英語修辭與寫作·12.3　Euphemism

12.3　Euphemism

12.3A　Euphemism的含義與形式

1） Euphemism一詞源于希臘語，eu是前綴，意思是“好”，phemism的意思是“說法”，合起來就是說“好聽的話”、“吉利話”，漢語稱之為“委婉語”，即使用語氣較溫和、含義較雅致或含糊的表達方式代替粗俗、生硬、直露的說法。例如不直接說某人“死了”（died），而講“去世了”（passed away），不直接講“上廁所”（go to the lavatory），而說“去洗手間”（go to the bathroom），等。

2） 委婉語的形式多種多樣，可從不同角度去分析歸納。這里僅從讀音、構(gòu)詞、語法和變通表達幾個方面簡要地加以說明。

從讀音方面看，laboratory的重音后移被認為是一個典型的例子：原來重讀在第一個音節(jié)，同lavatory的讀音相近，為了避免不愉快的誤會或聯(lián)想，就把重讀后移一個音節(jié)。又如根據(jù)讀音規(guī)則，特殊疑問句（如Where are you going?）句末不用升調(diào)，而應(yīng)用降調(diào)，但人們?yōu)榱丝蜌猓绮桓淖兙湫蜁r就往往改用低升調(diào)，對方聽了感到較親切和有禮貌。

構(gòu)詞方面，縮略是常見形式，如ladies（代ladies' Room），W. C.（代water closet），out （out of work）, lav （lavatory）, G-man （garbageman）, BM （bowel movement）。

語法方面，過去時（或過去進行時）、否定式、情態(tài)詞would / should等都可構(gòu)成委婉形式。例如：

I wondered / I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes to go over my abstract.

I don't think that it is his idea. （Don't say: I think that it is not his idea.）

I would like / I'd like to hear your views.

There's something I'd advise you to consider in the program.

“變通表達”（Tactful expression）是委婉語的一種最常見的形式，實際上只要適應(yīng)場合需要，有時美化，有時淡化，都是使用某種委婉形式。例如：

為了滿足乘客的尊嚴感，一些航空公司改變機艙等級的稱謂：一等艙（First Class）改稱豪華艙（Deluxe Class或 Premium Class），二等艙（Second Class）改稱頭等艙、商務(wù)艙（Business Class），三等艙改稱經(jīng)濟艙（Economic Class）或旅游艙（Tourist Class），這樣一來，似乎所有乘客（尤其坐三等艙者）的地位和待遇都上升一級，皆大歡喜。

同樣，為了照顧人們的尊嚴，對一些反面的人和事不直接說出，而使用較為含糊的詞語加以淡化。例如，學(xué)校教師不直接講某學(xué)生“愚鈍”（stupid, obtuse），而講他“反應(yīng)較慢”（He a bit slow for his age）；某人犯法讓警察抓進去了，也不直接說，而講得含糊其辭：

Paul did something, and the police ... well, now he's staying at the correctional center.

句中correctional center是prison的代名詞，to do something是個抽象詞語，類似的還有it, the thing, the problem，等。除抽象詞語外，一些外來語以及Synecdoche, Understatement等辭格都可用來構(gòu)成委婉表達。

12.3B　Euphemism的使用

英語中的委婉語是經(jīng)過長期使用的傳統(tǒng)辭格，同時又是一個不斷發(fā)展變化的開放性辭格，為此，注意把握傳統(tǒng)性與開放性的關(guān)系是恰當使用這個辭格的關(guān)鍵。

1） 所謂傳統(tǒng)性，首先表現(xiàn)在委婉語的使用范圍，它主要是避免使用那些忌諱語（Taboo words），如對人的生、老、病、死等不直講，而采用較為含糊、婉轉(zhuǎn)的表達方式，如用to be expecting代替pregnant，用to be stout（指男）或plump（指女）代替fat，用heart condition代替heart attack，用social disease代替venereal disease，用to be elderly或senior代替old，用pass away / be no more / depart代替die，用cemetery / memorial park / memory garden代替graveyard；用make love with / go to bed with代替have sex with，等。

委婉語的開放性則表現(xiàn)在其使用范圍大大突破了傳統(tǒng)的忌諱語，如前面講到的“變通表達”出現(xiàn)在社會生活的各個方面，出現(xiàn)了各行各業(yè)的禮貌語言。

2） 委婉語的傳統(tǒng)性表現(xiàn)在其使用目的上，就是前面講到的避諱和禮貌兩個方面，而其開放性則表現(xiàn)在使用目的上的多樣化，并引出了種種利用委婉語應(yīng)付情面和滿足自尊心理以及謀取不正當利益的消極傾向。在社會職業(yè)稱呼上，把maid / housekeeper稱為domestic help / day help / live in help誠然人性化一些，把prostitute稱之為sex worker也似無不可，但若過分拔高，一般服務(wù)員也升級service manager，甚至butcher也稱為meat technologist, garbage collector也成了sanitation engineer或solid waste ecologist，就未免太過頭了。商人利用委婉語招徠生意，pawnshop換上了loan office的招牌，過去的secondhand store變成了resale store, “super”, “giant”, “special”字樣滿天飛，大多是新瓶舊酒，只名目悅耳罷了。政客們走得最遠，他們不僅自己搖身一變，由politician成了legislator，而且肆意利用委婉語達到不可告人的目的，如為了掩飾社會矛盾，否認poor的存在，只講disadvantaged / underprivileged，貧民窟也由slum變成了substandard housing / depressed areas / special areas；美國的海外駐軍U. S. overseas military deployment名聲不好，就用American presence代之，還用pacification代替war，用liberate代替capture，明明是入侵（invasion），卻說成是“先發(fā)制人的行動”（pre-emptive action），等等，這就不僅遠離了委婉語的本來宗旨，而是借此形式進行欺騙宣傳和強詞奪理了。

3） 委婉語有約定俗成、相對固定的表達方式。例如大小便不好直講，就出現(xiàn)了一系列說法： I have to pay a call / I'd like to be excused / I have to retire for a moment / Where's the restroom? / May I wash hands？等等。據(jù)說有次一個隨團旅游的女士別出心裁地生造了一個說法：“May I go somewhere？”導(dǎo)游未能領(lǐng)會其意，便信口答道：“Sorry, you can't now. We've got to stay together here for a break.”弄得女士十分尷尬。

雖然隨意生造委婉語違反了傳統(tǒng)要求，但另一個方面，委婉語的特點又正是推陳出新，不斷有新的說法出現(xiàn)，或有幾種不同的說法可以選擇。對于這種情況，需要從兩個方面加以注意：

從橫向看，首先要注意不同國家可能有不同的委婉表達方式。例如同美國朋友談到1993年是雞年這個話題，就要用rooster一詞。美國發(fā)行的1993年雞年郵票上的圖案是公雞，文字是“The lunar calender in 1993 is symbolised by the rooster.”為什么不用cock?因為cock，還有ass, bull等都是美國人的忌諱詞，而要分別用rooster, donkey, ox取代。此外，還要注意到同一詞語具有多義時，要提防貶義有可能造成的不好聯(lián)想。例如：to be intimate with somebody通常表示“跟某人親近”、“關(guān)系密切”等一般含義，但intimacy也可能指不正當?shù)哪信P(guān)系，特別是美國電視上公布了“Jack is intimate with one of his twin daughters”事件之后，這個詞語的貶義突出了，表示其他含義的功能受到削弱，甚至?xí)慌懦獾?，為此人們在談及男女之間的正常交往時會盡量避免用它。

從縱向看，不同的委婉語往往帶有不同時代的烙印。據(jù)說在英國維多利亞女王時代，人體胸部以下的名稱都在忌諱之列，breast和leg都不能講，于是就有以white（或light） meat和black （或dark） meat分別表示餐桌上的chicken breast和chicken leg這類當時使用的委婉語。17世紀英語中曾用occupy作為have sex的委婉語，但早已不再用，相反，兩性關(guān)系的禁忌逐漸解除，西方的電視辯論中直接講have sex with，連十幾歲的小女孩也當眾承認“I've slept with him and got pregnant”，而用不著expecting或in the family way了。由于反對性別歧視運動的影響，近幾十年來帶有男性標記的詞語漸有被中性詞語取代的趨勢：一種情況是出現(xiàn)了一些新詞，如wo/man代替woman and man（男人和女人），chairperson代替chairman（主席），supervisor代替foreman（領(lǐng)班），Member of Congress代替Congressman（國會議員），homemaker代替housewife（主婦），flight attendant代替airline hostess（航班服務(wù)員）；另一種情況是使用中性的代詞或冠詞指代或照應(yīng)通性名詞，如用（s）he取代he和she，用the代替his來確指像the teacher，the listener等可男可女的名詞等等。

上世紀初葉，由于勞資關(guān)系緊張，又出現(xiàn)了industrial relation（勞資關(guān)系）和industrial dispute（勞資爭端）這樣的委婉語，分別取代relations between labour and capital, labour-capital relations, employee-employer relations, labour-management relations和dispute between labour and management等。美國在“越戰(zhàn)”時期曾用pacification代替bombing，burning和imprisonment；海灣戰(zhàn)爭以來又出現(xiàn)了air operation, ground operation這類表示空中打擊和地面戰(zhàn)爭的代用語，甚至把civilian casualties（平民傷亡）也說成是collateral damage（附帶損傷），等等。顯然這類委婉語都具有欺騙性，值得我們注意。

練習(xí)十二　（Exercise Twelve）

I. Preview Questions:

1. What synonym can you use for “Hyperbole”?

2. What constructions can you usually use for Hyperbole?

3. Is it true that Hyperbole is always describing something much bigger / greater than it actually is?

4. Which figure of speech can be regarded as one in opposition to Hyperbole?

5. Does Understatement include two chief forms called “Litotes” and “Meiosis”?

6. Can you give an example to indicate how tactful it is to express one's attitude by Understatement?

7. What is the basic meaning of “euphemism”?

8. What grammatical structures can you use as forms of Euphemism?

9. Can you give examples of “tactful expressions”?

10. What kind of Euphemism should we keep close watch on so as not to be deceived?

II. Rewrite the following sentences by turning ordinary expressions into emphatic forms or vice versa:

1. We produce good shoes for all marathon runners.

2. The two brothers are quite different.

3. I haven't seen you for a long time.

4. The cost mounted to very great figures.

5. The professor has a good knowledge of the ancient Greek culture.

6. Such a thing will be the last I can do.

7. I didn't like to see him at all.

8. In short, as I accepted the rising of the sun, I accepted that up above me was all that was fine and noble and gracious, all that gave decency and dignity to life, all that made life worth living and that enumerated one for his travail and misery.

III. Rewrite the following by using Understatement or Euphemism:

1. I think she will not come because she has been pregnant for about five months.

2. They were greatly surprised at the outcome.

3. It's rather difficult to restore peace in that area.

4. He has three good friends: One is a mailman, another fireman and the third policeman.

5. Sorry, I simply can't promise.

6. His father died last week and is going to be buried next Sunday.

7. Do you know which bus I should take to the natural museum?

8. The lunar calendar in 1995 is symbolized by the pig.

IV. Read the following and then determine whether each of the statements is true （T） or false （F）.

Euphemism — words with overly favorable connotations — are often used to conceal what might be offensive or disturbing. The word prison is being replaced by penal institution and correctional facility, suggesting places less harsh and dehumanizing than those in which we actually incarcerate violators of the law. Another social problem is being made less poignant because the words indigent, inner-city, and low-income are commonly substituted for poor, a term with more explicit connotations. And we no longer have poor children; they are disadvantaged, underprivileged, or culturally deprived.

Euphemism, or “language pollution,” or “doublespeak,” as some call it, is often intended to obscure or hide the real situation. Bureaucrats are especially skillful in selecting terms with inoffensive connotations, as was evident in the Watergate affair: the Watergate defendants' perjury and destruction of evidence were referred to as stonewalling; their unethical procedures as game plans. Government officials are not the only ones at fault. Big business no longer lays off workers, it furloughs them. And labor engages in work stoppages, not strikes.

Occasionally, but only occasionally, language pollution is reversed, the offensive terms replacing the more polite ones. More newspapers now report that women are raped instead of criminally assaulted, a word substitution that may contribute to greater public concern about this offense. Similarly, syphilis and gonorrhea, formerly taboo words, are replacing the polite term venereal disease in an effort to arouse public concern.

Sometimes euphemisms are harmless. Like white lies, they may be kinder than the literal truth. One of our ugliest words for people is crippled; a pleasanter one is handicapped. To many people, being considered old is a terrifying experience, so they sometimes prefer to be called senior citizens instead of old people. And to give individuals a greater sense of prestige and importance in their work, we often refer to hair stylists instead of barbers, beauticians instead of hairdressers, custodians instead of janitors, realtors instead of real estate salesmen, and morticians instead of undertakers. These substitutions and others like them do little harm and make life more tolerable for the people involved. But you should be so alert to the use of words that you recognize euphemisms and generally avoid them in your writing.

（Michael E. Adelstein & Jean G. Pival）

Statements based on the previous text:

1. When referring to children who are not bright, people tend to use terms such as “disadvantaged”, “underprivileged”, or “culturally deprived”, or “a bit slow” instead of “poor”, “silly”, “stupid”, for the latter are harsh and offensive that will hurt their parents or other relatives. （　?。?/p>

2. One should watch out for the use of euphemisms, and generally try to make use of them in your writing. （　?。?/p>

3. The two terms of “language pollution” and “doublespeak” both are used to refer to the same phenomenon in the English language — Euphemism.　 （　?。?/p>

4. The one successful use of Euphemism is to replace the offensive terms by the more polite ones; however, some newspapers tend to use some of the formerly taboo terms that may contribute to greater public concern. （　?。?/p>

5. The general purpose of using Euphemism is to conceal what might be offensive or disturbing, e.g. the word “prison” is being replaced by “penal institution” and “correctional faculty”, suggesting places less harsh and dehumanizing than those where violators of the law are usually incarcerated. （　?。?/p>

6. Generally speaking, more polite or more pleasant terms are used in our daily life, e.g. “handicapped” for “crippled”, “senior citizens” for “old peole”, “hair stylists” for “barbers”, etc.; however, the above tendency has just been reversed nowadays, as such ugly terms “raped”, “syphilis” and “gonorrhea”are found black and white in the newspapers instead of “criminally assaulted”and “veneral disease”in an effort to arouse public concern. （　?。?/p>

參考答案

Ⅱ. 1. We produce the best shoes of the world for all marathon runners.

2. The two brothers are different in a thousand and one ways.

3. I haven't seen you for ages.

4. The cost mounted to astronomical figures.

5. The professor has an extensive/encyclopedic knowledge of the ancient Greek culture.

6. I will never do such a thing.

7. He was the last man I'd like to see.

8. I used to think that things in the upper society were all fine.

Ⅲ. 1. I don't think she will come, because she's about five months gone.

2. They were not a little surprised at the outcome.

3. It's no easy matter to restore peace in that area.

4. ... One is a letter carrier, another firefighter and the third police officer.

5. Sorry, that's more than I can promise.

6. His father passed away last week and is going to be laid to rest next Sunday.

7. Could you tell me which bus will take me to the natural museum?

8. The lunar calendar in 1995 is symbolized by the boar.

Ⅳ. 1.T　2. F　3. T　4. T　5. T　6. F