English Euphemism Definition Euphemism is a pleasant replacement for an objectionable word that has pejorative connotations. The word “euphemism” comes from ancient Greek. three morphemes ： So euphemism means “speaking well of”. “eu-” “being good or well”, “pheme-” “speech”, “-ism” an act or the result of an act. Social background of the emergence of euphemism The emergence and development of euphemism was caused mainly by the people of middle class. People of upper class didnt choose their work with great care any longer because their social status has been stabilized. People of lower-class didnt have the ability to weigh their words because of their knowledge limitation. People of middle class want to improve their present condition and social status,so they try to prettify themselves in language. During the past decades,in some English speaking countries,a lot of euphemism emerged and was developing quickly because of the increase of the people of middle class. Formation devices Most euphemisms are formed by morphological devices, phonetic devices, spelling devices, lexical devices, and rhetorical devices. Morphological devices include word-forming methods such as compounding, back formation, acronymy and clipping. For instance,the acronym BM is formed from bowel movement (大便); the word lav is the clipped form of lavatory(洗手间). Lexical devices are often employed to attain euphemistic objective.That is,to substitute a taboo word with pejorative in meaning.For instance, agent for spy, speculator for gambler, silencer for murderer. Borrowing is a favorite method for students, especially in the Victorian Age. Figures of speech are also effective means to serve euphemistic function. These are metaphorical transfer (as in meat technologist for butcher), negation (as in unwise for stupid), understatement (as in the needy for the poor) and periphrasis (as in visually retarded for blind). The euphemisms for death Death is one of expressions. The euphemisms for death are a widely used item, especially when it concerns ones own families and friends. e.g. pass away（过世）、to go west（归西天）、tick the bucket（翘辫子）、to go to sleep（长眠）、to close ones eyes（闭眼）、to expire（逝世）、to end ones day（寿终）、 to lay down ones life（牺牲）、 to breathe ones last（咽气）、 to pay the debt of nature（了结尘缘）、to cross over to the other side（去世）等等 The euphemisms for poverty and unemployment The topic of poverty and unemployment might cause some embarrassment, so people often use euphemism when their talks concern such things. For example,badly off（短缺的）、less well off（不太宽裕的）、down on ones luck（时运不济）、hard up for money（缺钱）、in difficulty（处于困境）；have-nots（不富有的人） unemployment:“to be developing a new project”. In America “unemployed men” are called “claimants”, while, in Britain, they are called“to be on public assistance”or “the less fortunate” . The euphemisms for the age and weight The age, especially a womans age is regarded as a sensitive privacy. And most of the western people are afraid of getting old, so “old people” or”old age” can easily cause the fear of the old people. Some euphemistic expressions take place of them, such as “getting on (in years),second childhood, a distinguished gentleman, a grande dame, third age”. They are not “old” but “long-lived”. In western country, it is very impolite if you talk about someones figure and weight without reservation. If someone is “fat”, “overweight” is often used to replace it. To male, “fat” is called “stout”; to female, “a fat girl” is called “a fuller figure or plump”;to child, it is called “chubby”. On the contrary, if someone is too thin, euphemism is also used. To male, it is called “lean”, and to female, it is called “slim, slender or svelte”. King Size & Queen Size When women go to buy pentyhose(连连裤袜裤袜)in English,they can often see “Queen size”just likeKing Size,its for fat people.This is also a kind of euphemism. For example, “mental hospital or mental health center” is a euphemism for“madhouse”; “mortuary or funeral” is a euphemism of dead house. Some small companies or small enterprises like to use the word “industry”, such as hotel industry, tourist industry, garage industry, womens beauty industry etc. The euphemism for the office and trade Conclusion As an important language phenomenon,euphemism will surely have an influence on the human language.Yet it still needs further study,not only from lexicon level,but also from the level of grammatical and phonetic.Besides,we also need to study the fundamental principles governing the building of euphemisms and the basic characteristics of euphemistic expressions. THX 。