摘 要

英语委婉语深深地扎根在英语语言之中。它能够协调人际关系，是保全交际各方面的润滑剂和重要手段。本文从委婉语在西方国家的使用情形这一角度出发，对英语委婉语进行较为全面的介绍。文章第一部分对委婉语进行初步介绍，并在综合诸多定义的基础上，重新阐述了委婉语的定义。第二部分描述了委婉语的起源和发展，其中介绍了宗教、传统道德和社会价值观对委婉语发展的重大影响。第三部分根据所表述的事物的禁忌与否，把委婉语分成两大类，即传统委婉语和问题委婉语。第四部分为文章的主体部分，结合具体例子，着重介绍了委婉语的五大交际功能:避讳、避俗、礼貌、褒扬和掩饰功能。文章通过对英语委婉语的全面解析，旨在使人们能准确理解委婉语的功能和应用，达到更好的交际与交流的目的。

关键词：英语委婉语；定义；起源；发展；类别；交际功能
 
Abstract

English euphemism is so deeply rooted in the English language that few people get through a day without using it, thus serving as a lubricant for successful communications and frequently used to coordinate human relationship. Based on the euphemistic expressions used in western countries, the paper aims to make a comprehensive introduction of euphemism. The paper first gives an overview of euphemism and renews its definition after many definitions given by other experts and linguists which had been thoroughly studied. Chapter Two focuses on origin of euphemism and factors influencing the development of euphemism. Chapter Three discusses the classification of euphemism, which is divided into two categories, namely traditional euphemism and stylistic euphemism. Chapter Four, the main part of this thesis, probes into several communicative functions of euphemism with exemplifications. These functions are evasion, elegance, politeness, commending and cover-up. An all-sided analysis on euphemism will help people acquire a better understanding of its usage and do better in communications.

Keywords: English euphemism; definition; origin; development; classification; communicative functions

Chapter 1 An Overview of English Euphemism
 1.1 Introduction
Euphemism is a common linguistic phenomenon in human society. Since language intercommunication is an important way to maintain social relationship and human connection, people always express their opinions or exchange information with mild, vague expressions, which can not only be used to replace some rude, unpleasant words, but also build up an active communicative atmosphere and keep a harmonious interpersonal relationship. Therefore, euphemism, which serves as "lubricant", has played an important role in the interpersonal communication the day it appeared. "If there is no euphemism, the world will cease to operate because of friction, people will be fraught with mortal enemies."[1] In western countries, euphemism is frequently adopted in daily communication. For example, the Western elderly prefer to be called "golden ager", "senior citizen" or "seasoned men" rather than to be titled "old men" which means that death is just around the corner from some kind of perspective. No wonder they are afraid of being named "old men" in daily communication.