a study on euphemism in english with reference to vietnamese equivalents

In this thesis, an attempt has been made to discuss the definition, evolution, formation, classification, uses, characteristics of euphemism, examine the relationship between culture and

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A STUDY ON EUPHEMISM IN ENGLISH

WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS

(NGHIÊN CỨU UYỂN NGỮ TIẾNG ANH

LIÊN HỆ VỚI TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)

NGUYỄN THỊ MINH HUYỀN

Hanoi, 2016

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNVERSITY

M.A THESIS

A STUDY ON EUPHEMISM IN ENGLISH

WITH REFERENCES TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS

(NGHIÊN CỨU UYỂN NGỮ TIẾNG ANH

LIÊN HỆ VỚI TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)

NGUYỄN THỊ MINH HUYỀN

Field: English Language Code: 60220201

Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Phan Van Que

Hanoi, 2016

submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in

English Language Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s

work has been used without due acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Hanoi, 2016

Nguyen Thi Minh Huyen

Approved by SUPERVISOR

(Signature and full name)

Date:………

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc Prof Dr Phan Van Que, my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose invaluable guidance, advices and suggestions have inspired me greatly through the whole process of thesis writing till its completion

My thanks are also due to all the M.A TESOL lecturers at Hanoi Open University who have provided me an invaluable source of knowledge and helpful advices for my completion of this thesis

A special word of thanks goes to Dr Le Ly Lan and Dr Le Phuong Thao for their support and encouragement that helps me to have this thesis accomplished

Last but not least, I also would like to express my great thanks to my family for the sacrifice they have devoted during my studies

ABSTRACT

Language is a means which people use in their daily lives to speak about everything with different purpose And the use of euphemisms is a common linguistic phenomenon in all languages In the increasingly complicated and globalized society, everyone has a rising tendency to avoid speaking directly about sensitive topics However, it is very difficult to avoid speaking about unpleasant issues completely That is why people engage in different rhetorical uses of language to express what they mean Moreover, by using euphemisms, people can indirectly and politely express their ideas about subjects considered

as taboos, without making the listeners feel awkward and unpleasant Euphemism reflects particular social culture psychology, so the generation and

development of euphemisms are closely related to culture Therefore, people

will have an intuition in what and how they express what they mean, when languages have various cultural backgrounds In this thesis, an attempt has been made to discuss the definition, evolution, formation, classification, uses, characteristics of euphemism, examine the relationship between culture and euphemism, and focus on studying English and euphemism on cultural view to find out the cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese euphemisms, to discover the facts affect on cultural differences between English and Vietnamese euphemisms Data collective and analytical method and qualitative method are used The findings, it is hoped, will help language users have more knowledge of euphemism in English and Vietnamese to overcome the misunderstandings and barriers in cultural communication

3.3 Summary 43

4.1 Cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese

euphemisms

44

4.1.1 Cultural differences reflected by colors 44

4.1.2 Cultural differences reflected by number 51

4.1.3 Cultural differences reflected by inquiring privacy 51

4.2 Factors leading to cultural differences between English and

Vietnamese euphemism

53

4.2.1 Cultural differences caused by different beliefs 53

4.2.2 Cultural differences caused by different attention and perception 54

4.2.3 Cultural differences caused by different attitudes 56

4.2.4 Cultural differences caused by different value orientations 57

4.3 Implications for increasing cultural knowledge 58

4.4 Summary 58

5.4 Recommendations/Suggestions for a further research 64

REFERENCES 65

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the research

Almost all cultures seem to have certain notions or unpleasant things that people try to avoid mentioning directly, even when there is such a term in a language When such a notion or thing has to be referred to, the practice will be a substitute that sounds better That is the coming of euphemisms So we can see that euphemism have a strong relationship with our culture backgrounds, especially taboo words The appearance of euphemism gives that better sound

Euphemism is a lingual phenomenon existing in human society It not only plays an important role in facilitating social interaction, but also is an important rhetorical means It is not only a cultural phenomenon, but also a social phenomenon It just likes a mirror, which reflects social and psychological phenomena

In etymology, the word euphemism is derived from a Greek word which means “to speak favorably” So the essence of euphemism lies in the use of inoffensive words or phrases instead of offensive or harsh ones Euphemism has the function of politeness and beautification, which is helpful to develop benign communication Accordingly, it's widely used in our daily communication to express something unpleasant

Euphemisms convey different messages to people of different cultures If a nation’s people do not understand other people’s specific cultural connotation of euphemism, it is impossible to carry out effective and correct communication The exact nature of the relationship between language and culture has fascinated,

The various cultural connotations of euphemisms possess an important position in communication and the other language using activities The different languages of different nations and peoples in the whole world are extensive and profound The cultural connotation of euphemisms is not only important in communication, but also in component of the relationship between the culture and euphemisms

If we want euphemism to help our communication in our daily life, we should know some of its basic knowledge The originality of this paper lies in the study of euphemism from the cultural perspective This thesis focuses on examining the cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese euphemisms and finding out some factors affecting cultural differences with intending to help people better understand English and Vietnamese euphemisms

to make good use of English in cultural communication

1.2 Aims of the research

The aim of the research is to examine the cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese euphemism and to discover the factors affect on cultural

differences between English and Vietnamese euphemisms

1.3 Objectives of the research

To achieve the aims mentioned above, following objectives are put

forward:

(i) Pointing out the cultural differences reflected by colors, numbers

and inquiring privacy in English and Vietnamese euphemisms (ii) Discover the factors lead to cultural differences between English

and Vietnamese euphemism

1.4 Scope of the research

Euphemisms play an important part in English and Vietnamese languages The research is expected to point out the cultural differences reflected by colors, numbers and inquiring privacy in English and Vietnamese euphemisms and to discover the factors lead to cultural differences between English and Vietnamese euphemism

This study is hoped to contribute an in-depth description of English euphemisms when analyzing their cultural aspect in relate to their Vietnamese equivalents to help language users increase cultural knowledge of English and Vietnamese euphemism and overcome difficulties when speaking and using the euphemisms

To complete the research thesis, all the material collection of English euphemisms and their Vietnamese equivalents illustration examples are selected from some reliable dictionaries, reference books and internet It is hoped that the outcome of this research thesis, to some extent, would be able to

make a certain contribution to enhance cultural knowledge for language users

1.5 Significance of the research

We hope this study will offer cultural differences and the factors affected

on English and Vietnamese euphemisms to help people better understand English and Vietnamese cultures to make good use of English and Vietnamese euphemisms in language using activities

Theoretically, this research is expected to provide some basic information of euphemisms in terms of culture to help writers and researchers

go to further studies about this field It is also intended to help language users raise their socio-cultural awareness of the English country

Practically, there are many English euphemisms but culture is a too wide aspect to study As a result, the research is hoped to provide an important opportunity to advance the understanding of English euphemisms as well as make a major contribution to the process of increasing cultural awareness and using English

1.6 Structural organization of the thesis

This research paper consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1 is the introduction which mentions to the rationale, the aim, the objective, the scope, the significance and the structural organization

Chapter 2, the literature review, gives the overview of the previous

studies relating to the area of the research and covers some theoretical backgrounds that could be used as foundation for the process of conducting the research

Chapter 3, the methodology, presents the research questions and research

approach with various methods and techniques to conduct the research thesis

Chapter 4 is the findings and discussion of the study which describes and analyses the cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese euphemisms with their equivalents in Vietnamese and finds out the factors affecting on these cultural differences between English and Vietnamese euphemism Then the relating with their Vietnamese equivalents is also given

in accordance with some possible implications for increasing cultural knowledge in using language

Chapter 5, the conclusion of the study, summaries the major findings resulted from the study and data analysis, presents the limitations of the study, thus giving some suggestions for a further research

References come at the end of the study

Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Review of previous studies

Euphemism is not only a phenomenon intrinsically linked to the conventions of politeness and social tact expected in interpersonal communication, but also a powerful linguistic tool to smooth communication and preserve interpersonal relationships People use euphemism frequently in daily communication, but want to use it as effectively as desired, the speaker must have extensive knowledge of euphemism Therefore, many studies of euphemism have been done on many different aspects The following studies tell us about some of the researchers’ achievements on euphemism:

In “Euphemania: Our Love Affair with Euphemisms”, Ralph Keyes

(2010) opens the reader to a new world of thoughtfulness, embarrassment, manipulation, even criminality through euphemisms He covers the things people get uncomfortable discussing; sex, anatomy, bodily functions, illness and death, food, money and commerce, and war He also explores their use for politeness and tact, fun and entertainment, or deception and backpedaling He provides a brief history of euphemisms by topic, examples and light etymology

of the more famous terms Besides, he not only explains the origins of many past and present euphemisms but also examines their root causes and effects on society Moreover, he mentions about where euphemisms come from, tells the readers why we use euphemisms and gives us some wonderful examples

In “Euphemisms”, John Ayto (1993) discusses a variety of different

euphemisms and the strategies behind them He mentions about euphemisms

which hide frightening and unwelcome issues behind long words or highly technical terms

In “A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other Double-talk” British linguist

Hugh Rawson (1981, p 1) divides euphemisms into positive and negative euphemisms, and conscious and unconscious euphemisms; focuses on description of the meaning; clarifies etymology of each euphemism and its relation to other terms in his dictionary

In “Kind Words: A Thesaurus of Euphemisms”, American scholars Neaman, J S & Silver, C G (1983) adds more detailed description of the

history, formation and motives of euphemism

Enright, D J (1985) in “Fair of speech, the Use of Euphemism”,

discusses the use of euphemism in one specific domain and put forward that the history of euphemism should be studied within context

Allan & Burridge (1991) in “Euphemism and Dysphemism”, offer a

functional account of the various expressions of euphemism and dysphemism from a pragmatic perspective They further discuss the correlation between euphemism and context

Neil Postman (1976, p 74) in his book, Crazy Talk Stupid Talk,

introduces a definition of euphemism and mentions about the relationship between euphemism and culture

In Vietnamese, many famous linguists have published a large number of essays and books which focus on euphemism from different perspectives:

Đinh Trọng Lạc & Nguyễn Thái Hòa (1993) in "Phong cách học tiếng

Việt" mention euphemism as a stylistic device of language used to express

various meanings

Trương Viên (2003; Ph.D Thesis) analyzes the linguistic features of euphemisms, examines the formation of euphemisms by syntactic, phonetic, lexical and stylistic means, and also points out some features related to the method of translation

Nguyễn Thị Lê (2006; M.A thesis) discusses the features of euphemisms

in English and Vietnamese newspapers in three aspects: syntax, semantics and pragmatics

Nguyễn Hưng Nguyệt Minh (2011; M.A thesis) investigates the semantic, syntactic and pragmatic characteristics of common expressions of death in English and Vietnamese

According to Đinh Trọng Lạc (1994, p 71) in "99 biện pháp và phương

tiện tu từ Tiếng Việt", euphemism belongs to metonymy group, is the

metonymy image in which one rename an object (or phenomenon) by the description of its basic signs, or by raising its features

In "Vietnamese Dictionary" (2005), Hoàng Phê editor explains that

euphemism is the subtle expression instead of impolite, offensive, and rude

speaking ways "Uyển ngữ là phương thức nói nhẹ đi thay cho cách nói bị coi

là sỗ sàng, làm xúc phạm, làm khó chịu"

Through the knowledge gained from books and previous studies, this thesis would focus on cultural view on euphemisms between English and

Vietnamese to explore the cultural differences reflected by English and Vietnamese euphemisms and to find out the factors affecting to cultural differences between English and Vietnamese euphemisms

2.2 Review of theoretical background

2.2.1 Theory of culture

2.2.1.1 Definitions of culture

The researchers observe the cultures from many different angles and perspectives, so there are many different definitions of culture The followings are some typical definitions of culture:

“Culture is the sum of attitudes, customs, and beliefs that distinguishes one group of people from another Culture is transmitted, through language, material objects, ritual, institutions, and art, from one generation to the next.” (www.dictionary.com)

“Culture is all the knowledge and values shared by a society.” (www.thefreedictionary.com)

According to Bates & Plog (1990, p 7) in “Cultural Anthropology”,

culture has been defined as “the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with their world and with one another, and that are transmitted from generation to generation through learning”

In “Sociolinguistics”, Hudson (1996, p 78) defined “Culture is the kind

of knowledge which we learn from other people, either by direct instruction or

by watching their behaviors”

Levin, D et al (1980) in “Cross – Cultural Communication for English

as a second Language” stated that “Culture is like an iceberg”

According to Phùng Quý Nhân (1975, p 7) in “Cơ sở văn hóa Việt

Nam”, culture is the system of spiritual and material values that human being

has created throughout history

Another Vietnamese author, Trần Ngọc Thêm (1997, p 27) in “Tìm về

bản sắc văn hóa Việt Nam” assumes that culture is an organic system of

material and spirit values so that humans create and accumulate during daily activities, in the interaction between people and the natural environment and its

social “Văn hóa là một hệ thống hữu cơ các giá trị vật chất và tinh thần do

con nguời sáng tạo và tích lũy trong quá trình hoạt động thực tiễn, trong sự tương tác giữa con người với môi trường tự nhiên và xã hội của mình.”

Generally, culture can be considered as a block synthesis of the results and the social activities of human It is perhaps the most important thing to know about people if one wants to make predictions about their behavior Besides, culture is an important notion in the analysis of any social science or humanities, and its importance continues to spread to other areas, such as architecture, art, leisure studies, geography, and many, many more

2.2.1.2 Cultural terms

Many scholars agree with the fact that language is an expression of culture and individuality of its speakers and have, hence, deeply examined cultural terms

Vlakhov and Florin (1970) seem to have been the first ones to coin the

term realia to refer to cultural elements, and the term has now been generalized

and is frequently used to refer to objects, customs, habits, and other cultural and material aspects that have an impact in shaping a certain language

Since then, many classifications and taxonomies for such cultural aspects have been Following Nida and applying the concept of culture, Newmark (1988, p 21) puts forth his classification of foreign cultural words, establishing five categories:

a Ecology (flora, fauna, winds, climate, etc.)

b Material culture (food, clothes, houses, towns, transport)

c Social culture (work and leisure)

d Organizations, customs, activities, procedures or concepts (which include artistic, religious, political and administrative subcategories)

e Gestures and habits

Katan (1999, p 17) also provides a comprehensive view of how culture reveals itself at each of the following logical levels:

a Environment (including climate, housing, food, etc.)

b Behaviors (actions and ways of behaving in certain cultures)

c Capabilities, strategies and skills used to communicate (including verbal communication, rituals, etc.)

non-d Values of the society and its hierarchy

e Beliefs

f Identity

Ku (2006, p 91 – 98) reduces his taxonomy to the four generic types proposed by Molina:

a Environment, including ecology, place names, etc

b Cultural heritage (religious beliefs, historical events, characters,

festivities, folklore, housing, objects, etc.)

c Social culture (conventions, beliefs, habits, social organizations, etc.)

d Linguistic culture (fixed expressions, idioms, insults, etc.)

Finally, Fernández Guerra (1993, p 139) (“Traditionalism” ) describes

four major types of realia, which can turn translation into a very difficult

process

a Geographic and ethnographic terms

b Words or expressions referring to folklore, traditions and mythology

c Names of everyday objects, actions and events (such as food and

drinks, clothes, housing, tools, public transport, dances and games, units

of measurement, money, etc.)

d Social and historical terms denoting territorial administrative units or divisions; departments, professions, titles, ranks, greetings and

treatments; institutions, patriotic and religious organizations; etc

2.2.1.3 Characteristics of culture

Culture has five basic characteristics: It is learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated, and dynamic All cultures share these basic features (http://study.com/academy/lesson/the-five-basic-characteristics-of-

cultures.html & http://home.earthlink.net/~youngturck/Chapter8.htm)

Culture is based on symbols A symbol is something that stands for something else All cultures use symbols to communicate and pass on ideas and beliefs to other members of society, so symbols vary cross-culturally and are arbitrary However, the meaning of the same symbol in countries is not similar Therefore, they only have meaning when people in a culture agree on their use It's important that everyone in a culture agrees on the meaning of the symbols so that the transmission of culture can continue Therefore, one of the most agreed upon set of symbols in any given culture is its language A culture's language is the primary mode of transmitting culture from person to person

Culture is cumulative Every human generation potentially can discover new things and invent better technologies The new cultural skills and knowledge are added onto what was learned in previous generations Cultural evolution is due to the cumulative effect of culture The more people there are,

the more likely new ideas and information will accumulate This is known as holism, or the various parts of a culture being interconnected All aspects of a culture are related to one another and to truly understand a culture, one must learn about all of its parts, not only a few

Culture is dynamic This simply means that cultures interact and change Because most cultures are in contact with other cultures, they exchange ideas and symbols All cultural knowledge does not perpetually accumulate At the same time that new cultural traits are added, some old ones are lost because they are no longer useful Changing one trait will have an impact on other traits because they are functionally interconnected As a result, there commonly is a resistance to major changes

In short, in order to better understand culture, it is useful to closely examine its characteristics

2.2.1.4 Language and culture

Language and culture are both the products of human civilization Language is a part of culture and plays a very important role in it A certain language always exists in close relationship with its culture and society Some social scientists consider it the keystone of culture On the other hand, language

is influenced and shaped by culture; it reflects culture In the broadest sense, language is the symbolic representation of a people, and it comprises their historical and cultural backgrounds as well as their approach to life and their ways of living and thinking Language is the principal means whereby we conduct our social lives, when it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with culture in multiple and complex ways

In the relationship between language and culture, language is always intertwined with the history and cultural history, contact with each other, the nation's customs often reflected in the language, illustrates the different languages by different ethnic and cultural differences American linguist Sapir (1949) believes that “language cannot leave the culture” and “language is not only contains the nation's historical and cultural background, and bears the nation's view of life, lifestyles and ways of thinking It should be noted, language and culture interact, interaction, understanding language must understand the language.” can be seen, do not understand the culture of language, can not correctly understand and use the language, but can not communicate The exchange of different cultural backgrounds growing, close cross-cultural communication has become the mainstream, which requires us to understand the language of the countries, it is also necessary to understand their cultural knowledge, so that both in parallel

A particular language grows in a particular culture Languages in different countries, which are different in category, extension and intension, etc, reflect culture difference When it meets another culture where it does not grow, there will appear a cultural shock So a language corresponds to its own cultural environment, while the understanding of a culture is necessary for language meaning Language is the product of the combination of nature and culture When a language spreads culture, it changes, enriches itself and reflects what happens to culture, even influences or changes such aspects of culture as institutions, patterns of behavior, mind, living, or psychology Therefore, language is the mirror for culture

On the other hand, the changing and developing culture attributes to the change of language That is to say, culture is the driving force of the

development of language Language and culture are intertwined with each other On the one side, culture enables language to form and develop, enrich itself Culture is the basic premise of the formation of language and the driving force of the evolution of language On the other side, language, like a mirror for culture, reflects cultural changes; moreover, it is the necessary means by which culture inherits previous achievement, and then disseminates chronically, and goes down to future generation Without language, culture will become the water, which has no more sources or will have no destination People of a nation construct a certain cultural concept that adds something new

to its language in return

In short, the relationship between language and culture is an interactive relationship They interact with each other to develop together Therefore, if language users do not have cultural knowledge of using language, they will not

be able to understand information transferred in the contexts that contain cultural colors Followings are some examples pointing out the differences of meaning when they are in English and Vietnamese: “It rains cats and dogs” in English means “Mưa như trút nước” in Vietnamese “It is as quiet as a mouse”

in English means “Im lặng như tờ” or “Câm như hến” in Vietnamese “Like a duck to water” (“như cá với nước”)

2.2.2 Euphemisms

2.2.2.1 Definitions of Euphemisms

Euphemism is a lingual phenomenon existing in human society It plays

an important role in facilitating social interaction Euphemism is an important rhetorical means in communication It is not only a cultural phenomenon, but also a social phenomenon It just likes a mirror, which reflects some social and

psychological phenomena Therefore, there have been a lot of researches about euphemism from different angles by many linguists Here are some linguists’ definitions of euphemism

In “Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics”, Bussmann

(2000) defines “euphemism” as “A kind of expressing method which aims at making people feel less embarrassed by using some words with vague and ambiguous meaning instead of those which may make people feel unpleasant and not respected”

In language studies, Allan and Burridge (1991, p.11) provide a comprehensive definition: “A euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one’s own face or, through giving offense, that of the audience, or of some third party.”

Leech (1981, p 45) defines euphemism as "the practice of referring to something offensive or delicate in terms that make it sound more pleasant."

Sanderson (1999, p 259) also states that euphemism "can be used as a way of being vague and unclear, or to cover up the truth or reality of a situation."

According to Rawson.H (1981, p.1), euphemisms are powerful linguistic tools that "are embedded so deeply in our language that few of us, even those who pride themselves on being plainspoken, ever get through a day without using them"

Keyes (2010, p 30 - 31) claims that “euphemisms are a key indicator of increasing complexity of speech Saying what we mean takes a high order of intelligence It takes an even higher order to not say what we mean, while still conveying our thought.”

Enright (1985, p.113) stated that “without euphemism, the rotation of the world would have stopped with rubbing and would have been flooded with feud”

In Vietnamese, Trương Viên (2003; Ph.D Thesis) provides a definition

of euphemism in his doctoral dissertation “uyển ngữ (euphemism) là một từ hay

một ngữ cố định được cấu tạo lại, diễn đạt lại một nội dung đã có để thể hiện một cách thích hợp, tế nhị, thẩm mỹ; là lời nói được sử dụng trong những tình huống hay văn bản giao tiếp lịch sự, trang trọng đầy tri thức văn hóa, liên quan đến cái đẹp trong việc dùng từ ngữ”

Đinh Trọng Lạc (1994, p 18) mentions that “uyển ngữ (euphemism) là

hình ảnh tu từ trong đó người ta thay tên gọi một đối tượng (hoặc một hiện tượng bằng sự miêu tả những dấu hiệu cơ bản của nó, tạo hình cho lời nói vì

nó không chỉ tạo nên đối tượng mà còn miêu tả đối tượng nhã ngữ”

2.2.2.2 Formation of Euphemisms (relates to Vietnamese)

There are various means that are employed to form English euphemisms: 1) Phonetic means (relate to Vietnamese)

Phonetic means can widely used to produce euphemism in English Some unpleasant sounds or word-forms can be omitted or hidden Phonetic means mainly refers to phonetic omission and phonetic distortion

a) Phonetic omission (relate to Vietnamese)

It refers to omitting some parts of the sound to make pronunciation

shorter and less unpleasant For example, we could omit “lavatory” (nhà xí) to

“lav” (phòng vệ sinh), or “brassiere” (áo lót) to “bra” (áo ngực, áo trong)

In Vietnamese, this means is commonly used in many different fields

For example, “khoa giáo” instead of “khoa học giáo dục”; “văn học nghệ

thuật” is for “văn nghệ”

b) Phonetic distortion (relate to Vietnamese)

In order to avoid violating taboo, the speakers make some alteration in spelling and pronouncing of the taboo words It generally includes:

① Abbreviation

Some euphemisms are abbreviations For example, “VD’ is for “venereal

disease”; “BO” replaces “body odor”; “WC” substitutes “water closet”, etc

② Reduplication (relate to Vietnamese)

It is the means which is used to reduplicate some syllables or letters of

the words to form euphemism For example, “sis-sis”, “pee-pee” or

“wee-wee” replaces “piss”

In Vietnamese, this means is used to form euphemisms from adjectives

or verbs to enhance image for things or actions For example, “rầm rầm” instead of “mạnh”, “mênh mông” is for “bao la bát ngát”

③ Distortion of the pronunciation (relate to Vietnamese)

It is a common means to form English euphemisms For example, we

could pronounce “bloody” as “blurry” in some occasion; or “coffee” as

“coffin”

In Vietnamese, this means is also popular For example, we can

pronounce “sanh” as “sinh”; “lãnh” as “lĩnh”; “tánh” as “tính”

2) Lexical means (relate to Vietnamese)

This can be further divided into three sub-means as below:

a) Using vague words or expressions (relate to Vietnamese)

Vague words or expressions are used in almost all the fields in both English and Vietnamese They refer to the generalization of the specific meanings to alleviate the bad effect of fear, shames or anxiety With this using,

it is difficult to understand the meaning of words or expressions, and we normally have to consider the meaning in a certain context

For example: “She has an accident.” This sentence in English means “A

girl has a child before marriage”; and this sentence in Vietnamese means “Cô

ấy ăn cơm trước kẻng”, but other sentence “He has met with an accident.”,

which also contains the same word “accident” with a different meaning in English, it means “He came across a disaster and died” and “Anh ấy đã chết

do tai nạn” in Vietnamese And the other examples, we always use “partner”

(đối tác) to mean “sex-companion” (bạn tình); “went to sleep” (đã ngủ) instead of saying “died” (đã chết)

b) Using synonym replacement (relate to Vietnamese)

Making use of the subtle differences of synonyms in emotional color in another common way to make the euphemism, which is more polite and acceptable It is used extremely commonly in not only literary works but also

daily communication For example, we could say someone “slim” or

“slender” (mảnh khảnh, mảnh mai) replace “skinny” (gầy đét, gầy trơ xương);

“I want to go to the Capital of England” (Tôi muốn đến Thủ đô của nước Anh)

is for “I want to go to London” (Tôi muốn đến London); “The thief cause the

woman to die” (Tên trộm đã làm cho người phụ nữ chết) places “The thief killed the woman to die.” (Tên trộm đã giết người phụ nữ chết)

The followings are some more Vietnamese examples:“chiều cao khiêm

tốn” instead of “chiều cao thấp”; “năng lực có hạn” instead of “năng lực yếu kém”; “Khi trở về nơi chôn rau cắt rốn, anh thương binh không cam chịu số phận” (CATPHCM Newspaper.28/7/1993) instead of “Khi trở về quê, anh thương binh không cam chịu số phận”; “Thằng trộm nào vô phúc vào nhà này thì hẳn là mất chỗ đội nón” (http://tonvinhvanhoadoc.vn/van-hoc-viet-

nam/sang-tac/12348-ngam-cuoi-nguyen-cong-hoan.html) is for “Thằng trộm

nào vô phúc vào nhà này thì hẳn là mất đầu”

c) Borrowing loanwords (related to Vietnamese)

Borrowing is the use of loanwords in order to avoid taboos It is a popular way to form euphemisms in many languages

In the development of English language, English absorbs large amount

of vocabulary from other languages People often use French and Latin instead

of most tabooed words

Frech: “mot” [cunt] (Allen and Burridge, 1991:95), “affair(e)” [extramarital engagement] and “lingerie” [underwear], (Stern, 1931)

Latin: “faeces” [excrement] and “anus” [ass-hole] Aside from typical

motivations for euphemism, Latin is often favoured as the uneducated and the young cannot interpret the meanings (Allen and Burridge, ibid: 19) However,

“often such substitutions are just as vulgar if one understood the meaning of the latinate,” (Liszka, 1990: 421)

Other languages: “cojones” [testicles], is Spanish (Nash, 1995), and

“schmuck” [penis] in Yiddish literally means “pendant” (M Adams, 1999)

In Vietnamese, loan words are also used to form euphemisms Currently,

in daily life, on the mass media, especially the press, some Vietnamese words

are often replaced by English words Examples: “sex” [tình dục], “nude” [khỏa thân], “toilet, WC (water closet)” [nhà vệ sinh]

In formal contexts, Vietnamese often borrow Sino-Vietnamese words, which are considered as solemn, streamlining and profound words, replace

casual Vietnamese words For examples: “nội y” [quần áo lót], “tiểu tiện” [đái], “viên tịch” [chết]

d) Using uplifting words (related to Vietnamese)

Uplifting words is an important means to euphemize things related to the humble social class The main purpose of using these euphemisms is to make

menial jobs sound decent For examples, people replace “gardener” (thợ làm vườn) by “landscape architect” (kiến trúc sư cảnh quan), “farmer” (nông dân)

by “agricultural specialist” (chuyên gia nông nghiệp), “garbage man” (người

thu gom rác) by “sanitary engineer” (kỹ sư vệ sinh), and substitute

“hairdresser” (thợ làm tóc) with “beautician” (chuyên gia làm đẹp)

e) Using negative words (related to Vietnamese)

In English, many negative words with negative prefixes are also used as

synonym replacement; for example, the negative words “unhappy” replaces

“miserable”, “disadvantage” instead of “difficulty”, or “disagree” substitutes

“protest”

In Vietnamese, negative words can be created by adding words “không

or chẳng” before; for example, “không/chẳng đẹp” replaces “xấu”,

“không/chẳng quan tâm” instead of “bỏ rơi”, or “không/chẳng thích”

substitutes “ghét”

3) Rhetorical means (related to Vietnamese)

Some rhetoric of speech can make the language more exact, vivid an implicative Some figures of speech can make the language more exact, vivid and implicative The following are four major types of figures of speech with its identical examples

a) Metaphorical transfer (related to Vietnamese)

In English, many euphemisms themselves are vivid and popular metaphors, so it is necessary to find out what “metaphor” means A metaphor employs a word or a phrase to indicate something different from the literal meaning to avoiding rudeness When people express somebody was died,

people seldom say “he died” but “he went to sleep forever” or “he went to his

long home” Here, “go to sleep forever” and “go to one's long home” are both

metaphors and euphemisms One another example: when people say “Paris is

the heart of France” (Paris là trái tim của nước Pháp), people want to say

“Paris is the most important place of France” (Paris là nơi quan trọng nhất của

nước Pháp)

b) Metonymical transfer (related to Vietnamese)

Metonymy is another very useful rhetorical means to form English euphemisms It uses the name of one thing to substitute that of another By using it, some unpleasant expressions can be avoided Metonymy can be further divided into the following

① Substituting the typical characteristics of a person for the person For

example, “Gray hairs should be respected” In this sentence, “Gray hairs”

(những mái đầu bạc) (one of the typical characteristics of old people) is

employed to replace the taboo word “old people” (những người già)

② Substituting the whole for the part in some embarrassing occassions

For example, when we take physical examination, we use the word “chest” (ngực) instead of “breast” (vú)

③ Substituting the tools for the action or the thing For example,

“During the World War II, Hitler attended to carry fire and sword into every part of the world.” In this sentence, “fire and sword” (lửa và gươm) is used to

substitute for “war” (chiến tranh) Here, “fire and sword” is used to create a

sense of satire

④ Substituting the name of a place for the person For example, “Tom is

successful in his career but he was a brostal.” “Brostal” (the name of a

locality in Britain) is used to mention “young criminal” because the famous young criminals’ center is located there

c) Understatement (relate to Vietnamese)

For the sake of politeness and pleasantness, people often use understatement to express some things and easier to be accepted by the listener Understatement, as the word suggests, is a statement that is not strong enough

to express how good, bad, impressive etc something really is Understatement achieves its effect of emphasizing a fact by deliberately understating it Understatement is usually divided into litotes and meiosis

① Litotes is understatement by using a negative statement instead of a

positive one For example, “She is not particularly good-looking” (Cô ta không đẹp cho lắm) instead of “She is very ugly” (Cô ta rất xấu xí)

② Meiosis is merely understatement without the use of negatives to avoid an unpleasant word or a sensitive word By using understatements, the speakers do not seem to be so cruel to others whom they speak something upsetting to For example, when refusing someone, indirect words will get a better result, for they will not make refused people lose face Therefore, people

can say a refusal “Sorry, this is in fact more than I can promise.” (Xin lỗi, điều này ngoài tầm khả năng của tôi) instead of “I can't promise” (Tôi không thể

hứa)

4) Grammatical means (relate to Vietnamese)

Grammatical means are the grammatical ways of forming euphemism such as negation, tense, voice, and mood and so on were carefully attended to

More and more linguists become to notice euphemisms formed through grammatical devices Such euphemisms are used by speakers with a certain purpose Only through the context, can listeners figure out speakers' special intention

They can be classified into the following ways:

a) Negative expressions (relate to Vietnamese)

In both English and Vietnamese, negative is a widely used way

in euphemism to show very mild tone Negative expressions are used for suggestion, invitation, or personal opinion For example, “I don’t think he is right” (Tôi không nghĩ là anh ta đúng) And “Can’t you spend a little time with me?” (Anh không thể dành một chút thời gian cho em sao?)

b) Tense

Tense is another important means in English

The progressive tense is used as a euphemistic way to show politeness when speakers want to express wishes or requests For example, we prefer to say “I am wondering do you mind opening the window” Or “I am thinking whether you can come dinner with me”

The past tense is mostly used to express an action or a fact happened in a certain point of time in the past in written English But the past tense can replace the present tense to make the meaning of the sentences sounds more polite and mild in oral English For example:

(1) Do you want me to help you?

(2) Did you want me to help you?

(3) I wonder if you can do me a favor

(4) I wondered if you could do me a favor

Sentences (1) and (3) use the present tense and sentences (2) and (4) use the past tense, and they are all grammatically right But sentences (2) and (4) sound more pleasant

(5) Wouldn't it be better for us to start off a little earlier tomorrow? (6) This is something I should advise you not to do

By using the past tense of model auxiliary verbs, the above sentences put forward a polite proposal instead of a harsh one

c) Subjunctive mood

The subjunctive mood in English is also very common way of forming euphemism The subjunctive mood in English is mainly used to express doubt, wishes, or possibility When used in spoken English, one can achieve a better communication effect than with indicative mood or imperative mood

Here are some examples:

(7) If I were you, I would not go there

(8) If he be found guilty, his membership would be suspended

(9) It is essential that he recognize his fault

c) Verbal phrases and prepositional phrases

Verbal phrases and prepositional phrases are effective in English euphemism For example, we’d like to choose the verbal phrase “slip from” instead of “forget” in our expression “The author’s name slipped from my memory at that moment.” When we say he can’t buy the deluxe car, we could say “The deluxe car is beyond his afford.”

2.2.2.3 Classification of Euphemisms

From various different points of view and different angles, euphemisms can be classified into many categories according to different criteria, rules or principles The following is a presentation of some possible classifications of euphemisms:

1) Positive euphemism and negative euphemism

According to the evaluative aspect from the perspective of semantics,

Rawson (1981, p.1), in his A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other

Double-talk, divided euphemisms into two general types, namely, positive euphemisms

and negative euphemisms

Positive euphemisms are aimed at making denotation or referents look grander and more acceptable The positive ones inflate and magnify, making the euphemized items seem altogether grander and more important than they really are The positive euphemisms include the many fancy occupational titles, which save the egos of workers by elevating their job status For example,

‘exterminating engineers’ is used for “rat catchers” while ‘beauticians’ stand for “hairdressers” It might be said that quite a few positive euphemisms are doublespeak and cosmetic words They usually appear in the political, military and commercial vocabulary Other kinds of positive euphemisms include

personal honorifics such as the colonel, the honorable, the major, and the many institutional euphemisms which convert “madhouses” into “mental hospitals”,

“colleges” into “universities”, and “small business establishments” into

“emporiums, parlors, and salons” The desire to improve one’s surroundings also is evident in geographical place names, most prominently in the case of the distinctly nongreen Greenland, but also in the designation of many small burgs as cities

Negative euphemisms decrease negative values that are associated with negative phenomena such as, for example, war, drunkenness, crime, poverty The negative euphemisms deflate and diminish They are defensive in nature, offsetting the power of tabooed terms and otherwise eradicating from the language everything that people prefer not to deal with directly They mean the weakening in semantics, which means to put mild words to replace original scary ones This type of euphemism mostly is used in the some certain circumstances like to talk about sensitive topics, such as topics about death, weight, age, privacy, poverty in physical or mental defects etc For example

"die", in most cases, is replaced by "pass away", "join the silent majority", "go

to west" or "go to sleep forever" and "mighty" is preferred instead of "fat" Taboos are what people do not want to say or cannot say, as a result that many euphemism come out

2) Stylistic euphemism and traditional euphemism

Semantically, positive euphemism also can be called stylistic euphemism and negative euphemism known as traditional euphemism

Stylistic euphemisms refer to some flattering or more polite words or expressions In communication, speakers usually feel direct addressing will make the hearers feel uneasy or even hurt on certain occasions To consolidate the social solidarity, people usually adopt some seemingly exaggerated or beautified addresses As a result, some dignified equivalents emerge Take some political terms for example “Concentration camp” is described as

“strategic village”, “surprise attack” as “surgical strike”, “deliberate bombing”

as “accidental delivery of ordnance”, and “under-developed countries” as “less developed countries” ,etc

Traditional euphemisms are extremely ancient, and closely connected with the taboos A euphemism and its corresponding taboo are in fact two faces

of the same coin They refer to the same thing though they have different looks, the euphemism having a much more pleasant face than the taboo Traditional euphemisms refer to some indirect expressions of linguistic taboos They were created because topics such as life, death, disease, sex and secretions in some cultures were forbidden to be mentioned openly and directly For the sake of pleasantness, people refrained from talking about them in public and tried to use more refined ones to make replacements, euphemism hence developed Such euphemisms embody human being’s desire to extricate themselves from barbarism and to become civilized creatures

3) Unconscious euphemism and conscious euphemism

According to the euphemistic meaning whether correlative with the original meaning or not, all euphemisms, whether traditional or stylistic,

Rawson (1981, p.1), in his A Dictionary of Euphemisms and Other