英语委婉语的人际语法隐喻分析.docx

英语委婉语的人际语法隐喻分析
Introduction:
Thestudyofinterpersonalgrammarandmetaphoricallanguagehasgainedinterestinrecentyears.OnespecificareaofthisistheuseofeuphemismsorpolitelanguageinEnglish.ThispaperaimstoanalyzetheuseofeuphemismsasaninterpersonalstrategyinEnglishcommunication,tounderstandthesocialsignificanceoftheiruse,andtoidentifymetaphoricalstructuresthatunderlietheselinguisticexpressions.
InterpersonalLanguage:
Interpersonallanguageisawayofexpressingmeaningthatisusedspecificallyinsocialinteractions.Itisoftenusedtoconveyattitudes,emotions,andintentionstowardsothers.Interpersonallanguageisdifferentfrominformativelanguageinthatitisintendedtocreateormaintainaparticularrelationship.
Euphemisms:
Euphemismsareatypeofpolitelanguagethatisusedtosoftenanegativeorunpleasantmeaning,makingitmoresociallyacceptableorlessdistressing.Euphemismsarecommonlyusedinsituationswherethespeakerwantstoavoidcausingoffenceorviolatingsocialnorms.Examplesofcommoneuphemismsinclude“passedaway”insteadof“died,”“letgo”insteadof“fired,”or“verticallychallenged”insteadof“short.”
Metaphors:
Metaphors,asdefinedbyLakoffandJohnson(1980),arelinguisticexpressionsthatmaponedomainofexperienceontoanother.Inotherwords,ametaphorisawayofunderstandingonethingintermsofanother.Metaphorsarepervasiveinlanguageandplayasignificantroleinshapinghowpeopleperceiveandunderstandtheworldaroundthem.
AnalyzingEuphemismsasMetaphors:
TheuseofeuphemismsinEnglishcommunicationcanbeanalyzedasaformofmetaphoricalexpression.Euphemismsemploymetaphoricalstructurestosoftenthenegativeorunpleasantmeaningsofcertainwordsorphrases.Forexample,thephrase“passedaway”isametaphoricalexpression,inwhichtheexperienceofdyingisconceptualizedasajourneyfromoneplacetoanother.Similarly,theuseofthephrase“letgo”asaeuphemismfor“fired”isametaphoricalexpression,inwhichtheexperienceoflosingajobisconceptualizedasbeingreleasedfromaphysicalhold.
Themetaphoricalstructureofeuphemismsoftenrevealsunderlyingculturalvaluesandbeliefs.Forexample,theuseofthephrase“verticallychallenged”a