Abstract

With the deepening of economic and political reform, China is playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. Also, economic, political and cultural exchanges between China and the rest of the world have been dramatically increased. Against the background of globalization, English has become an indispensable language tool in international business activities. As one of the rhetorical devices of English, euphemism is extremely useful and important in communication. Thus, it has been widely used by the majority of business workers in order to achieve the success in business negotiation through understanding the opponents better, which has become a common social phenomenon. 

The main part of the thesis is the analysis of the characteristics and pragmatic functions of euphemism in business negotiation. Then the translation skills of euphemism are also very important. You can clearly see the strategies by illustrating many examples, which aimed at guiding business workers to apply English euphemism wisely to create a good environment for business negotiation and reach a win-win result.

Key words: pragmatic functions; euphemism; business negotiations

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1 Introduction.. ..1

  1.1 Background of the study..1

  1.2 Purposes of the study1

  1.3 Organization of the study..2

2 An Introduction to euphemism..2

  2.1 Some pragmatic theories related to euphemism.3  

  2.1.1 Cooperative and politeness principle 4  

  2.1.2 Face-saving theory..4

  2.2 Classification of euphemism .4

  2.2.1 Positive euphemism.5

  2.2.2 Negative euphemism5

  2.3 The features of euphemism5

  2.3.1 Politeness and etiquette. ..6

  2.3.2 Universality and wide coverage..7

  2.3.3 Truth embellishment.7

  2.3.4 Constant changes7

  2.3.5 Elegance..8

  2.4 The application and significance of the study of euphemism8

3 The pragmatic functions of euphemism in businessnegotiations.8 

  3.1 The function of avoiding taboos and customs9

  3.2 The function of being polite9 

  3.3 The function of disguising and beautifying truth.……10

  3.4 The function of being humorous and ironic.11

  3.5 The function of being modest and cautious..11

4 Strategies for the translation of euphemism under the guidance of pragmatic functions 11

  4.1 Frequent use of passive voice..12

  4.2 Frequent use of subjunctive mood..12

  4.3 Frequent use of negation13

5 Conclusion .14

References.15