casket or box.Graveyad was called memorial park. The social division of labor between the United States and the United States is far from each other，and there is a sense of status anxiety among people who are engaged in menial jobs.In order to eliminate this sense of anxiety，the British and American newspapers give them pleasant euphemisms names，and people use euphemisms to improve the social status of certain occupations.For example，when waiter or waitress in a restaurant is called dining room attendants，the waiter is promoted to the position of attendant.When the operator（operator） is called the communication monitor，the operator（operator） is elevated to the position of inspector.Another example：when cook is called chef，his status immediately changes from cook to chef.In the same euphemism，the rat killer becomes an exterminating engineer.Dog catcher is honored as animal control warden.The use of euphemism in such occasions can not only maintain the self-esteem and confidence of readers and interlocutors，but also achieve the positive effect of coordinating the relationship between people，balancing the mentality and alleviating contradictions.
2.2 Courtesy function
Politeness is the mark of human civilization.Politeness principle is an important principle in human social activities.In the process of communication，people always pay attention to politeness and try to avoid conflicts.The “gentleness” of English euphemism makes it have the function of politeness，which can be roughly concluded from two aspects：
2.2.1 A euphemism for poverty and unemployment
Poverty and unemployment are also sensitive topics in daily life.In communication，everyone wants to get respect each other，so when it comes to the poor or the related situations，if people directly refer to each other for the poor，it will clearly irritate each other and make other unpleasant and embarrassing，so the poor euphemism came into being.For example，in Chinese，for a penniless poor man，people often use “money is tight” or “temporary liquidity problems” or “some economic difficulties” to express.The English language is also penniless.People avoid saying poverty directly；The term “underprivileged people” or “to be down on one’s luck” is used to describe poor people.
Unemployment is a widespread phenomenon in the society and people don’t want to talk about it directly.Therefore，the welfare workers are used to replace unemployed workers.We dismiss as lay off.
2.2.2 Euphemisms about expressing indecent things To avoid vulgarity，the English language often uses go to washroom，go to W.C.，and answer nature’s call.Saying “I have to go to the toilet” in the middle of a conversation is rude and inappropriate.It would be better to use vague language.For example：“May I please leave the room？ ” May I leave for a moment？ “Or” I’m going to do my business.I’m going to do something.
2.3 Function of concealment
The use of vague words is one of the means to form euphemisms.At this time，euphemism is quite deceptive，so it becomes a tool for politicians and profiteers to deceive people.It is used to cover up political scandals，wars，economic conditions，crimes and other ugly social phenomena.The concealment function of English euphemism can be roughly divided into two aspects：
2.3.1 To cover up some social problems
The disguise and politeness function of English euphemism mainly refers to that people adopt euphemism to express some harsh social reality or people’s own defects or weaknesses，so as to avoid causing spiritual and psychological harm to others and appear polite.Taking “poverty” as an example，in the traditional concept of western countries，the amount of material wealth is one of the criteria to measure the individual’s ability to survive and the realization of self-value.Therefore，poverty means not only the embarrassment of life and the low social status，but also the inadequacy of individual ability，which is despised by people.So，in English，for the word “poor”，seldom used to represent the “poor”，instead“needy”，“underprivileged”，etc.The phrase “slum” is used to describe it，with a better word being served as a “across housing” （non-standard housing），“depressed areas” and “special areas” to protect the pride of the occupants and the government.“Poor countries” also do not use “poor nations” or “backward nations”，lest cause in these countries，and the following phrases are used to indicate：“developing nations”，“emerging nations，emerging countries”，“less - developed countries” （less developed countries），etc.
2.3.2 To cover up political scandals
Euphemism in daily life is for taboo or politeness，and political life euphemism for the purpose of disguise is also the fertile land for euphemism.At the beginning of this century，labor relations were once very tense，and there was a wave of strikes.In order to cover up the truth of the contradiction，the press interpreted the labor relations as industrial relations and turned the labor dispute into the so-called industrial dispute.In the 1973 Watergate incident，a series of euphemisms emerged，called water gate language.Watergate language，such as “conflict”，“police action”，“go the hangout” and so on，were all elaborately constructed and “euphemism for deceiving people|”. 3 Conclusion
The above is a brief overview of the social functions of English euphemism.In a word，euphemism is a universal language phenomenon and a cultural phenomenon in human society.It is an important means to use language to coordinate human relations and plays the role of “lubricant” in human social communication.Its social function enables people to express their thoughts more freely so as to achieve the purpose of communication.With the continuous development and progress of society，the social function of euphemism will become more and more prominent.However，it should be emphasized that we should use appropriate euphemisms in a specific environment according to the influence of communicative objects，topics and environment.In addition，as people’s way of thinking，social values and moral values are constantly changing，people’s use of euphemisms，functions and expressions will also change accordingly.Therefore，we need to keep learning and mastering euphemisms，so as to give full play to their functions in social communication and use euphemisms appropriately.
參考文献
[1]李鑫华.英语修辞格详论[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社，2000.
[2]胡国强.英语委婉语的多维审观[J].通化师范学院学报，2003-5，24（3）.
[3]王雅军.实用英委婉语词典[M].上海：上海辞书出版社，2005.
[4]彭北萍.试探委婉语[J].青海师专学报（哲学与社会科学版），2002（2）.