On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of <i>The Story of the Stone</i> and Its Translation by Hawkes

Jialin Xu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes

Jialin Xu

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 1)

Received: 2 February 2021 Accepted: 9 February 2021 Published: 4 March 2021

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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.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 9, Issue 1)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
Page(s)	17-23
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

The Story of the Stone, Death Euphemisms, Contrastive Analysis of Culture, Chinese and English

References

[1]	Allan, K. and Burridge, K. (1991), Euphemism and Dysphemism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[2]	Hawkes, D. and Minford, J. (1986), The Story of the Stone, London: Penguin Classics.
[3]	He Peiyi, Long Lu (2020), An Analysis of the Linguistic Features and Cultural Connotations of English Euphemisms (in Chinese), Overseas English (24): 119-121.
[4]	Judith, S. and Carole, G. (1983), Kind Words: A Thesaurus of Euphemism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
[5]	Cao Xueqin, Gao E (2001), The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Changsha: Yuelu Press.
[6]	Chen Wangdao (1932), An Introduction to Rhetoric (in Chinese), Shanghai: Dajiang Book Shop.
[7]	Chen Tian, Sun Guiping (2005), The Euphemism of “Death” in the Chinese and English Versions of The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Journal of Jiangsu Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) (4): 69-72.
[8]	Li Kun (2010), Death Euphemism and its English Translation in The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Journal of Hebei Polytechnic University (Social Science Edition) (4): 135-137.
[9]	Liu Ren (2015), Cognitive Study of Death Euphemism in The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Master’s thesis, Changsha: Hunan Normal University.
[10]	Li Xiao (2019), A Contrastive Study on the Catalogue Translation of Two English Versions of The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Overseas English (6): 37-38, 58.
[11]	Ren Xiankai, Ke Xinli (2011), On the Translation Strategies of Euphemism in four English versions of The Story of the Stone: A Case Study of Death Euphemism (in Chinese), A Dream of Red Mansions (6): 73-85.
[12]	Wang Baoying (2019), A Contrastive Study of English and Chinese Euphemism: A Case Study of euphemisms of the translation of The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), English On Campus (45): 216-217.
[13]	Wang Yunxia (2020), A Contrastive Study on Non-literal Expressions in English Versions of Hong Lou Meng (in Chinese), Master’s thesis, Xian Yang: Northwest A & F University.
[14]	Zhuang Guowei (2008), Cultural Comparison of Death Euphemism Translation in Two English Versions of The Story of the Stone (in Chinese), Journal of Yancheng Normal University (Humanities and Social Sciences Edition) (2): 87-90.
[15]	Zeng Lijie (2019), A Study on the English Translation of Death Euphemism in The Story of the Stone from the Perspective of Translation Aesthetics (in Chinese), Master’s thesis, Quanzhou: Huaqiao University.

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Jialin Xu. (2021). On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 17-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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ACS Style

Jialin Xu. On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(1), 17-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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AMA Style

Jialin Xu. On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(1):17-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13,
  author = {Jialin Xu},
  title = {On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {17-23},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210901.13},
  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.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes
AU  - Jialin Xu
Y1  - 2021/03/04
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 17
EP  - 23
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
AB  - 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.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

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Author Information

Jialin Xu

Department of Liberal Arts and Law, Guangling College, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Jialin Xu. (2021). On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 9(1), 17-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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ACS Style

Jialin Xu. On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2021, 9(1), 17-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

Copy | Download

AMA Style

Jialin Xu. On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes. Int J Lang Linguist. 2021;9(1):17-23. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13,
  author = {Jialin Xu},
  title = {On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {9},
  number = {1},
  pages = {17-23},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20210901.13},
  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.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - On Cultural Connotations of Death Euphemisms in English and Chinese: A Case Study of The Story of the Stone and Its Translation by Hawkes
AU  - Jialin Xu
Y1  - 2021/03/04
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 17
EP  - 23
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20210901.13
AB  - 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.
VL  - 9
IS  - 1
ER  -

Copy | Download