汉英委婉语比较研究——以“死亡”为例

The Comparative Study of Euphemisms in Chinese and English—A Case Study of “Death”

委婉语既是一种语言表现形式,也是一种文化表现形式。死亡是人类无法逃避的话题,由于文化和信仰不同,人们对待死亡的态度也不尽相同,在中国传统文化中,人们忌讳谈论死亡,若必须提及也多会使用委婉语来替代;在西方国家,虽多数人不忌讳谈论死亡,但为表示尊重和礼貌,也常用委婉语代替“死亡”这一词。本文主要从文化、社会身份以及年龄这三个方面对比研究汉英语中“死亡”委婉语的异同以及翻译“死亡”这一表达时的技巧,通过对汉英死亡委婉语的比较研究,可以帮助语言学习者了解两种语言和文化的特征,提高翻译水平。

Euphemism is both a form of language and a form of cultural expression. Death is an inescapable topic for human beings. Due to different cultures and beliefs, people have different attitudes to-wards death. In traditional Chinese culture, people avoid talking about death, and if they have to mention it, they often use euphemisms instead;in Western countries, although most people do not avoid talking about death, they often use euphemisms instead of “death” to show respect and politeness. This paper focus on the similarities and differences between Chinese and English eu-phemisms for “death” and the skills of translating the expression “death” from three aspects: culture, social identity and age. The comparative study of Chinese-English euphemisms for death will help language learners understand the characteristics of the two languages and cultures and improve their translation skills.