中英语言禁忌

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[Abstract]Language,asthecarrierofculture,iscreatedduringtheprocessofhumanbeings’productivelaborandservesasthetoolofcommunicationtoconveythemessagebetweenpeople.However,ithasbeenendowedwithmagicandpowerinparticularlanguageacts.Astheoldsayinggoes,troublescomeoutofthetongue.Superstitiouspeoplethinkthatthelanguageitselfcanbringaboutfortuneormisfortunesothattaboostorestricttheuseoflanguagearecreated.Anyonewhoviolatesthemwillgetpunishment,whereasthosewhofaithfullyobeytherestrictionsoflanguagetaboowillgetprotection.Furthermore,linguistictabooschangewiththedevelopmentofsociety.Thepaperfirstlyanalyzestheevolutionoflinguistictaboo.Secondly,itisindicatedinthepaperthatlinguistictabooexistsinalmosteveryaspectofpeople’slifeandisauniversalsocialphenomenoninChinaandBritain.BothChineseandEnglishculturesareinagreementaboutlinguistictaboossuchaspronunciationtaboo,andvocabularytaboo.However,influencedbydifferentculturalbackgrounds,ideologiesandtheconceptsofvalue,ChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosalsohavedifferences,asisdiscussedinthepaperfromtheaspectsoftaboosubjects,taboonumbersandnames.Atlast,thispaperputsforwardtwoeffectivewaysofavoidingtaboo,thatis,usingeuphemismandhavingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture.AndthisdiscussionwouldhelpEnglishlearnersimprovetheirabilityofcross-culturalcommunicationandachievebettercommunicationaleffects.

[KeyWords]linguistictaboo;evolution;similarities;differences

【摘要】语言是人们在活动过程中产生和发展起来的一种社交工具，其功能就是沟通信息，但在特定的语言行为中，却被赋予了它自身所没有的超人的感觉和超人的力量。社会成员竟认为语言本身能给人类带来某种吉祥或不幸，人为地设置了种种语言禁区。他们相信谁要是违背这些语言禁忌，谁就会受到应有的惩罚。反之，谁要是忠实遵循了语言禁忌的约束，谁就会得到相应的庇护和保佑。语言禁忌会随着社会的发展而变化。本论文首先论述了语言禁忌的演变，接着提出语言禁忌存在于人们生活的各个方面，是一种普遍存在的社会现象。在汉英两种语言中，有些忌讳是一致的。文中分析了中英语言禁忌在语音层面、词汇方面的相似性。但是由于汉英民族文化背景、意识形态、价值观念等的不同，中英语言禁忌的内容和形式也有一些差异，因此本论文还探讨了中英语言禁忌在私人话题、数字和命名称谓方面的互异性。这些异同和发展演进往往会给跨文化交际带来一些障碍，为此，有效避免使用禁忌语的方法主要是使用委婉语代替禁忌词，并充分了解异国的文化背景。希望本论文的研究能帮助英语学习者加深英汉两种语言和文化的理解，提高跨文化交际能力，避免交际失败，达到理想的交际效果。

【关键词】语言禁忌;演变;相似点;不同点

1.Introduction

“Itismanifestedinlanguage:persons,thingsandactivitiesthataretabooshouldnotbetalkedaboutorshouldbementionedinaroundaboutwayinlanguage.Wordsandexpressionsrelatedtothesesocialtaboosarelinguistictaboos.”[1]TheabovedefinitionshowsthatLinguistictaboo,asanintegralpartoflanguage,isnotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoasocialphenomenon.

Likeotherpartsoflanguage,theoriginoflinguistictabooisdeeplyrootedintheprimitivesocialandculturalbackgroundanditschangeisgreatlyinfluencedbythedevelopmentofhumansocietyinordertosatisfyhumanbeings’needsforsmoothcommunications.Withtheadvancementofscienceandtechnology,manypuzzlesabouttheuniversearesolved,andwiththeincreaseofmaterialwealth,humandemandsforspiritualcivilizationarealsobecominghigher.Evidently,linguistictaboosareareflectionofthesesocialdevelopmentandthevalueconceptsandbeliefsofthecultureinwhichtheyareborn.Itexistsineveryaspectofpeople’slife.

TherearesomesimilaritiesinEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo,butdifferentculturesmaynotallagreeonwhatisorisnotatabooinaspecificcontext.SothedifferencesalsoexistbetweenEnglishandChineselinguistictaboo.ALackofknowledgeinthisfieldorimproperuseoflinguistictaboosmayleadtomisunderstandings,conflictsandotherunknownseriousconsequencesinthecross–culturecommunicationswhichisincreasinglyfrequentandwidernow.

Thispaperintendstostudytheevolutionoflinguistictaboo,toanalyzethesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooinpronunciationandvocabulary,andpresentthedifferencesfromtheaspectsofnames,numbersaswellastaboosubjectsinbothcultures.Lastbutnotleast,twoeffectivewaysareproposedtoavoidlinguistictaboos.

2.Theevolutionoflinguistictaboo

Thewordtaboo(alsospelledas“tabu”,“tapu”and“kapu”)wasborrowedfromTonga,anislandgroupinPolynesia,anditsfirstrecordeduseinEnglishwasbyCaptainJamesCook(1729-1779),aBritishnavigator.HecametotheArchipelagoofTongaduringhisexplorationsinthesouthernpartofthePacificOcean.Thereheheardthewordfromthelocalpeople,whichoriginallyreferredtopersons,activities(includingspeech),orthingsunderprohibitionbecausetheywereconsidered,ontheonehand,”sacred”and“consecrated”,andontheother,“uncanny”,“dangerous”and“unclean”.HeintroduceditintoEnglishinhisdescriptionofhisthirdvoyagearoundtheworldin1777.ButtaboophenomenaarenotuniqueinTonga.Instead,ithaslongexistedinallculturesandlanguagethroughouttheworld.[2]

Aswehavementionedabove,linguistictabooisnotonlyalinguisticphenomenonbutalsoakindofsocialphenomenon.Thedevelopmentofsocietyhasinfluencedthedevelopmentoflinguistictaboo.Soifwewanttorevealthewholepictureoflinguistictaboo,wemusthaveareviewofthehistoryoflinguistictaboo.“Theevolutionoflinguistictaboohasgenerallyexperiencedthreestagesaccordingtothehistoryofhumansociety:theprimitivesuperstitionsstage,thefeudalpatriarchalstage,andmoderndemocraticstage.Butthereisnoexplicitdemarcationlinebetweenthreestages.”[3]

2.1Theprimitivesuperstitiousstages

Asweallknow,Intheprimitivesociety,peopledidn’tgettoknowwellaboutnature,mostnaturalphenomenasuchaslightning,thunder,storm,earthquake,werebeyondtheunderstandingofhumanbeings.Whenthesephenomenahappened,theythoughtthatcertainsupernaturalcreaturespossessedgreatpower.Theythoughtthatiftheywereloyaltothesesupernaturalcreatures,theywouldbesafeorrewarded.Iftheyactedagainstthem,theywouldbepunishedseverely.Asaresult,theprimitivepeoplecreateddifferentkindsofgods.Theyheldastrongreligiousconvictionthatthesegodscontrolledtheworldthattheywerelivingin.Sothefirstthingtheydidwastorespectthesegodsthroughlanguage.ThereisanexamplefromtheSeventhCommandmentoftheTenCommandmentinBible“YoushallnotmakewrongfuluseofthenameoftheLordyourGod,fortheLordwillnotacquitanyonewhomisuseshisname”.[4]

Inaword,theearliestlinguistictabooemergedasaresultoftheignoranceandsuperstitionoftheprimitivepeopleinancienttimes.

2.2Thefeudalpatriarchalstage

Feudalsocietyisrigidlystratified.Acountryoffeudalismisusuallycontrolledbytheroyalsandsometimestogetherwiththoseconsideredwithgreatpowergivenbygod.

Duringthefeudaltimes,peoplewerenotequaltotherulersandweresuppressedbytheirsuperiors.Thedistinctionbetweentheupperandthelowerclasseswasalsoreflectedintheevaluationofthelanguageusedbythemrespectively.Thewordsofupperclassusedwereconsideredgoodandelegantwhilethoseusedbythelowerclasswereregardedasvulgarandindecentandshouldbeavoidedinthespeechofladiesandgentlemen.Forexample,whenreferringto‘出汗’,duchessesusedtheword‘perspire’,butthefemaleservantsused‘sweat’;whenreferringto‘吐痰’,theformerpeopleused‘expectorate’,butthelatterused‘spit’;Asfor‘月经’,theformerused‘menstruate’,butthelatterused‘bleed’.Themaxim“Horsessweat;menperspire;youngladiesglow”moreorlesscanreflectthestratifiedusageofwordswhichhavethesamemeaninginthisperiod.[5]InChina,duringthefeudaltimes,menusuallyplayadominantroleinfamily.WecanseeitfromtheChineseexpressions“三从四德”,“三纲五常”etc.Inordertostrengthentheirpositionandtopreventtheirsubjectsfromviolatingthem,theroyalsandkingsputforwarddifferentkindsofprohibitionsandbans.Forinstance,toshowtheirauthorityandmajesty,thenameoftheemperorandhisancestorsshouldnotbementioned.Atthesametime,peoplealwaysavoidedspeakingouttheirparents’namesoreventhecharactersintheirparents’names.Theoldsaying“古人闻父名而泣”canprovethispoint.

Mostlinguistictaboosduringthisperiodwereputintoeffectbyrulersinordertomaintaintheirsuperiorsocialpositionandkeepthesocietyundertheircontrol.However,someofthem,becauseoftheirdeep-rootedinfluenceonpeople’smind,stillremaininlanguageevenafterthecollapseofthesocialsystem

2.3Themoderndemocraticstage

Inmodernsociety,asaresultofthedevelopmentofscienceandtechnology,manynaturalphenomenaarenolongermysterious.Humanbeingsnotonlyconstantlyimprovetheirabilitiestoexploittheworldwheretheyarelivingthroughtheirgreatwisdomandknowledge,butalsomakeeffortstoexploretheextraterrestrialworld.Sciencehasmuchmoresayintoday’ssociety.Thereby,thesuperstitiouselementsinlinguistictaboosdecreasewhilethosereflectingspiritualcivilizationincrease.

Duringsuchanopen-mindedperiod,peoplevaluefreedom,equalityanddemocracyverymuch.Manyminoritiesstruggleforequalrightswiththemajorities.Asaresult,linguistictaboosconcerningracialdiscriminationarise.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,“nigger”waswidelyusedtocallblackpeopleinthe1960sbutnowitisforbiddeninnormalinteractionbecausesuchformofaddressingshowscontemptfortheblackandgoesagainstthespiritofhumanrights.

Inaddition,moreandmorewomenstepoutsidetheirhousestoworktogetherwithmen.Theydon’twanttodependonmenanylonger.However,thetraditionalideasaboutwomenstiflethefulfillmentoftheirabilitiesandtheyareoftentreatedunfairlyinwork.Thisforceswomentoriseandfightforequalitieswithmenandmoreandmoremenbegintolearntorespectwomen,whichwillhaveaninfluentialeffectonthelanguage.Asaresult,taboosonsexistlanguageincrease.Besides,inaneraofpeace,therelativestabilityofsocietyandthefastpaceoflife,peopledon’tbothermuchtoavoidthingsintheobjectiveworld.Instead,theypreferlivingapleasantandharmoniouslife.Theyenjoyspiritualentertainmentverymuch,sotheytrytoavoidthosewordsandbehaviorsthatmaymakeothersfeelunpleasanttokeeptheharmoniousrelationship.Thoseprofessionsthatwerelookeddownuponinthepastarebeautifiednow.Thesubstitutionof“sanitationengineer”for“garbagecollector”isagoodexampleforthis.

Asawhole,sincethethirdstage,peopletodayshowmorerespectforscienceandtechnologyandhumanrightsothatthesuperstitiousandfeudalelementsinlinguistictaboostendtoreducewhilethosereflectingtheadvancementofhumansocietyandspiritualcivilizationtendtoincrease.

3.ThesimilaritiesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

Therearetaboosforreligion,sex,death,disease,socialbias,etcinbothChineseandEnglishculturesandtheyarereflectedintheirrespectivelanguageandbecomeakindoflinguisticphenomenon.ThesimilaritiesofChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboomainlyembodyinthefollowingaspects:

3.1Inpronunciation

BothChinesepeopleandEnglishpeoplebelievethatsayingwordsthatimplymisfortunesordisastersmaybringthemtrouble,andtheythoughtmisfortunescanbepreventedbyreplacingthewordswithhomophonesthathavebettermeanings.

InChina,manytabooshavebeencausedbysuperstitions.InShanxiprovinceofChina,thereisacustomthatmulberriescannotbeplantedinfrontofthehouseandwillowscannotbeplantedbehindthehouse,becausetheChinesecharacter“桑(mulberry)”soundsthesameas“丧（mourning）and“柳（willow）”soundsthesameas“绺”.Theymayindicatethattherewillbeafuneralandsomethingwillbestolen.[6]Gamblerswon’tsay“书(book)”,becausetheChinese“shu/书(book)soundthesamewith“shu/输(defeat)”.Chinesepeoplewillnotpresentaclockasagiftinweddingsorotherceremonies,because“clock”pronounces“zhong(钟)”,whichhasthesamepronunciationas“zhong/终(end)”,meaningdeathinChinese.ManyotherexamplesalsocanbefoundinChinese.SomefishermaninSouthChinaavoidsayingsuchwordas“fan/翻(turnover)”or“chen/沉(sink)”andanyotherwordswithsimilarsounds.Someevenchangetheirsurname“chen/陈”whichsoundsthesameas“chen/沉”.ItissaidthatthechopstickspeopleintheEastusewhenhavingmealswereoriginallycalled“zhu/箸”inancientChina.Sinceithadthesamesoundas“zhu/住（stop）”,itwasreplacedlaterby“kuaizi/筷子”since“kuai/筷”soundslike“kuai/快（quick）”.Inwesterncountries,therearealsomanysuchkindsofexamples.Whenawordsoundsthesameasatabooword,itneedschangingintoanotherexpression.Forinstance,“inearlier18thcentury,thefemaleinEnglishandAmericancountriesalwaystriedtoavoidusingtheword‘arse(thebottompartofthebodyonesitson)’,whichwasconsideredinelegant.Sopeoplecalledtheanimal‘ass’as‘donkey’.”[7]Anothertypicalexampleisthat“fuck(asail)”,“feck”or“fack(fact)”areseldomusedorevengooutofuse,becausetheypronouncethesameas“fuck”.“Neamanmadeaconclusionthatthereasonwhysomewordsdisappearedwererelatedtothefactthattheirpronunciationarethesameassometaboowords”.[8]

3.2Invocabulary

“Roughlyspeaking,taboowordsinEnglishfallintothreetypes,namelyobscenities,profanitiesandvulgarities”.[9]Basedonthisclassification,thepartfirstlyanalyzesthethreetypesasfollows:

3.2.1Inobscenities

Obscenewordsrefertowordsrelatingtosexinashockingandoffensiveway.Thatistosay,obscenewordsmaycauseoffencetothesocialmoralprinciples.Theyusuallygooutofuseinpublicoccasionandcannotappearinliterarylanguage.Thesewordsarerelatedtohumanbeingssexualbehaviors.InbothEnglishandChinese,thesewordsaretobeavoidedinpoliteconversations,becausetheymaycausestrongdisapproval.

InAmerica,theSexualRevolutionin1960sand70smadepeoplemoreopentowardsex,butnowwordssuchas“makinglove”and“havingsex”stillseldomappeardirectlyinwriting,letaloneinconversation.Westernpeopleareserioustowardssextermstoacertaindegree,sotospeak.

TheChinesepeoplealsotreattermsonsexseriously.Chinesepeoplealwaysusetheexpressionof“作风问题”or“不正当关系”toshowtheimmoralrelationshipbetweenamanandawoman.

Asweallknow,pregnancyisanormalphysiologicalphenomenon,butindailylife,peoplewon’tsayitdirectly,asitisrelatedtosex.Ifsomeoneispregnant,Englishpeoplewillsay,“sheisexpectingababy”or“sheisinafamilyway”.SimilareuphemismscanbefoundinChinese“有喜了”,“行动不便了”.

3.2.2Inprofanities

ProfanitiesrefertoreligiouswordsusedinawaythatshowsalackofrespectforGodorholythings.Religionisafertilefieldofthistypeoftabooterms.AtypicalexampleisthatChristiancannotrefertoGodorGod’sname.“TheTenCommandmentsforbidpeopleto‘takethenameoftheLordyourGodinvain’.Soitisconsideredveryrudetosay‘goddame’or‘goddamned’”.[10]Thewordssuchas“God,”“Jesus,”“damn”and“hell”etc,areconsideredhollyandonlyproperlyusedinreligion.Iftheyappearindailycommunication,theywillmakepeopleunpleasantanddisgusted.Sopeoplealwaystrytoavoidusingthesetaboowordsdirectly.Theywouldliketousetheireuphemisms“Gosh,”“Jeeperscreepers,”“dash”and“heck”.Somepeoplealsoavoidreferringtothedevil,whichisconsidereddisrespectful.Sotheyuse“thedeuce”,“thedickens”,“oldNick”tosubstitute“thedevil”.

WecanfindsimilarexamplesinChinese.Inreligion,peopleusesomecomplimentaryaddresstorefertoawesomegods,e.g.“大帝”,“大圣”,“佛陀(Buddha)”.Anotherexampleisthat,tigerisregardedasthedivineanimalneartheChangbaiMountainsituatedintheNortheastofourcountry.Therefore,therewasthecustomof“tigeristhegod”inancienttimes.Peopleavoidedcallingthe“tiger”directlyandgavethetigeranothername,“山君”or“山佛爷”.

3.2.3Invulgarities

BothinEnglishandChinesethevulgarwordsareusuallyrudeandoffensiveandbringaboutunpleasantness,angerorconflicts.

SwearwordsinEnglishareoftencalledfour-letterwords,becausemostofthemareshort,andmanyaremadeupoffourletters,e.g.:piss,shit,crap,fuck.“Theseso-calledfourletterwordsareconsideredvulgar.”[11]

Swearwordsformedbyemployingsomeoftheanimals’namesarevulgaritiestoo.

Theyareveryimproperexpressionsinmostconversations,especiallywhentherearemaleandfemaleatthesametime,suchas“bitch”,“cow”,“swine”,“pig”etc.“TheBritishParliamenthasoncepublishedawordlist.Thewordsonthelistareabusiveandwereunparliamentaryexpressions,suchas‘cad’,‘cheeky’,‘liar’,‘prevaricating’,‘fascist’etc.”[12]Ingeneralsituation,evenindailycommunications,thesevulgarwordsareconsideredtaboowords.

InChinese,therearealsomanysimilarsayings,suchas“小兔崽子”,“羊巴羔子”,“狗娘养的”,“小王八”etc.Thesewordsareusedtoinsultothers.Peoplealwaystrytoavoidusingtheminanormalandpolitecommunication.

Theevolutionoflinguistictabooindicatesthattaboosinvolveinalmosteveryfieldoflife.Thereforetheabovethreetypesoftaboowordsdon’tpresentacompletelistoftabootermsandtheauthorhasfoundothertypesoftaboowordsinotherreferences.

3.2.4Intermsconcerningdisease,deathandphysicaldisability

EitherinEnglishorinChineseculture,disease,death,andphysicaldisabilitymayhorrifypeople.Sopeopledon’tliketomentionthesedirectlyinconversation.Therefore,theyareconsideredtaboos.

InbothEnglishandChinese,deathisviewedas“departing”.InEnglish,wecanfindmanyeuphemismsfordeath,suchas“go”,“depart”,“departfromthisworld”,“gotoabetterworld”,“gothewaysofallflesh”,“passaway”etc.InChinese,wealsocanfindsimilareuphemisms:“去了”,“离开了我们”,“辞世”,“去见马克思了”,“归西”,“升天”,“上路”etc.InbothEnglishandChinese,deathiscomparedto“sleeping”,“sleep”inEnglishcorrespondto“正寝”，“长眠”，or“永眠”inChinese.

Wordsdenotingterriblediseasearealsosourcesofhorror.InEnglish,peopledon’tliketotalkaboutterriblediseaseordiseaserelatedtosexualorgansdirectly.Forinstance,theyuse“V.D”insteadof“veneraldisease”;use“bigC”,“longdisease”,or”terminalillness”toreplace“cancer”.Abbreviationsareoftenusedtoalleviatetheshockingeffect.Forinstance,SARSisusedtosubstitutetheterriblename“SevereAcuteRespiratorySyndromes”.

InChinese,whenwetalktoapatient,wemaysay“你今天不舒服，别上班了”.Here,weuse“不舒服”insteadof“病”.Asasoldier,wemaysay“挂彩了”insteadof“伤”.

Mentalillnessesarethoughtnottobementioneddirectly.Forexample,whenreferringtoamentalillness,wejustsay“alittleeccentric”or“alittleconfused”.

EitherinChineseorWestern,peoplehavesympathyforone’sphysicaldisability.Ifsomeonelooksugly,wewillsayshe/helooksplain/ordinaryandwewon’tusetheword“fat”todescribeaman.Weonlyuse“heavilyset”or“ontheheavyside”.Ifagirlisthin,wewon’tuseskinny.Wejustsayslender,andwhenwerefertoacrippled,wewillsay,“physicallyhandicapped”.InChinese,ifoneisdeaf,wewillsay“耳朵背”,“耳朵有点不好”,“说话得近点”.InEnglish,itiscalled“hardofhearing”.

3.2.5Intermsconcerningpartsorexcretionofthebody

Inbothcultures,peoplethinkthatcertainpartsofthebodyandtheexcretionofbodycannotbementionedindailyconversations.Theyareoftenconsideredtaboos.

Forexample,inEnglish,therearesomanyeuphemismsforlavatory,suchas“washroom”,“restroom”,“bathroom”,“comfortstation”.Iftheywanttogotolavatory,theywillsay:“gotothebathroom”,“dotheirbusiness”,“answernature’scall”.InChinese,“厕所”isalwaysavoidedinpublicoccasion,onemaysay:“去一号”or“去方便一下”..

3.2.6Indiscrimination

“Inrecentyears,thereisagrowingtendencytoregardastaboolanguagethatreflectsademeaningattitudetowardscertainsocialorethnicgroups.Racistlanguageandsexistlanguage,forexample,areoffensivetothesocialorethnicgroupsdiscriminatedagainst.”[13]

Discriminationagainstwomanisauniversalandunreasonablephenomenoninthesociety.Anditsreflectiononlanguageissexistlanguage.BothinEnglishandChinese,therearetracesofsexistlanguage.Unlessoneiscarefulenoughwithhis/herspeech,onemayeasilyoffendothersunconsciously.

InChina,underthecontrolofstricthierarchyfeudalsociety,thefemaleswereregardedinferior.Theydependonmaleandweredominatedbymale.Sothediscriminationandprejudiceagainstwomenisthelong-termaccumulation,whichisinevitablyreflectedinChinese.Forexample,thesayings“妇人之见”,“头发长见识短”,“男子汉不和妇人一般见识”,“长舌妇”,etc,reflectthepejorativeattitudetowardwomen.Andtherearealsomanyderogatorytitlesforwomen,suchas“贱人”,“泼妇”,“母老虎”,“母夜叉”,“娘儿们”，“悍妇”etc.

SincetheChinesewomen’ssocialstatuseshaveincreased,thesesayingsareusedmuchlessfrequently.Theusingofthescornfulandpejorativewordsforwomeninpublicoftengetscriticismandresentment.

InEnglish,therearealsomanysexistexpressions.Forexample,apersonofunknownsexisreferredas“he”,or”him”ratherthan“she”or“her”.Apersonwhopresidesameetingisthe“chairman”,evenifsheisawoman.Therearemanyotherexamplesaboutit.“cow”means“(a)womanwhohasmanychildren”,“mutton”means“(a)dissolutewoman”,“hen”means“(a)womanwholikesgossip”,“cat”means“(a)maliciouswoman”,“crone”means“(an)uglywitheredoldwoman”etc.

“Nowadays,perhapsasaresultoftheWoman’sLiberationMovementinthe1960sand70sinwesterncountries,especiallytheU.S.Aandsocio-culturedevelopment,mostnativeEnglishspeakerstrytoavoidsoundinglikeasexist.”[14]Forexample,theychangetheword“chairman”into“chairperson”,“gentleman”into“gentleperson”.Whenreferringtohumanbeings,peoplebegintouse“humankind”or“thehumanrace”insteadof“man”or“mankind”.

“Racismisthebeliefthatcertainhumanracesareinherentlyinferiortoothersandracistlanguageisthatwhichshowsabiasedattitudetowardscertainracialorethicgroups.”[15]InEnglish,nomatterintentionallyornot,thefollowingwordsareagainstblackpeopleandannoyingthemunsatisfied.Forexample,“white”means“pure”,“clean”,“benevolent”,whichhavepositivemeaning.While“black”isrelatedto“evil”,“wrongdoing”,and“dirty”suchas“blackguard”,“blacklist”,“blackmark”etc.Besides,“nigger”and“boy”,forablackadultman,oftenhaveoffensivemeaning.

InChinese,thereisalsoracistlanguage.Forexample,“using“蒙古大夫”foranincompetentdoctors;using“小鬼子”forJapanese.“洋鬼子”,“大鼻子”forwesterners.”[16]Mostofthesewordsarederogatory.ItshowsoffthatChineseismoresuperiorthanotherracialorethicgroups.

4ThedifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboo

AlthoughtherearemanysimilaritiesinEnglishandChinese,differentviewsaboutwhatisorisn’ttaboocanbefoundintwocultures.DifferencesbetweenChineseandEnglishlinguistictabooembodythefollowingaspects:

4.1.Insubjects

Englishpeopleplaceahighvalueonprivacy.“TheEnglishhaveasaying‘Aman’shomeishiscastle,meaningaman’shomeissacredtohim;nooneshouldcomeinwithoutpermission.Soitisalsowithhislifeandpersonalaffairs’”.[17]Chinesepeopleoftenliketogreettootherslike“Haveyouhadameal?”Thiscommongreetingindicateswebeginourconversationwithouracquaintance,justasforeignersask“Hownicetheweather!”ButtheChinesegreetingwillmaketheforeignerssuspectthatyouwanttoinvitehimtojointhedinner.Sometimeswhenwegettogetherandtalknaturallyaboutthesequestions:“Howaboutyoursalary?”“Areyoumarried?”,“Whatdoyourwife/husbanddo?”,“Howmuchisyourskirt?”Inthisway,weexpressourcareforourfriends.Generallyspeaking,weneverfeelembarrassedabouttheseconversations,butwhenweaskthewesternersthesamequestions,theywillthinkwemayinvolveintheirprivacy.Annoyingly,inwesterncountries,itisalsoimpropertoaskaboutotherpeople’sreligiousbeliefs.“Areyoureligious?”“Whatisyourreligion?”“AreyouCatholic?”etcarequestionsthatmightbeoffensivetomostEnglishspeakers.Peopledon’tlike,especiallyfemale,otherstoaskthem“Howoldareyou?”,becausetheyareverysensitivetotheirage.“Evenonabirthdaycallonemayfindthefollowingcongratulation:Youmaynotliketoberemindedthatyouareayearoldertoday,butthatwouldnotkeepmefromsaying‘happybirthday!’.”[18]Butincontrast,therewasnosuchconceptofprivacyinChinesepeople’smind.

4.2Innumbers

InChina,thenumber“4”andtheword“死(death)”almostsoundthesame.Peopledonotlikethenumber“4”,becauseitremindsthemof“death”.Amongoldpeople,theythink“73”and“84”aretwokeyages.Ifyouare73or84yearsold,youwilldiebeforetheKingofhellinvitesyou.Somanyoldpeopleavoidtalkingtheirexactages.

Whileinwesterncountries,oneofthemostinfluentialtaboonumbersis13.Accordingtothestoryof“Thelastsupper”:Judas,thepersonwhobetrayedJesus,satintheNo.13chair,therefore,Numberthirteenisuniversallyconsideredtobeunlucky.Nodoor’snumberisthirteen;nohotelhastheNo.13Room;theydon’tallow13peoplehavedinnertogether.Allinaword,theyavoidnumberthirteenineveryaspect.Ordinarypeoplefeelupseton13thineverymonth.Therefore,thirteenbecameataboowordinwesterncountries.

AnothernumberconcerningtabooinwesternisFriday.Italsohaslongbeenconsideredasanunluckyday.“ThistabootermaffectspeopleprobablynotonlybecausetheybelievethatJesusChristwasputtodeathonthecrossonFriday,butalsobecauseFridayisformanyyearsthedayofexecutionofcriminals,commonlycalled“hangman’sday”.[19]

AnotherstrikingcontrastisthatChinesepeoplelikeevennumbers.Forexample,theysay“好事成双”，“成双成对”。Chinesepeopleespeciallyliketheevennumber“6”and“8”.Thesaying“六六大顺”canproveit.Butinwesterncountries,theylikeoddnumbers.“TheRomanpoetVirgilsays,‘Thegoddelightsinanoddnumber’.InShakespeare’splayMerrywivesofWindsor,Falstaffsays,‘Goodluckliesinoddnumbers—’Theysay,‘thereisdivinityinoddnumbers,eitherinnativity,chanceordeath.’”[20]

4.3Innames

Howtocallothersinverbalcommunicationisveryimportant.InChinese,theancestors’andtheoldergeneration’snamescannotbereferreddirectly.Forexample,becausethesecondnameofSimaQian’sfatherwas“谈”.WhenwritingtheHistoricalRecords，(SimaQianchanged“赵谈”into“赵同”and“李谈”into“李同”[21])Asaresult,wecannotfindsuchaChinesecharacter“谈”intheHistoricalRecords.[22]ButintheEnglishculture,therearenosuchnametaboos.Theyoungergenerationcanrefertheeldergeneration’snamedirectly.Itshowsthattheyareequal,friendlyandintimate.IntheUnitedStates,manyblackpeoplebearthename“Lincoln”,apparentlyafterAbrahamLincoln,the16thpresidentofthecountry.Englishbabiesmaybenamedaftertheirgrandparentsorotherrelativestoshowrespectortohonorthem.Forexample,“theBritishPrimeMinisterChurchill’sfatherwasnamedRandolph.Churchill,andoneofthePrimeMinister’ssonswasalsonamedRandolph.Churchill.Thegrandfatherandgrandsonhadthesamename.TheAmericanpresidentFranklinD.Roosevelt’ssonalsohadthesamenamewithhisfather.”[23]ThispracticewasquitedifferentfromChineseculturewhichwascharacterizedbyaclearlydelineatedstratifiedsocietyinwhichthenames,forexample,ofone’srelatives,oneortwogenerationsabove,orofficials,orotherinfluentialfiguresweretaboostotheordinaryChinese,noonedaredtonamehisbabiesafterthem.

5Waysofavoidinglinguistictaboo

5.1Usingeuphemism

Fromtheabovediscussion,weknowthatsomeharsh,blunt,unpleasantoffensiveandtaboothingsoractsshouldnotbeexpresseddirectlyinourdailylife.Soitisveryimportantforustoknowhowtoavoidtheselinguistictaboos.

Mostlinguistictabooscanbeavoidedbytheemploymentofeuphemisms.(Euphemismreferstotheuseofpleasant,vagueorindirectwordsorphrasestotaketheplaceofmoreaccuratedirectortabooones.)Inotherwords,euphemismisameansofexpressingthewordsorthingsthatareprohibited.

Euphemismsareusedalmostinallfieldsoflife.Forexample,whenajudgegivesthecriminalasentence,hewilldirectlysay:“Iherebysentenceyoutofiveyearsinprison.”Butthecriminalhimselforhisrelativeswilltellothers:“Somebodyissenttothebighouse.”forthepurposeofsavingface

Atthesametime,wemustrealizethatlanguageisaliveandchangingallthetime.Influencedbythesocialpsychologyanditsculture,euphemismschangeconstantly.Aeuphemismmayquicklyacquirethestigmaoftheworditreplacedandbecomesatabooafterpeopleuseitforatime.Forexample,thereisaseriesofexpressionsabouttheword“poor”.“AtfirstIwaspoor,then,Ibecameneedy,laterIwasunderprivileged.NowI’mdisadvantaged.Istilldon’thaveacenttomyname,butIsurehaveagreatvocabulary.”[24]

Anotherexampleisthat,inAmericanEnglish,euphemismsfortheword“buttocks”are“arse”,“ass”,“prat”,“can”,“tail”,“cheeks”,“caboose”,“fundament”andnowthenewestoneis“sitting-downplace”.

5.2Havingagoodknowledgeofthetabooculture

Languageandculturerelyoneachotherandinfluenceeachother.Languagesareformedanddevelopundercertainculturalbackground.Linguistictabooisakindofsocialphenomenon.Itsexistenceanddevelopmentarerestrictedandinfluencedbyspecificculturalbackground.SomewordsareprohibitedinEnglish;somewordsarebannedinChineseandsomewordsareprohibitedinbothlanguages.Asaresult,ifonewantstoavoidviolatingtaboos,heorsheshouldhaveagoodknowledgeofwhatisorisnotataboointhisculture.Forexample,inChina,theword“old”means“experience”and“wisdom”.Atthesametime,Chinesepeopleareinfluencedbythelong-termconceptofrespectingtheoldandtakingcareoftheyoung.Chinesepeopleseemtoliketoaddresseachotheras“老（old）”,forexample,“老爷爷”,“老奶奶”,“老林”,“老吴”,“老教授”.ButEnglishpeoplealwaysconnectthe"old"with"uselessness"and"death".Therefore,whencontactingwithEnglishpeople,thesayingof“somebodyisold”shouldbeavoidedinordernottoarouseunpleasantness.ForExample,wecannotcallsomebody“oldSmith”or“oldBrown”.Especiallyforwomenwhoaresensitivetoage,nomatterhowoldtheyare,weshouldnotcallthem“奶奶”or“大娘”,thoughtheyarepleasantgreetingsinChina.InEnglish,expressionssuchas“seniorcitizens”,“advancedinage”,“goldenyears”etc.areproducedinordertoavoid“old”.

Asmoothcross-culturalcommunicationgreatlybenefitsfromthegoodcommandofaforeignlanguage’sculturalbackgroundknowledge.ItishardtoimagineaChinesewhohasapoorknowledgeofEnglishtabooculturecanintercommunicatewiththeEnglishpeoplesmoothlyandwithoutoffendingthem,andviceversa.

6.Conclusion

.Inshort,bycomparison,wecanfindthatbothChineseandEnglishlinguistictaboosreflectpeople’spsychologyforgoodwill,forsafetyandfortuneandpleasantness.TheChineseandEnglishpeoplerestricttheirwordsanddeedsthroughtaboos,tryingtokeepaharmoniousrelationshipbetweenhumanandnature,orbetweenpeopleandsociety.Althoughthetraditionallinguistictabooscontainsuperstitions,ignoranceandnegativeelements,thenewtaboosonracismbearpositivefeatures.Theyareareflectionofpeople’spursuitoffreedomandequality.TheauthorhopesthatthediscussionaboutlinguistictabooshelpsEnglishlearnersimprovetheircommunicativecompetenceandreducemiscommunicationsandconflictsincross-culturecommunications.

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