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【Abstract】： In people’s daily communication， speakers are inclined to resort to euphemism so that they can make the utterance sound less embarrassing or offensive to the listeners. As for death， one of the most negative topic which may make people feel extremely uncomfortable. Hence， the euphemism of death is widely used and has already formed its own pattern of system both in western and oriental society. This study aims to clarify the affection that Nida’s theory puts on the translators， besides， whether there are other elements that need to be considered when translating memorial speech.
【Key words】： Euphemism ； Death； translate； Memorial Speech
1. Introduction
No matter in Chinese or in English， euphemism is an indirect word which is used to beautify our daily communication. As people may understand， there are always some items people don not want to talk directly such as： sex， war， job or aging and death. That is why people use euphemism， at least it can make conversation involving this become less embarrassing. Besides this， euphemism is far more than a language phenomenon. To speak in a higher level， it is a cultural phenomenon， which demonstrates the specific attitude towards something of some certain group of people. Since two different cultures are quite hard for people to get all the meanings it shows as a translator； however， based on the misunderstanding， it is impossible to convey the message in another language. That is why it is significant for us to study the translation of euphemism.
Death seems to be a taboo topic in almost every culture， thus people are used to resort to euphemism when death appears in the conversation， for not only to show the respect to the dead people but also to comfort the ones who they love. Different culture usually has different euphemisms of death， which represents the special views when it comes to be discussed. Knowing all kinds of reference of death in different culture is necessary for us since only if we understand this clearly can we convey the meaning accordingly and respectfully as a translator or a interpreter.
2. Literature review
Euphemism comes from Greek word “euphemo”， its prefix “eu” means good， while the stem “phemism” means “speech”， so the meaning is “good speech”. The definition of euphemism in dictionary is a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive （Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary）. In a word， it just means when people come into some embarrassing topics， they prefer to use some words in a more obscure way to make it easier to accept. Take “death ” as an example， people are generally afraid of it and do not want to talk about it directly. So people would rather use expressions like “be gone”， “pay one’s debt to nature” or “kiss the earth” to make it sounds more obscure and acceptable.
【Key words】： Euphemism ； Death； translate； Memorial Speech
1. Introduction
No matter in Chinese or in English， euphemism is an indirect word which is used to beautify our daily communication. As people may understand， there are always some items people don not want to talk directly such as： sex， war， job or aging and death. That is why people use euphemism， at least it can make conversation involving this become less embarrassing. Besides this， euphemism is far more than a language phenomenon. To speak in a higher level， it is a cultural phenomenon， which demonstrates the specific attitude towards something of some certain group of people. Since two different cultures are quite hard for people to get all the meanings it shows as a translator； however， based on the misunderstanding， it is impossible to convey the message in another language. That is why it is significant for us to study the translation of euphemism.
Death seems to be a taboo topic in almost every culture， thus people are used to resort to euphemism when death appears in the conversation， for not only to show the respect to the dead people but also to comfort the ones who they love. Different culture usually has different euphemisms of death， which represents the special views when it comes to be discussed. Knowing all kinds of reference of death in different culture is necessary for us since only if we understand this clearly can we convey the meaning accordingly and respectfully as a translator or a interpreter.
2. Literature review
Euphemism comes from Greek word “euphemo”， its prefix “eu” means good， while the stem “phemism” means “speech”， so the meaning is “good speech”. The definition of euphemism in dictionary is a mild or pleasant word or phrase that is used instead of one that is unpleasant or offensive （Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary）. In a word， it just means when people come into some embarrassing topics， they prefer to use some words in a more obscure way to make it easier to accept. Take “death ” as an example， people are generally afraid of it and do not want to talk about it directly. So people would rather use expressions like “be gone”， “pay one’s debt to nature” or “kiss the earth” to make it sounds more obscure and acceptable.