2013届毕业论文从英语委婉语看西方文化的禁忌A Study of Taboos in the Western Cultures from the Perspective of English Euphemisms院 部 外 国 语 学 院 专 业 英 语 专 业 班 级 09408012 姓 名 金 巧 云 学 号 0940801206 指 导 教 师 方 小 勇 完成时间：2013年6月A Study of Taboos in the Western Cultures from the Perspective of English Euphemisms by Jin Qiaoyun Under the Supervision of Associate Professor Fang XiaoyongSchool of Foreign LanguagesJiangsu University of Science and Technology June, 2013AcknowledgementsFirst of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Fang Xiaoyong, who has offered me plenty of information and advice in my writing this paper. I am deeply grateful to him for his intellectual guidance, selfless help and patience in the completion of this thesis. Secondly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my dear classmates for their providing me with information I need and for their patience and care during the last month when I was away from school. I think it is time for me to say thank you to my dear friends since we are going to graduate in two months. In the past four years, we have experienced happiness and sorrow together, and we have overcome many difficulties, which makes us close to each other. Last but not least, my thanks would go to my beloved family. I would never have this opportunity to extend my thanks to my teachers or my classmates without my familys support, patience and love. 江苏科技大学外国语学院毕业论文英文摘要江苏科技大学外国语学院毕业论文ContentsAbstract in EnglishIAbstract in ChineseIII. Introduction11.1. The definition of euphemisms11.2. The origin of English euphemisms1II. Taboos of English euphemisms and their connotation32.1. The classification of English euphemisms32.2. The function of English euphemisms32.2.1. Function of taboos32.2.2. Function of politeness42.2.3. Function of beautification42.2.4. Function of concealment52.3. An analysis of taboos of Western culture through understanding the incentives of English euphemisms52.3.1. The use of English euphemisms as a result of worry and fear52.3.2. The use of religious euphemisms as a result of worship62.3.3. The use of shyness euphemisms as a result of shy psychology6III. Application of English euphemisms and its revelation on cross-cultural communication83.1. Characteristics of English euphemisms in cross-cultural communication83.1.1. Time differences of English euphemisms83.1.2. Regional differences of English euphemisms83.1.3. Register differences of English euphemisms83.1.4. Nationality of English euphemisms93.1.5. Gender differences of English euphemisms93.2. More examples for English euphemisms and their specific applications103.3. Revelation of English euphemisms on cross-cultural communication10IV. Conclusion13Bibliography14江苏科技大学外国语学院毕业论文中文摘要A Study of Taboos in the Western Culture from the Perspective of English Euphemisms AbstractA euphemism is a kind of linguistic phenomenon used in the process of human communication, which is, in a sense, a roundabout way of speech when the user does not want to offend the recipient of the message. In human communication, euphemisms can help people express their meaning in an abstract way without losing their original intentions. Since many subjects in human life are inappropriate to be expressed directly, euphemisms would be ideal for people to exchange thoughts without feeling guilty or embarrassed. Euphemisms, a cultural phenomenon originated in taboos, are a phenomenon that when people talk about some particular subjects, they will substitute them for more indirect and euphemistic language to avoiding embarrassment. The application of euphemisms is an improvement of both language use and the level of culture. In this thesis, English euphemisms will be classified, functionally analyzed and discussed so that we can have a clear understanding of cultural taboos in Western countries.Keywords: English euphemisms; taboo; cultureII从英语委婉语看西方文化的禁忌摘 要 英语委婉语是人类语言使用过程中不可缺少的一种语言现象。使人们谈论那些令人不快或者尴尬的事情时，所使用的较为礼貌的说法，是人们在交际中，用来表达不宜直说的人或事物的言语。其重要的特征就在于运用比较抽象、模棱两可的概念或比喻的、褒义化的手法，使谈话的双方能够采取一种比较间接的方式来谈论不宜直接说的事，而且不必为谈论此事而感到内疚、感到窘迫。英语委婉语作为一种文化现象，源自禁忌，是指人们在交往中对于一些特定话题进行不约而同地以委婉性的语言来代替，这不仅是语言上的进步，更是文化层面的进步。本文通过对英语委婉语进行归类、功能分析，以及其在生活中个各个方面发挥的委婉性作用来探讨西方国家的文化禁忌。关键词：英语委婉语；禁忌；文化V江苏科技大学外国语学院毕业论文A Study of Taboos in the Western Cultures from the Perspective of English Euphemisms I. Introduction1.1. The definition of euphemismsA euphemism is a kind of universal social phenomenon. Specifically, the word originally comes from Greek, with the prefix eu mea