A Contrastive Study of Death Euphemisms in Chinese and English From Metaphoric Perspective开题报告

 2023-01-17 19:52:15

1. 研究目的与意义

Metaphor is pervasive in everyday life; human language is full of metaphors. Metaphor had been treated as a figure of speech by traditional rhetoric. But with the development of the cognitive linguistics, it is considered as a form of human cognitive phenomenon-with some domain experience to explain or understand the experience in another field. As a special language phenomenon, euphemism has its own historical background and cultural features. Death is the most terrible event to most human beings, which means the end of existence. It is an inevitable fact which people aren#8217;t willing to mention, thus the death-meaning words has become typical representative in euphemism. The death euphemism loads a wealth of information about country culture, traditions and customs. This study will makes a contrastive analysis of death euphemisms in both Chinese and English cultures from many aspects, namely, cultural patterns, religions and social customs and so on. Research from the perspective of cognition of death euphemism can help us to grasp these expressions and guide our language teaching and learning. The awareness of universality and cultural diversity can help us avoid misunderstanding and overcome the barriers in cross-cultural communication.

2. 研究内容和预期目标

Euphemism is more than a way of expression of language. It is also an important expression of ideas and thought. The study of death euphemisms from metaphoric perspective will not only study words, but also sentences and texts. Different cultures for the same concept of death have different metaphor expressions. By contrast, we have further understanding of human cognition and it will make the intercultural communication smoother. Chapter one is an introduction, introducing the literature review of death euphemisms, methodologies and purpose of the study and the organization of the thesis. Chapter two is theoretical framework of metaphor history and characteristics of metaphor, working mechanism, cognitive functions and so on. Chapter three is a comparative analysis of #8220;death#8221; euphemism in two languages. Through the classification, this part gives some examples about the death euphemism. The fourth part is the conclusion, summarizing the study of death euphemism and limitations and suggestions for further study.

3. 国内外研究现状

In the west, metaphor is proposed as a term of rhetoric. Traditional theories of metaphor are just limited to studies of metaphor itself, and they have not put the metaphor with human cognition, thinking and communication activities in the larger context of investigation. In cognitive views, metaphor is not merely a decorative means of expression, nor is it only a matter of language. The essence of metaphor is expressed as #8220;understanding or experiencing one kind of thing in term of another#8221; (Lakoff amp; Johnsen, 1980: 3). Euphemism has been discussed by scholars for a long time. They have contributed a lot to the study of euphemism. Their study has been mainly restricted in three areas: dictionary compiling, rhetoric and semantics (Allan amp; Burridge, 1991; Ayto 1993; Enright 1985; Neaman amp; Silver, 1983; Rawson, 1981; Zhang, 1996). In early 1580s, British writer Gorge Blunt first used the word #8220;euphemism' in English and gave a definition: (Euphemism) is a good of favorable interpretation of a bad word (Neaman amp; Silver, 1983). The #8220;death#8221; euphemism is a special language. People do not want to say the word #8220;die#8221; directly. The study of death euphemism should take many aspects into consideration such as custom, social value and belief, etc. At the very beginning, people believed in God. So Euphemisms were endowed with religion at that period. After World War 2, many new euphemisms were created when the civil situation changed (He, 2002). Death Euphemism changes along with the development of society. Metaphor is a way of describing something by comparing it to something else which has the same qualities (but without using the words #8220;as#8221; or #8220;like#8221;) (Wehmeier, 2001). Hartwell (1982: 317) said, #8220;Euphemism, in fact, tells us a good deal about the values of a culture.#8221; Death euphemism is the same as euphemism. There are three theories about metaphor: the Interaction Theory, the Conceptual Metaphor Theory, and the Blending Theory. From the perspective of cognitive study on metaphor of death euphemism can enhance people#8217;s understanding of the relationship between metaphor and the death Euphemism.

4. 计划与进度安排

Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Significance of the Study 1.2 Methodologies and Purpose of the Study 1.3 The Organization of the Thesis Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Cognitive Metaphor 2.2 Studies on Death Euphemism Chapter Three: Analysis of #8220;Death#8221; Euphemism in Chinese and English 3.1 Classification of Death Euphemisms 3.1.1 #8220;Death#8221; Euphemisms in Chinese 3.1.2 #8220;Death#8221; Euphemisms in English 3.2 General Conceptual Metaphors for #8220;Death#8221; in Both Languages 3.3 Different #8220;Death#8221; Metaphors in Each Language 3.3.1 Differences in Religion 3.3.2 Differences in Social Customs 3.3.3 Differences in Cultural Patterns Chapter Four: Conclusion 4.1 Major Findings 4.2 Limitations and Suggestions for Further Study

5. 参考文献

1. Allen, Keith amp; Burridge, Kate. Euphemism amp; Dysphemism：Language Used As Shield and Weapon[M]. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. 2. Kluckhohn.

Five Orientations[M]. New York: Crown Publishers.1991. 3. Lakoff, G. amp; Johnsen, M. Metaphors We Live By[M]. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1980. 4. Rawson, H. A Dictionary of Euphemism and Doubletalk[M]. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc.1981. 5. 高桂香,魏慧哲. 死亡委婉语的人类学探究[J]. 河北师范大学学报(哲学社会科学版) ,2004,(05):129-131. 6. 吴茗. 英汉#8220;死亡#8221;代用语形式和语义结构对比研究[J]. 湖北教育学院学报. 2007, (10): 128-132. 7. 殷融,苏得权,叶浩生.具身认知视角下的概念隐喻理论[J].心理科学进展, 2013,(02): 220-234. 8. 张拱贵.汉语委婉语词典[Z].北京:北京语言文化出版社,1996. 9. 郑桃云,赵艺红. 英汉死亡委婉语来源及文化内涵之对比[J]. 湖北师范学院学报(哲学社会科学版), 2007,(11): 128-130.

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