委婉语的社会文化普遍性——英汉委婉语对比研究

On social and cultural universality in euphemism——A comparative study on English and Chinese euphemisms

委婉语是语言运用中的一种普遍现象,是社会文化的载体,因此是各种社会文化特征的缩影。从社会语言学视角比较分析了英汉委婉语在文化语境中的相似点和差异性,认为委婉语的运用反映了不同语言中许多共同的社会文化特征,即社会文化普遍性。而这种社会文化的普遍性正是跨文化交际成功的关键。

Euphemism is a common phenomenon in language use and a carrier of social and cultural connotations. It epitomizes social and cultural properties at large. As a result, this paper, from the perspective of sociolinguistics, has analyzed the similarities and differences between Chinese and English euphemisms and claims that the application of euphemisms among different cultures reflects some common grounds, that is, social and cultural universality, which is the essence of a successful cross - cultural communication.