A Study on the Application of Euphemism From the Perspective of Politeness Principle

Abstract

Euphemism, also called embellishing language, is a common phenomenon in language, society and culture. It is used as a mirror, reflecting moral concept, values, and aesthetic conceptions in a sense. Euphemism plays an important role in our daily life. It is used as lube in interpersonal communication that helps avoid hurting the others' feeling. It oils the human relationship in communication and helps to save face of communicators. If people make full use of euphemism, it can accelerate and facilitate interpersonal communication. From the angle of pragmatics and culture, and based on the theory of the Politeness Principle, this thesis studies the extensive use of English and Chinese euphemisms in every social field by analyzing examples. This thesis mainly analyzes English and Chinese euphemisms reflect the six maximums of politeness principle. Besides, Chinese and English euphemisms under the guidance of politeness principle have widely used in the fields of communication in culture, political affairs and economical activities. From the analysis, it is found that only when euphemism is properly used, can reflect its value.

Exploring Euphemisms in Bridgerton: Diamond of the First Water

“…Euphemism is a common phenomenon in our daily conversation. Euphemism happens when people use a more modest word to avoid misunderstanding (Crespo-Fernández, 2018;Dalamu, 2018;He, 2018;Jing-Schmidt, 2019). People use euphemisms almost all the time without even realizing it.…”