A Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Euphemisms in Interpersonal Communication
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63313/LLCS.9211Keywords:
Contrastive Study, Euphemism, Politeness, Interpersonal CommunicationAbstract
Euphemism, a key linguistic tool in interpersonal communication, maintains harmony by avoiding offensive expressions. This study contrasts English and Chinese euphemisms in interpersonal communication using Brown and Levinson’s Politeness Principle and Hofstede’s cultural value dimensions (e.g., individualism-collectivism). Adopting qualitative interpretation, the study analyze euphemisms from daily, workplace, and healthcare interactions, comparing them in linguistic strategies (lexical substitution, metaphor), pragmatic functions (face-saving, taboo avoidance), and cultural roots. Key findings: 1) Both follow the Politeness Principle, but English prioritizes individual face (negative face) with indirect lexical substitution, while Chinese emphasizes collective harmony via context-dependent implicit expressions; 2) Cultural values shape practices—English reflects individualism/low power distance (e.g., “aging” euphemisms), Chinese mirrors collectivism/high power distance (e.g., hierarchical address euphemisms).
References
[1] Barlet, M. H., Barks, M. C., Ubel, P. A., et al. (2022). Characterizing the language used to discuss death in family meetings for critically ill infants. JAMA Network Open, 5(9), e2233722. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33722
[2] Brown, P., & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge University Press.
[3] Crystal, D. (1997). A dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Blackwell Publishers.
[4] Gu, Y. (1990). Politeness phenomena in modern Chinese. Journal of Pragmatics, 14(2), 237–257.
[5] Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Sage Publications.
[6] Hughes, G. (2010). A history of English words. Wiley-Blackwell.
[7] Lakoff, R. (2004). The language war. University of California Press.
[8] Leech, G. N. (1983). Principles of pragmatics. Longman.
[9] Mao, L. M. (1994). Beyond politeness theory: “Face” revisited and renewed. Journal of Pragmatics, 21(5), 451–486.
[10] Pitt, M. B., Hendrickson, M. A., & Marmet, J. (2022). Use of euphemisms to avoid saying death and dying in critical care conversations—A thorn by any other name. JAMA Network Open, 5(10), e2233727. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.33727
[11] Tayler, M., & Ogden, J. (2005). Doctors’ use of euphemisms and their impact on patients’ beliefs about health: An experimental study of heart failure. Patient Education and Counseling, 57(3), 321–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2004.09.001
[12] Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across cultures. Guilford Press.
[13] Vickers, M. H. (2002). “People first—always”: Euphemism and rhetoric as troublesome influences on organizational sense-making—A downsizing case study. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 14, 105–118. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1021175721529
[14] Xiaoling, W., Meng, Z., & Hailin, D. (2012). Cross-cultural contrastive study of English and Chinese euphemisms. Cross-Cultural Communication, 8(6).
[15] Xu, J. (2021). On cultural connotations of death euphemisms in English and Chinese: A case study of The Story of the Stone and its translation by Hawkes. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 17–23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
[16] Yang, K. (2023). Analysis of pragmatic functions of euphemisms—from the perspective of pragmatic principles. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 23, 1–6. https://doi.org/10.54097/ehss.v23i.12723
[17] Zhang, G. Q., & Tseng, M.-Y. (2022). Elasticity in healthcare communication: A cross-cultural perspective. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108903134
[18] Zhang, W. (2022). Is Death Taboo for Older Chinese Immigrants? OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 84(4), 1061–1080. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222820927883
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 by author(s) and Erytis Publishing Limited
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
