Abstract: In this paper, a number of euphemisms in Obama’s political speeches will be studied under Politeness Principle. As a linguistic phenomenon, euphemism appears in every field of people’s life. It is widely used in language communication. As an important method for presidential elections and promoting government policies, political speeches play a vital role in American political life. Euphemism is also widely used in political speeches. There are many studies of euphemism from different perspectives, but it has not been analyzed in a celebrity’s speeches under Politeness Principles in detailed. Euphemisms are indirect and tactful. They are consistent with the Politeness Principle, consisted of six maxims: Tact Maxim, Generosity Maxim, Approbation Maxim, Modest Maxim, Agreement Maxim and Sympathy Maxim. This paper attempts to analyze how President Obama adopts euphemisms in his political speeches by adhering to six maxims of the Politeness Principle and how some expected pragmatic functions are achieved by euphemisms. As to research method, firstly, materials chosen for the analysis are collected from the official website of Obama’s speeches. And then, all types of euphemism are picked out in accordance with the definition of euphemism and the six maxims of Politeness Principle. Our finding indicates the usage of euphemism conforms to those six maxims and different euphemisms have different pragmatic functions and attain specific political purposes. 

Key words: euphemisms; political speeches; Politeness Principle; maxim; pragmatic functions

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

1. Introduction-1

2. Maxims of Euphemisms under the Politeness Principle in Obama’s Political Speeches-2

2.1 Adherence to Tact Maxim-3

2.1.1 Euphemisms about Occupation in Obama’s Political Speeches-3

2.1.2 Euphemisms about Age in Obama’s Political Speeches-4

2.1.3 Euphemisms about War in Obama’s Political Speeches-5

2.1.4 Euphemisms about Economy in Obama’s Political Speeches-6

2.2 Adherence to Generosity Maxim-7

2.3 Adherence to Approbation Maxim-8

2.4 Adherence to Modest Maxim-9

2.5 Adherence to Agreement Maxim-10

2.6 Adherence to Sympathy Maxim-11

3. Pragmatic Functions of Euphemisms in Obama’s Political Speeches under the Politeness Principle-12

3.1 Pragmatic Function of Euphemisms to Beautify-13

3.1.1 Euphemisms to Dignify-13

3.1.2 Euphemism to Show Politeness-14

3.2 Pragmatic Function of Euphemisms to Conceal-16

4.Conclusion-17

Reference-19