Literature Review This chapter consists of two sections. Section 1.1 briefly explains basic definitions of euphemism and the cooperative principle. Section 1.2 mainly reviews some valuable and related studies. 2.1 Basic definitions 2.1.1 Definitions of euphemism According to the Webster#8217;s Dictionary, euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant; also: the expression so substituted. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, euphemism is a kind of rhetoric. That figure of speech which consists in the substitution of a word or expression of comparatively favourable implication or less unpleasant associations, instead of the harsher or more offensive one that would more precisely designate what is intended. According to the Longman Dictionary of the Contemporary English, a euphemism is a polite word or expression that you use instead of a more direct one to avoid shocking or upsetting someone. According to the Wikipedia, a euphemism is a generally innocuous word or expression used in place of one that may be found offensive or suggest something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse; while others use bland, inoffensive terms for things the user wishes to downplay. In this study, a euphemism is a word or phrase of comparatively agreeable or favourable implication that substitutes for one that may be offensive or suggest something unpleasant. 2.1.2 Definition of the cooperative principle The Cooperative Principle was raised by American linguist H.P.Grice in Logic and Conversation in 1975, which includes four maxims, the maxim of quantity, quality, relation and manner. The maxim of the quantity includes two sub-maxims: make your contribution as informative as is required for the current purpose of the exchange; do not make your contribution more informative than is required. The maxim of the quality includes two sub-maxims: do not say what you believe to be false; do not say that for which you lack adequate evidence. The maxim of relation asks the conversation to be relevant. With respect to this maxim, Grice writes,”Though the maxim itself is terse, its formulation conceals a number of problems that exercise me a good deal; questions about what different kinds and focuses of relevance there may be, how these shift in the course of a talk exchange, how to allow for the fact that subjects of conversations are legitimately changed, and so on. I find the treatment of such questions exceedingly difficult, and I hope to revert to them in later work.” The maxim of manner has four sub-maxims: avoid obscurity; avoid ambiguity; be brief and be orderly. 2.2 Related studies 2.2.1 Studies of euphemism According to Pedro J#8217;s theses on euphemisms, we know that a euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face either one#8217;s own face or, through giving offense, that of the audience, or of some third party. If we assume that metaphor consists in giving the thing a name that belongs to something else (Aristotle Poetics 1457b), characteristically involves categorial falsity (Grice 1989:34), is defined as carrying a structure from one conceptual domain (a ”source”) to another (a ”target”) (Lakoff and Johnson 1980), and if we discover that all these characteristics also apply to euphemisms , then euphemisms should be regarded as metaphors or at least as a special case of metaphor (Bolinger 1982:149). One should then be able to say about euphemisms what is usually said about metaphors. But, in spite of the recent boom in the study of metaphor (and other figures of speech) from a linguistic, philosophical, psychological, sociological, etc. point of view, euphemisms have been studied much less in this way, and only very rarely have Lakoff and Johnson#8217;s theories of metaphor been applied to euphemisms (Pfaff, Gibbs and Johnson 1997; and Chamizo Dom#237;nguez and S#225;nchez Benedito 2000). And from the diachronic point of view, we can distinguish between three different stages in the ”life” of euphemisms. There are novel euphemisms (discussing Uganda for ”fuck”) and semi-lexicalized euphemisms(make love for ”fuck”). Also, when a euphemism is lexicalized it usually becomes a taboo term. As is concluded that euphemism fulfills several, relevant social functions, which differ from the functions of metaphors. Their main function consists in concealing or disguising an unpleasant object or the unpleasant effects of that object. This general function covers a host of minor functions. Euphemisms are often used in daily conversations and literary works, to refer to taboo topics, such as disability, sex, excretion, and death in a polite way, or to mask profanity. Actually, all personal linguistic choices are products of societal mores and pressures and the way people use euphemism to talk about sex is a direct reflection of these social concerns(Kerry, 2005). At the same time, due to the nature of both pragmatics and euphemism, it is first necessary to put these euphemisms into their historical contexts before any real conclusions may be drawn. This requires consideration of the culture and expectations surrounding each novel and encompasses research from the fields of sociology, history and philosophy. According to A Comparative Analysis of the Euphemism between the English and Chinese Versions of A Dream of Red Mansions(Qu Gongri,2006), the writer points out that no matter what kind of language is, the euphemism is a carrier of its culture and history, and reflects the social background. The translation of Chinese into English gives us a view of cultural conflicts intuitively. Although the euphemism may have same purposes or meanings, they appear differently in different languages due to some reasons, for example, the religion, the cultural background and the time. Also, in A Study of the Euphemisms in Hong Lou Meng Based on Yang Hsien-yi#8217;s Version(Deng Hongchun, 2007), the writer makes a conclusion of the pragmatic functions of the euphemism, including to avoid taboos, to avoid vulgarity, to soften tone. He gives us a very clear classification of the euphemism in the novel, which includes death, disease, fire accident, wound, sex, pregnancy and secretion euphemisms. In this paper, he concludes that euphemism, the use of words or phrases less blunt of indirect in place of coarse and direct ones in the social intercourse, as a special language phenomenon, exist both in Chinese and English. On one hand, there are some similarities between Chinese and English euphemisms. They have the same pragmatic functions and both adhere to the principle in making euphemisms. On the other hand, due to the vast differences between Chinese and Western cultures, there exist great differences between English and Chinese euphemisms. As a carrier of culture, English and Chinese euphemisms reflect their culture respectively, which causes a great challenge in translating euphemisms. In a word, euphemism is important not only in our conversations but also in the literature. It helps a lot to make conversations continue in a comparatively relaxed atmosphere. However, some people believe that euphemism is a large obstacle to communicating with others, especially from the perspective of the cooperative principle. 2.2.2 Studies of euphemism from the perspective of the cooperative principle In the past years, many studies have been carried out to research euphemism from the perspective of the cooperative principle. When we look back on all these previous studies, we will find that some of them believe that in order to achieve the functions of euphemism, people will violate the cooperative principle subconsciously or deliberately. In the paper A Study of English Euphemisms from the Perspective of the Cooperative and Politeness Principles(Tan Wen, 2011), the author shares her opinion that in order to achieve the effects of the euphemism in our daily conversations, we cannot avoid violating the Cooperative and Politeness Principle and in many situations, and sometimes we usually violate more than one maxim. Many reasons can account for this. First is the social background. What people say consists with what exists in that era. Second is culture. Culture is such a large section that it includes almost everything in our life, for example, the religion, the tradition, even the lifestyle. Third is the psychology that all human beings share, especially the feeling of shame. In our daily lives, sometimes we have to violate the cooperative principle so that we could make the conversation continue without offending someone else. In other words, in order to stick to the politeness principle, we have no choice but to go contrary to the cooperative principle. From the article A Study of Violation and salvation of the Politeness Principle to the Cooperative Principle Based on the Conversation in A Dream of Red Mansions(Wong Yunhua, 2009), we can see that when people start a conversation with others, they would take politeness into their consideration first, and then the cooperative principle. In conclusion, the euphemism is not just contrary to the cooperative principle, but has the same purpose. Both of them are beneficial to our conversation and help us to make it continue in a more friendly and relaxed atmosphere. Many studies have stressed the importance of using the euphemism properly in both our daily conversations and works of literature, and some of them have indicated that the use of the euphemism may be a violation to the cooperative principle. While others think that both of them share the same purpose that they make the conversation continue. From that point of view, the euphemism may be a kind of salvation to the conversation. However, there has never been a clear conclusion about this question. Contents Abstract Introduction 1.1 Research background 1.2 The research purpose and structure of the thesis Literature review 2.1 Basic definitions 2.1.1 Definitions of euphemism 2.1.2 Definition of the cooperative principle 2.2 Related studies 2.2.1 Studies of euphemism 2.2.2 Studies of euphemism from the perspective of the cooperative principle Methodology 3.1 Research subject and material 3.2 Collection and analysis of research material Results Discussion of results Conclusion Reference Reference [1]. Linfoot-Ham, Kerry. The Linguistic of Euphemism: A Diachronic of Euphemism Formation[J]. Journal of Language and Linguistics, 2005, 4. [2]. Pedro,J. Some Theses on Euphemisms and Dysphemisms. 2005. [3]. Kerry, L. Raymond, W, Gibbs,JR Michael, D, Johnson. Metaphor in Using and Understanding Euphemism and Dysphemism(18),1997,59-83 [4]. 李茂莉. 从《红楼梦》英译本看委婉语翻译[J]. 吉首大学学报社会科学版,2007,28(5). [5]. 谈文. 从合作原则和礼貌原则看英语委婉语[J]. 湖北广播电视大学学报, 2011,31(12). [6]. 王运华. 从《红楼梦》人物对话谈礼貌原则对合作原则的违反及拯救[J]. 福建广播电视大学学报, 2009. [7]. 邓宏春. 《红楼梦》杨译本委婉语研究[D]. 湖北. 2007 [8]. 曲公日.《红楼梦》汉英版本中”死亡”委婉语额对比分析[J].湖北.2006. [9].曹雪芹高鹗.《红楼梦》.人民文学出版社.2005. [10]. Ynag Hsien-yi Gladys Yang. A Dream of Red Mansions. Foreign Languages Press. 1978 [11]. 蔡葵.英汉委婉语的额对比研究[D].湖南师范大学.2013(10). [12]. 戴聪腾.英汉委婉语的对比研究[J].福建师范大学学报.2012(2). [13]. 黄玉兰.英汉委婉语语用对比研究[D].华中师范大学.2004(12). [14]. 洪涛.《红楼梦》中的语言禁忌及其英译问题#8212;#8212;《红楼梦英译评议》系列论文之一[A].刘士聪.《红楼评议》#8212;#8212;《红楼梦》翻译研究论文集[C].南开大学出版社.2004. [15]. 刘纯豹.英语委婉语词典[Z].北京.商务印书馆.1993.