Abstract
Euphemism, as a language phenomenon, exists in both English and Chinese language. At the same time, euphemism is also a cultural phenomenon. Different habits of using euphemisms form gradually through different cultural traditions, values and national personalities. Generally speaking, euphemism is an effective and simple way for people to communicate and convey their emotions. It is generally recognized that The Story of the Stone is the highest achievement of Chinese classical novels, especially in Chinese traditional culture. In many different languages and cultures, death is one of the taboo subjects. The Story of the Stone contains a large number of euphemisms, including more than 100 death euphemisms. By taking The Story of the Stone and its translation by Hawkes as the research objects, this thesis looks into the similarities and differences of the cultural connotations in Chinese and English death euphemisms via quantitative analysis of their classifications and distributions. Specifically, there exist differences in religious beliefs and hierarchical concepts between Chinese and English cultures, as well as the similarities in cognitive attitudes and physical reactions between two sides. Hence, some relevant translation strategies are put forward by analyzing the cultural contrasts reflected by these Chinese and English euphemisms, which will accordingly guarantee a successful cross-cultural communication.
Highlights
According to Wang [12], euphemism is a unique language style that enables both parties to achieve the ideal purpose of commmunication
Cao Xueqin uses a variety of figures of speech and euphemisms, which contains the rich traditions of Chinese culture
This paper conducts some statistical analysis of the death euphemisms in The Story of the Stone
Summary
According to Wang [12], euphemism is a unique language style that enables both parties to achieve the ideal purpose of commmunication. There are lots of translations of The Story of the Stone, among which the one by David Hawkes is widely accepted and well received by the readers. Wang [13] pointed out that a lot of euphemisms containing Chinese culture could bring obstacles to cultural translation and would be a great challenge for translators. Hawkes used more free transaltion methods, so the translation was more flexible and creative. He and Long [3] summarized the lexical characteristics of death euphemisms, including ambiguity, substitution, trope, analogy, and circumlocution. The studies of death euphemisms in The Story of the Stone can promote the communication between different countries and have a major influence on cross-cultural communication. Jialin Xu: On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of
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