What is the difference between the taboo language of English-speaking countries and China?

I. The Application and Comparison of Euphemisms and Taboos between the East and the West

China, as a representative of oriental language and culture, has been known as a state of civilization and etiquette since ancient times, and under the infiltration of thousands of years of Confucianism, it has formed a society and group-centered nation, where people care about each other, love each other and help each other, while other Western nations, such as Britain and the United States, are human-centered, and are gradually forming a self-centered society. In China, many people have noticed that in their daily lives, people greet each other by asking: 'Have you eaten yet? ' Where are you going?" In contemporary society, people are eager to know everything about the other side of the conversation, including the other side of the age, marital status, salary income and so on thus to show concern for the person; and in the United Kingdom and the United States and other Western countries, these questions are precisely taboo issues, they believe that this is their own private affairs, and has nothing to do with the person who is talking to them, but also think that you have violated their right to privacy.

For example, birth, old age, sickness, and death are inevitable stages in the development of a person's life, and are in line with the laws of natural development. However, due to people's fear of disease and death, disease and death have become occasions for the use of euphemisms and taboos. Fertility, due to the fact that in different cultural traditions, the topic of sexuality is involved, pregnancy has also become a taboo topic, and there are different ways of looking at it and expressing it. In the traditional cultures of western countries such as Britain and America, people are also accustomed to using euphemisms instead of words like pregnancy. For example, in literature and life, people seldom use such words as "pregnancy", but use words such as: awkward (inconvenient), eating for two (eating two people's meals), have one on the way (~ people want to come) and other words to express. In China, due to the influence of Confucianism, it is believed that there are several joyful events in a person's life: the night of the wedding, the joyful birth of a son, and the time when he or she is crowned with the title of gold. Therefore, childbirth is regarded as a happy event. As a result, there are euphemisms for childbirth, such as "having joy, having a baby" and so on. So much so that some people call those who don't have children "unfilial" and "having no offspring" as a euphemism for not being able to have children.

The issue of ageing is also viewed differently in China and the West. In the West, people don't want to be called old, because in the West, "old" means "useless" or "dead" and not respected by others. Therefore, no one wants to say they are old or talk about old age. Therefore, it is impolite to ask someone's age in western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, and people will tell you "It is a secret". There are many euphemisms for the elderly. For example: senior people, third age, seasoned man, adult and so on. In China, however, the situation is just the opposite. Due to thousands of years of fine tradition, most Chinese people can respect the elderly, and the elderly also enjoy the privilege of not being afraid of the old. Moreover, Chinese old people can help young people with their rich experience, so "old" has become a synonym for wisdom in China. For example: teacher, boss, master, old Zhang, old boss and so on. These words do not have any specific age connotations for old, but only borrow "old" to show the speaker's respect.

About death. China also has a lot to say, but in general can be divided into two kinds: one thinks that death is a "happy event", in China, people believe that the death of older people is "end of life", is a happy event, so the West how to make no sense of it! Therefore, there is a basis for the term "red wedding", which is not understood by Westerners. Instead of the sad event of death, there are words related to immortality, such as "to travel to the west, to go to immortality, to ascend to immortality, to become immortal, to return to the west with a crane, to ride the crane to the west, and to pass away". There is also a category of death as a "sad event", which is often used for the death of a young person or a youth. Such deaths are often referred to as "premature deaths" or "short lives". In the West, euphemisms for death come from religion, navigation, theater, gambling, etc., such as: pass away, to cross over, to go to one's longhome, last round up, and so on.

Words about sex are taboo in both the East and the West, and in Western countries such as Britain and the United States, a significant portion of the population believes that sex is sinful, and that it was Adam and Eve who stole the forbidden fruit that gave rise to mankind, so people don't speak lightly of sex in public. Sex-related language has also become taboo, thus giving rise to many euphemisms for sex. Such as: make love, art of pleasure, to approach, do it, act of love and so on. Compared with the West, the Chinese are much more subtle. Sex in traditional Chinese culture is considered to be something that corrupts people, both physically and mentally, and sex has been shrouded in mystery. Coupled with thousands of years of traditional feudal culture and rituals, people are more "talk about sex", there are some euphemisms for sex: things in the bedroom, things in the room, things of men and women, things in the clouds and rain, that kind of thing to replace. Even if it is only sex-related things, people still use euphemisms to express, such as women's secondary sexual characteristics has also become a taboo subject. When people talk about breasts and bras, some people use "bra, glasses, corset, underwear" to replace them; when it comes to menstruation, people will use "vacation, menstruation, come to things, uncomfortable, unlucky, auntie came" to replace them.

Two, euphemisms and taboo language of the East and West cultural differences

Euphemisms and taboo language is the East and West culture **** the same phenomenon, but their use of some of the differences, through the above discussion, we can see that these differences are mainly reflected in the following aspects.

(I) Religious Differences

From the differences in the usage of euphemisms and taboos, it is easy to see that western countries, such as Britain and the United States, mainly believe in Christianity, and there are a lot of euphemisms and taboos originated from the Christianity's "Bible" to take sex and death as an example. Since Christianity believes that human beings are the offspring of Adam and Eve, the "sinners" who ate the forbidden fruit, some Christians, especially the Puritans, are not allowed to talk about sex. As a result, words about sex have become taboo, and many euphemisms for sex have emerged, such as make love and so on. For words about death, because Christianity believes that man is born sinful, human life is given by God, so only after death, the soul can be saved, so there are "go to meet one's maker, be with the god" and so on. and so on. In China, there are many sects, such as Buddhism and Taoism. Buddhism was introduced to China during the Tang Dynasty, and it preaches that "all actions are impermanent, all dharmas have no self, and all things are suffering," so the Chinese euphemisms for death are "becoming a Buddha, passing away, sitting down," etc. Taoism is a native Chinese religion, and it is only through this that one can be saved. Taoism is a native Chinese religion that originated mainly from the Taoist thinking of Laozi and Zhuangzi. Most religions believe that life is full of misfortunes or sins, and that the soul can only be saved after death. Taoism, however, believes that living in the world is a beautiful thing, and seeks to attain immortality so that one can transcend life and death and live the life of an immortal in the realm of the immortals. Therefore, the euphemisms for death in Chinese include: "to pass away, to attain the Way, to become immortal, to be immortalized, to return to the Taoist mountain," and so on.

(2) Differences in hierarchical concepts

The Chinese nation is a state of etiquette with thousands of years of traditional culture, y influenced by Confucianism and the feudal patriarchal system, so the Chinese people attach great importance to the dignity of the young and the old and attach great importance to the etiquette; and the language as a carrier of the culture, which is also y reflected in the hierarchical concepts. Take the name of the name, for example, in the Han culture, the monarch, the elders of the name is a taboo, as a courtier or the younger generation can not be called by name, must be replaced by kinship or such as His Majesty, long live the title. In the naming of the newborn, it is necessary to avoid the elders or the monarch's name, even see the elders or the monarch's name, can only be pronounced as other words, such as: in the "Dream of Red Mansions", Lin Daiyu's mother's name is Jia Min, whenever Lin Daiyu reads the word "Min", pronounced as "secret", or written to "secret", or written to "secret", or written to "secret", or written to "secret". Whenever Lin Daiyu reads the word "Min", she reads it as "Secret", or when she writes the word "Min", she adds or subtracts two strokes, which is because her parents' names are taboo in China. Another thing is about death. The death of a monarch is called "驾崩", and the term "驾崩" can never be used for other members of the family, but only for the death of the monarch. In western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, freedom and equality are prized. The taboo language euphemisms for names are not as strict. Taking the naming of a family as an example, in English, a newborn's name may contain the names of several generations.

The Chinese nation is y rooted in the idea that men are superior to women due to thousands of years of feudalism. People were y influenced by traditional Chinese culture, especially during the feudal period, when women's status was low. Take the monarch's name as an example, in ancient China, since the monarch's name was taboo, the monarch or emperor was called "long live, long live the emperor", while the empress or consort and all the princesses, even the mother of the monarch, could only be referred to as "thousand years old". In the West, the differences are probably smaller.

(C) for the different embodiment of etiquette

The Chinese people since ancient times have respected etiquette, in interpersonal communication, but also pay attention to humility, that humility is the respect for others, such as: the ancients usually call themselves "my humble", and respect for other people as " Your Excellency, Master" and so on. Your Excellency, Master" and so on. Usually when asking someone's name, they would say, "What is your name?" They also call their wives "my wife, my wife" and so on, and when talking about their own sons, they say "my son", while other people's sons are "your son" and so on. When addressing other people's wives, they would say "Your Honorable Lady" and so on. In the United Kingdom and the United States and other Western countries, everyone advocates truthfulness, generosity and confidence. Usually do not deliberately degrade themselves, elevate others. There is a joke that reflects the different understanding of modesty in China and the West. A foreigner who knows Chinese: Your daughter is really beautiful. The Chinese replied: Where, where. The foreigner replies: Nose, eyes and mouth. This joke actually reflects that in cross-cultural communication, due to the differences in national concepts and social customs, the use of modesty and politeness is not the same.

Third, Conclusion

The contrast between different cultural backgrounds, cultural traditions, different religious beliefs and different hierarchical concepts between China and the West has resulted in the difference in the use of euphemisms and taboos. Therefore, in cross-cultural communication, it is necessary to comply with the language habits of different nationalities as well as social customs in order to make cross-cultural communication go smoothly, so as not to cause communication errors.