Euphemism in Cross-Cultural Communication

cross-ethnical discourse Vol. 8, No. 6, 2012, pp. 66-70 DOI10. 3968/j. ccc. 1923670020120806. 1356 ISSN 1712-8358Print ISSN 1923-6700Online www. cs skunkada. net www. cscanada. org cross- heathenish unsuited field of force of slope and Chinese Euphemisms WANG Xiaolinga ZHANG Menga,* peal Hailina a College of extraneous Langu sexagenarian get along withs, Hebei unify University, West Xinhua Road, Tangshan, China. * Corresponding author.Supported by Study on Application of cross-cultural commandment Concept in New Standard College slope Teaching Key Project of Ministry of Education for the Year 2010, the El level offth Five-year Plan for educational Sciences (Grant No. gpa105030). Received 18 August 2012 accepted 7 celestial latitude 2012 Abstract The hold of euphemisms is a leafy vegetable linguistic phen auguron in each(prenominal) lyrics. By using euphemisms, masses can in swayly and politely limited their ideas, with egress making the listeners feel fumbling and un pleasant. As a mirror of horticulture, the propagation and development of euphemisms ar closely related to culture.Euphemisms in face and Chinese be similarly abundant, but they have two differences and similarities in expressions and heathen con nonations. The cross- heathenish contrastive study of face and Chinese euphemisms can back up concourse correctly clear the deep signification in position and Chinese languages and overcome the obstacles in crosscultural dialogues. Key lyric poem Euphemisms subtlety Cross-culture Contrastive study WANG Xiaoling, ZHANG Meng, DONG Hailin (2012). CrossCultural Contrastive Study of incline and Chinese Euphemisms.CrossCultural Communication, 8 (6), 66-70. Available from http//www. cscanada. net/index. php/ccc/article/view/j. ccc. 1923670020120806. 1356 DOI http//dx. doi. org/10. 3968/j. ccc. 1923670020120806. 1356. talking to, so the newsworthiness euphemism literally means word of good omen. Routledge Dictionary of phrase and Linguistics (2000) defines euphemism as A human body of expressing system which aims at making multitude feel less embarrassed by using some(prenominal) speech chat with vague and ambiguous meaning large- capitulumeda of those which whitethorn make passel feel unpleasant and non watch.The extension of euphemism has its mixer foundation. While communication with others, slew oftentimes side the situation where they can not instantaneously express what they want to say, or sometimes a direct expression will ca give the listeners awkward and unpleasant. In these cases, large exit t dying to choose an indirect and round some elbow room to express their ideas and thoughts, so as to negate the embarrassment. With this purpose, euphemisms come into being. Whereas the use of euphemisms is not plainly a social phenomenon, it is too a cultural mavin.The generation of euphemism is also closely related to culture. Due to the natural depression social productivit y in the early stage of human society, populate were lack of scientific and cultural knowledge, indeed in that location subsisted a superstitious belief that the direct foreshadow of the name of God or a ghost will bring them bad fortune. Then the names of God and ghosts became language verboten and people found substitutes of these names. These substitutes then became euphemisms of that time. With the development of the society, euphemisms in all languages also changed.And this on-going change has always being relying on culture. Different nations possess contrary natural environment, social patterns, ideological systems, modes of production and values. All these can be confered in the use of language, including the use of euphemisms. 1. EUPHEMISM AND ITS RELATION WITH CULTURE The word euphemism originated from a Latin word. Its prefix eu means good, and phemism means 2 . C U LT U R A L S I M I L A R I T I E S A N D DIFFERENCES REFLECTED BY ENGLISH AND CHINESE EUPHEMISMS Wh en we comp ar opposite cultures, we will come just about that theCopyright Canadian academy of Oriental and occidental polish 66 WANG Xiaoling ZHANG Meng DONG Hailin (2012). Cross-Cultural Communication, 8 (6), 66-70 similarities and differences of the ontogenesis course of human society are manifested in cultures. Language is not only the mirror of culture, but also a part of culture. So the similarities and differences of cultures are undoubtedly reflected by English and Chinese languages, including euphemisms. 2. 1 Cultural Similarities Reflected by Euphemisms Euphemism as a cultural phenomenon has its specific role to play in culture.Cultural similarities reflected by English and Chinese euphemisms can be concluded by the functions of euphemisms. Basically speaking, the functions of English and Chinese euphemisms are the same, which can be divided as taboo-avoiding function, politeness function, and trickery function. These functions evince the universal sections of hum an culture. 2. 1. 1 Taboo-Avoiding Function In English and Chinese, there are some words that cannot be directly state out.For sample, during the time when Christianity was prevalent in the westward countries, the name of God manufacturing business became the biggest taboo, so umteen euphemisms were created to replace the name, such(prenominal)(prenominal) as the Almighty, the compulsive Being, Holy i, the Eternal, the Creator, the Maker, the deliveryman, the light of the world, the Sovereign of the Universe, Our Father, etc.. In antique China, the names of emperors are also tabooed. For example, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, changed (the first calendar month of a lunar year) into so as to avoid the pronunciation of the character ? which is the same as the character ? used in his name. Another example is the euphemistic expression of wipeout. People generally believe that the sterling(prenominal) misfortune is nothing than death, so there are taboos and eu phemisms about death both in English and Chinese. The word death cannot be directly mentioned, and euphemisms about death are various. In English, the word die can be replaced by to pass away, to expire, to be no more, to breathe ones last, to come to an end, to join the majority, to go to ones rest, to peace the final sleep, to be gathered to ones arrive, return to dust, run ones race, be no onger with us, to be at peace, to be at rest, to be asleep in the arms of God/ the Nazarene, pay the debt of character, etc.. In Chinese, the word ? can be replaced by etc.. 2. 1. 2 Politeness Function It is a normal human psychological science for everybody to be respected and keep dignity before the others. So to avoid hurting others feelings and pride in a conversation, people often use euphemistic expressions in stead of words that will lead to the unwished-for result. For instance, in Chinese, people will call those who are physical wound ? ? in stead of . Similarly, in English, the word handicapped is euphemistically evince by disabled to show peoples respect. The deaf people are recognized as hard of listening, and blind people are the visually challenged. At present, euphemisms about body figure are more often used than ever before. As more and mo re people pay attention to their figure, you need to be elaborate while talking to those who have much weight. The word fat could never be used. tho you can use words same(p) plump, stout, out-size, over-weight to describe such soulfulness. In Chinese, it is also more polite to use words like etc..The politeness function of euphemisms is well demonstrated by the exposition of these low or humble occupations. To some extent, the occupations people are sedulous in can show their social status, so people in the low hierarchy are usually sensitive towards their jobs. A tolerable and respectful call of their occupation will show respect for such persons. Therefore, sanitation engineer is created for garb age collector, cleaning operative is created for road-sweeper, internal help is created for maid and security officer is created for janitor. In modern Chinese, there are also similar euphemisms about occupations.For example, people call in stead of , and ? or in stead of . These euphemisms about occupations not only show the raise of civilization level, but also peoples awareness of social equity. 2. 1. 3 Deception Function With the development of the society, the use of euphemisms is not only limited in avoiding taboos and caring for the listeners feelings. On many occasions, it is also employed to hide the facts, and to achieve some ulterior goals. Euphemisms of this kind are widely seen in semipolitical and economic line of businesss to deceive the usual or distort the pacts.For example, words used in war, such as invasion and raid are conceal as incursion, involvement and military action Failure in a war is disguise as break off contact with enemy The thousands of homeless people in the war are called transfer of population Attack is disguised as active defense, etc.. These cosmetic words conceal the nature and cruelty of war, and provide reasonable excuse for waging wars. For politicians, these euphemistic words are good tools to whitewash themselves and protect themselves from being excused or charged. Euphemisms in the economic area are also widely seen.For example, economic crisis is replaced by depression or recession poor nations is replaced by underdeveloped nations, developing nations, or emerging nations. These words all cover up the ingenuousness to some extent, and the real meaning of these words need careful thinking. 2. 2 Cultural Differences Reflected by Euphemisms Due to the culture difference mingled with English and Chinese, a topic often being talked about in one culture 67 Copyright Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture Cross-Cultural Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Euphemisms ay be tabooed in ano ther culture, and something unacceptable in one culture may be quite normal in another. 2. 2. 1 Different Attitudes Towards sexagenarian Age The westwarders are afraid of old age. In their opinion, old age indicates decay. So in many western countries, inquiring others age is seen to be an offense, because age is a sensitive topic. There are many euphemisms describing old age, such as senior citizen, advantage in age, the mature, seasoned man, overflowing of ages, be feeling ones ages, past ones prime etc.. On the contrary, it is a tradition for Chinese people to respect the old.As far as Chinese people are concerned, old age stands for wisdom and experience. In Chinese, people often add the word ? after a persons family name to show his respect, such as and . Besides, the word ? can also be added before a persons family name to show intimacy with this person, such as , . If a person has much experience in an occupation and is respected by others, people will call him or h er ? or etc.. Other words indicating old age like all show respect to these old people. 2. 2. Attitudes Towards Privacy The westerners attach much importance to privacy, which includes age, marriage, income, religious belief, political course etc. , and they do not want the others to know much about these contents. For example, a western lady will arrive an immediate detestation if she is bespeaked about her age and marriage state. While in China, you can often hear people well-nigh talking about age, marriage and even income. Topics like , , , are not require either. Inquiring others salary or the price of some private belongings is also seen as bad-mannered in the west.If you really want to know the price of an item, you can ask It is expensive? in stead of directly asking How much is it? But in China, you will have no worry to ask the price. apparitional belief and political tendency are also private in the west. Questions like What party do you vote for? a nd Whats your religion? cannot be asked. But in China, these questions are also free to ask. 2. 2. 3 denomination and Appellation Chinese people attach more importance to family than people in the west, and their respect for the senior generation is also shown in appointee and appellation.The name of a young should not be the same as his or her elder generation, even the pronunciation should be varied. Young people could not directly call the name of the elderly ones Instead they call them according to the vagabond in the family such as , , , ? ? etc.. Comparatively, English-speaking people do not have such strong sense of family rank and social stratum. In the western countries, there is no taboo in naming and appellation. People of different rank in the family hierarchy and social status could call each others name directly. It is common to hear children call their parents and even grandparents names.And it is also very common for a younger person to have a same name with the elder generation. The westerners believe this kind of appellation and naming is a way of demonstrate intimacy and will draw close the relationship amidst people. To some extent, it reflects the westerners pursuit of equality. 2. 2. 4 The Use of Numbers Cultures about exits exist in both Chinese and English. There are different taboos about number in different cultures. In the western culture, the number 13 is seen as an unlucky number which people tend to avoid in their day-by-day life.For example, it is rare to see 13 people gather around the same table while having dinner or meetings. It is also forbidden to have 13 dishes on the dinner table. House number, storey number and other number marks all avoid using this number. In Chinese, the pronunciation of 4 is similar to the character ? (die), so people are unwilling to use this number in doorplate, story number, phone number etc.. The pronunciation of number 3 is similar to the character ? , so weddings and birthday part ies are not held on this day.Besides, there is a saying in Chinese that good things should be in pairs, so it is also a tradition to hold important things on even number days, so as to wish that good luck could come. 3. EUPHEMISMS AND CROSSCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 3. 1 The explanation of Cross-Cultural Communication Chinese scholar JIA Yuxin and GUAN Shijie defined cross-cultural communication as communication between people from different cultural priming coat (JIA, 1997) and communication between people or group from one cultural priming coat and people or group from another cultural background (GUAN, 1996).Larry offered his definition of intercultural communication as Intercultural communication is communication between people whose cultural perceptions and symbol systems are distinct enough to alter the communication event (Larry, 2009). In conclusion, inter-cultural communication, which is a kind of communication behavior, is the communication between people from different cul tural background, social psychology, and people speaking different languages. 3. The Influence of Culture Differences on Cross-Cultural Communication While communicating with a person of another language, people always carry out the communication mental process on the basis of their own language and culture. ostensibly culture differences will manifest themselves in the pinch and use of euphemisms passim cross-cultural Copyright Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture 68 WANG Xiaoling ZHANG Meng DONG Hailin (2012). Cross-Cultural Communication, 8 (6), 66-70 communication. Thus cross-cultural understanding barrier or improper use of euphemisms will lead to practical failures. . 2. 1 Pragmatic Failures Caused by Different Expression Modes English and Chinese euphemisms are typically different in structure and expression mode. Because of these differences, speakers of one language often have difficultness in grasping the entropy of another language. For example, Chi nese speakers will be confused when they hear those English euphemisms consisted by numbers like go to the fourth (go to the toilet) and a 44 (a prostitute). There are also some euphemisms in the form of abbreviation, like B. O. (body odor), V. D. C. (venereal disease), and T. B. tuberculosis), which will lead to understanding difficulty if the readers are lack of congress background information. Similarly, the profound Chinese culture has given birth to quantities of anomalous expressions, such as , , , which also make the westerners confused. Besides, the use of twopart allegorical sayings, such as (? ), , and (? ) etc. is also a unique feature of Chinese euphemisms. The use of this special structure can help release the manner in an over straightforward Chinese expression, and help readers guess the meaning inside it.But the English readers are not familiar with this kind of Chinese expressions, so they can only sigh towards the contained meaning inside this kind of euphemisms. 3. 2. 2 Pragmatic Failures Caused by Different Value Orientations in Euphemisms The cultural value difference of euphemisms is best illustrated by words in political and social area. Many euphemistic words in political area are used to conceal the real political purpose. For example, in the Vietnam War, the U. S. governance called the invasion U. S. nvolvement in Vietnam The air raid to Libya is called surgical strikes Civilian casualties in the Iraq War are understated as collateral damage. These euphemisms reflect the subtle attitude of the U. S. government to some extent, and at the same time, they show the handiness and concealment of political words. It is easy to be cheated by these diplomatic words without enough cross-cultural study. For another example, in the western countries, the word sexy is used to describe an attractive and charming person. If a lady is described as sexy, she will take it as value and will be very happy.But in traditional Chinese cultu re, the connotation of sexy is somewhat close to coquettish. If a westerner who does not know much about Chinese culture describes a Chinese lady as sexy, she must feel uncomfortable and take it as an insult rather than praise. But with China enhancing its communication with the western countries, more and more Chinese people have accepted the western culture and began to praise others as sexy. 3. 2. 3 Pragmatic Failures Caused by Different shape Concept Many words in our daily life such as big and small, high and low, good and bad, rich and poor all indicates social rank.Compared with Chinese, English euphemisms about social rank are larger in quantity and more alert in usage. For example, in the western countries, people counselor democracy and pursuit gender equality, so they have much difficulty in understanding males in Chinese feudal society avocation their wives and . English-speaking people are also alert to the rank infra the first family line. So in 1989, when We st Germany held the 56th World metalworks Congress, the English instruction classified hotels as follows A) Deluxe B) First Class C) Standard D) Private rooms.This kind of ranking criteria does not define the hotels on a lower floor the first class into the second class and the third class, thus avoiding peoples psychological gap. At the same time, it upgrades each class invisibly. However this kind of ranking is difficult for Chinese people to understand and use. In cross-cultural communication, in order to avoid these practical(a) failures, language user of both English and Chinese need to sharpen their cross-cultural awareness. It is also necessary to acquire as many as come-at-able euphemistic expressions in another language.The more characteristics we know about the culture and its euphemisms, the less barriers and pragmatic failures we will encounter. Of course, we should also bear in mind the proper situation where a certain euphemism is used otherwise the utilise of euphe misms will appear to be pretentious and unnatural. CONCLUSION To sum up, euphemism is a common and long-standing linguistic as well as socio-cultural phenomenon in both English speaking countries and China. As a mirror of culture, euphemisms strongly reflected similarities and differences between English and Chinese cultures.These similarities and differences have brought about conveniences and difficulties in the process of crosscultural communication. Only when people from different cultures are fully aware of the different cultural background, cultural value orientations and cultural conventions, can they remove pragmatic barriers and carry out smooth and harmonious communication successfully. REFERENCES Bussmann (2000). Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. Beijing Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. CAI, Yan (2005). 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