论文总字数：33463字

摘 要

作为全球化中最为显要的一部分，文化全球化正在不断扩张，各个国家用他们各自的语言更加频繁地相互交流。因此，语言中的禁忌，或者说语言禁忌吸引了人们许多的关注，并且这些禁忌的趋势也愈加得重要。这篇论文旨在从两个主要角度比较中英语言中的禁忌，以此来分析语言禁忌的趋势。这两个主要方面为话题禁忌和咒骂语禁忌。在比较的基础之上，得出语言禁忌的趋势，呈现为融合和贬义脱落。总之，语言禁忌的趋势从相当程度上说，代表了文化发展的大致过程。

关键词: 文化全球化；语言禁忌；语言禁忌发展趋势

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 2

3. Linguistic Taboos 4

4. Comparison of Chinese and English Taboos 5

4.1 Taboos on topics 6

4.2 Taboos on expletives 7

5. The Trend of Linguistic Taboos 9

5.1 The convergence of linguistic taboos 10

5.2 The loss of derogatory sense 11

6. The Englightment of the Study on the Trend of Linguistic Taboos 12

7. Conclusion 13

Works Cited 15

1. Introduction

On social contact, especially in the cross-cultural communications, people often meet sensitive issues which are taboos. Taboos restraint human beings’ languages and behaviors as an invisible discipline, and make persons dare not to transgress the bounds in the forbidden ground. Taboo is almost everywhere, and linguistic taboo is an important part of the social taboos. In any kind of culture and any society, there are linguistic taboos, and in English and Chinese society there is naturally no exception because of the difference of culture. At present, intercultural communication becomes more and more universal. If people lack the knowledge of taboos, cultural conflicts will be caused. In order to avoid this unpleasant result, people have to know more about foreign culture and taboos, and when talking to a person with another culture, people should take more notice of the usage of taboos so as to make the communication successful. Taboo sets a barrier in communication, especially in the cross-cultural communication, which makes people pay great attention to it. Actually, Chinese people, since the ancient times, have kept a watchful eye on this problem. The Book of Rites is a collection of texts describing the social forms. English people also focus on linguistic taboos very much. In cross-cultural communication, if one violates the taboos, others may express unhappiness, even turn to be hostile. In this perspective, it is of great necessity for people to be clear of the difference of linguistic taboos between Chinese and English.

However, with the expansion of cultural globalization, countries have more communications with each other, which makes the relationships between countries more closer. As a result, linguistic taboos from each country are changing. In this thesis, the author aims to summarize the main trend of linguistic taboos between Chinese and English on the basis of cultural globalization for the purpose of making it clear of the alteration of linguistic taboos in this two countries and improving the contact of the two countries.

In this paper, author first shows the definition of linguistic taboos and the studies at home and abroad on linguistic taboos. Then a general introduction of linguistic taboos, including the definition, origin and evolution, will be stated. Next, by comparing Chinese and English linguistic taboos concerning topics and expletives, the writer arrives at a conclusion, which is the trend of linguistic taboos between Chinese and English. The trend turns out to be the convergence, the loss of derogatory sense, and the obviousness of national traits. Lastly, the writer will elaborate the enlightment of the study of the trend of linguistic taboos.

Cultural globalization refers to the transmission of ideas, meanings and values around the world in such a way as to extend and intensify social relations. This process is marked by the common consumption of cultures that have been diffused by the Internet, popular culture media, and international travel. This has added to processes of commodity exchange and colonization which have a longer history of carrying cultural meaning around the globe. The circulation of cultures enables individuals to partake in extended social relations that cross national and regional borders. The creation and expansion of such social relations is not merely observed on a material level. Cultural globalization involves the formation of shared norms and knowledge with which people associate their individual and collective cultural identities. It brings increasing interconnectedness among different populations and cultures.

2. Literature Review

What is a taboo? Oxford English Dictionary defines taboo as: words likely to be considered offensive, shocking or indecent by certain people. In Longman Dictionary of English Language and Culture, the definition of taboo is a strong social or religious custom forbidding a particular act or word, or too holy or evil to be touched, named, or used. And in Xinhua Dictionary of Chinese Language and Culture, the definition of taboo is that people offended by special words and action. According to the author, a taboo is a vehement prohibition of an action based on the belief that such behavioris either too sacred or too accursed for ordinary individuals to undertake, under threat of supernatural punishment.

Linguistic taboo is a kind of taboo. As a unique phenomenon of language and customs riching in social and cultural characteristics, linguistic taboo has a wide range of time and space, which is also the key point the author will discuss in this thesis. A linguistic taboo refers to a word or expression that is prohibited by the “polite” society from general use. In sociolinguistics, taboo, or rather linguistic taboo, denotes any prohibition on the use of particular lexical items to refer to objects or acts. As language use is contextualized in particular social settings, linguistic taboo originates from social taboo. When an act is taboo, reference to this act may also become taboo. Taboo words and expressions reflect the particular social customs and views of a particular culture(Wang and Zhi 77).

Early analyses on linguistic taboos from abroad integrated with anthropology, theology and ethnogeny all the time, and influential works include The Golden Bough, Totem and Taboo and Taboo, Truth and Religion. The focuses of the three books are different from each other, but they all pay great attention to linguistic taboos. The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought. The book Totem and Taboo deserves to be called the representative of this field. It explains the reason of the emergence of taboo phenomenon. Taboo, Truth and Religion has a deep study on taboo’s appearance, categories, significance and function, as well as the relationship between linguistic taboo and anthropology and psychology.

After the 1980s, with the emergence and development of social linguistics, linguistic taboo phenomenon has attracted more and more attention from social linguists and researchers. Ronald Wardhaugh has a clear description of the definition, significance and function of the linguistic taboo. Victoria Fromkin defines taboo as the prohibition or avoidance in any society of behavior believed to be harmful to its members in that it would cause them anxiety, embarrassment, or shame (Wardhaugh 249).

In China, due to the deep-rooted feudal ideology, Chinese studies on linguistic taboos are later than that in western countries. In 1980，Chen Yuan(1918-2004) covered “塔布” for the first time while in 1983, he specially discussed linguistic taboo. From the 1980s, Chinese scholars have shown great interest in linguistic taboo and published many monographs which elaborated linguistic taboo. Chen Jianming discussed the linguistic taboo phenomenon from the perspective of the relationship between language and society in 1986. In 1989, Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing explained the difference of English and Chinese linguistic taboo from the view of language and culture. In 1999, Du Xuezeng compared the linguistic taboo in Chinese and English. Zhu Wenjun dealt with the appearance of linguistic taboo in Chinese and English and the euphemism which can replace linguistic taboo in 2000.

From the quotations above, it is obvious that the studies of taboos are always intertwined with the comparison of linguistic taboo in Chinese and English. Few scholars pay attention to the trend of it. So this paper, on the basis of former researches, concentrates on the trend of linguistic taboos and further explores the deeper relation between linguistic taboos and culture.

3. Linguistic Taboos

The word taboo was borrowed from Tonga, an island group in Polynesia, and its first recorded use in English was by Captain James Cook(1729-1779), an English navigator. During the long history of human society, taboos play an extremely important cultural role, but the concept is universal. Due to its universal traits, words and expressions associated with social taboos have been developed into linguistic taboos.

Taboo phenomenon has long existed in all cultures and languages throughout the world. It is the prohibition or avoidance in any society of behaviour believed to be harmful to its members in that it would cause them anxiety, embarrassment, or shame. It can be interpreted as an extremely strong politeness constraint. If the society regards something or certain acts as taboo, usually the names of these things and acts should not be mentioned or talked about or referred to only in certain circumstance in language, for example, only by certain people, or through deliberate circumlocutions. As a result, words and expressions related to these social taboos become linguistic taboos.

In linguistic communication，people usually employ the term of linguistic taboo instead of taboo violation, which means all the inappropriate or irregular actions or words. Nevertheless, the implicit tendency broadens the analysis category as open as possible, rather than limiting the sense of taboo words to the linguistic level. In the Polynesian language, taboo means forbidden. All in all, we usually understand this linguistic term in the following two conditions: some words or expressions persons avoid using; or words or expressions which are spoken with limitations. Linguistic taboo is a very important part of language, and linguistic taboos more or less can be seen in each kind of language. In daily life, as the violation of taboos may bring serious consequences, it should be avoided. So when someone who is gong to meet people with different cultures has to notice these taboos to avoid unnecessary misunderstanding which could probably cause communication failure.

At present, intercultural communication becomes more and more universal. If people lack the knowledge of taboos, cultural conflicts will be caused. In order to avoid this unpleasant result, people have to know more about foreign culture and taboos, and when talking to a person with another culture, people should take more notice of the usage of taboos so as to make the communication successful.

Research has shown that it is people"s psychology of taboo culture that has given rise to the appearance and application of taboos in English and Chinese language. Pragmatic needs in communication considerably propagates the usage of euphemism in alternative forms. Recently, the proliferating culture business of information networking, regarded as "the fourth medium", together with social values and economic growth have brought about tremendous diversity in taboos. It makes euphemism, the main carrier of taboos, become lubricant in the process of social interaction. In a word, analyses on the trend of linguistic taboos in English and Chinese are not only beneficial to intercultural communication, but also of great use in studies of macro-language and human language recognition mechanism.

4. Comparison of Chinese and English Taboos

There are various kinds of taboos in English and Chinese, such as taboos about life, religions, and politics, which are reflected respectively in language and have become linguistic phenomena. This essay just chooses some of them as examples to illustrate their similarities and differences. Chinese, used by most people in this world, and English, used most widely in every part of the world, are two most significant languages that ever exist. Accordingly, it can be assumed that culture backgrounds hiden behind these two languages are most accepted by people all around the world. As it is known to all, language and culture influence each other intensely. Any ignorance of cultural customs or social values may lead to not only communicative obstacles, but also prejudice,offence, even hostility against others, if possible, in crosscultural communication. Therefore, linguistic taboo, most sensitive and various one, has drawn much attention of both language learners and researchers.

4.1 Taboos on topics

People always work out varies of topics in order to get a good relationship with others. However, there are taboos in topics in every country. So proper topic is necessary in social contact wherever people are. Taboos on topic always appear in the papers about intercultural communication. Inappropriate topic may bring anxiety to people and cause communication failure. As a result, human beings should make it clear what can be said and what cannot be said in social contact. It makes a big difference in intercultural communication.

Taboos on topic exist in both China and England. As people know, in China, when someone meet strangers or relatives, some questions , including age, marriage, salary, weight etc., are proposed in order to have a successful communication, even if these are all about one’s privacy. For example, when relatives come to one’s home for a visit, questions like “Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?” “How much is your salary?” or “You look really fat/slim. What is your weight?” is asked. Often, a stranger, may be one’s friend’s friend or new neighbor, straightly ask about his/her age. Perhaps they has no interest in his/her age. It is just a topic to start a conversation. In Chinese tradition, people tend to think that it means one have a closer relationship if they know their information above. They have little sense of privacy. Usually, when one come across a person he/she knows, question “Have you eaten?” will be asked from him/her. This is also the common sentence in China to open a conversation.

On the contrary, English people’s way to start a conversation is totally different from that in china. People who speak English usually take weather as a topic of a conversation. Persons don’t have to worry about there’s nothing to say about it because weather in England is changeable. It is really possible to witness every kind of weather in a day. What need to be emphasized here is that one can exactly not ask English men about their age, marriage, salary, weight. In their minds, these questions cover personal privacy. They are taboos. Therefore, they don’t answer these questions above and they won’t ask others about these. “A man’s home is his castle” and “Mind your own business” vividly show the importance of privacy in England. If an English man is enquired about these taboos in a talk, he will be surprised and consider the talker impolite, maybe he will stop the talk, even though the talker don’t know the reason of it. Then what can be said in a conversation with English people except weather? English men are curious about everything. They want to know where are you from, thus one can introduce his/her hometown and tell them his/her life in his/her country. Of course, there is no “Have you eaten?” in English.

Chinese people would talk about one’s privacy while English people would never talk about it. That’s why? The main reason is the culture difference. Throughout the English history, people can see that English people advocate individualism. They have a strong sense of self-centeredness. Privacy is an important thing to them. But to Chinese people, privacy is a new word. There is even no item of “隐私” in Cihai in 1979. Until 1989, Cihai had included the word “隐私”. China always advocates collectivism, so it is possible to pay little attention to privacy.

However, in recent years, as the globalization is rapidly developed, intercultural communication has become more and more intensified. Chinese people begin to review themselves and become aware of the necessity of privacy. They start to stop talking about their privacy, just like the English persons do. That means English and Chinese share the same topic taboos in some way. Linguistic taboos on topic is blending together.

4.2 Taboos on expletives

Linguistic taboos are considered as those languages which are harmful, mysterious, sacred, maybe shocking to the listener. For instance, in some of the tribes in Africa, people cannot say the name of tribal chief who was passed away. Because taboo itself has inherent shocking meaning, people usually use it to show very fierce feeling, such as rage, dissatisfaction, astonishment. This phenomenon is called “curse”. When taboos are used as a way to curse, men often change their literal meaning and keep the strong mood. Take the four-letter-word “fuck” for example, which literal meaning is having sexual intercourse. If someone says “fuck off” to you, it just means “walk away” and can’t be translated into something about physiology.

Expletive is taboo. In English, expletive ,except its inherent meaning, has another function, strengthen mood i.e. This is quite the same as that in China. However, in recent years, linguisticians have found that young men use expletive frequently, not for curse, but showing a relatively closer relationship. Let’s look at the following example the author makes up.

[A shows B the paper.]

A: Look who’s done.

B: You are such a bastard.

[B kiss A]

A:[laugh] A bastard that has his paper done.

B: I hate you!

[They kiss again.]

In this conversation, A is a boy, and B is a girl. The boy has his paper done, but the girl doesn’t. The two persons’ talking contents and their actions are totally different. The time when they use expletive, they kiss each other. Bastard has lost its inherent meaning in this lover’s eyes. It is changed into the meaning of “talent”, even though this word does not have the meaning of it. Let’s look at other conversations the author makes up.

1. A is going to B’s home for a visit. They are both white men and 18 years old.

B: What’s up bitch? You’re late!

A: Fuck you! I had to stop to get gas and cigarettes.

2. A and B are friends and they are 18 years old,

A: Hey [name], what the fuck is up?

B: Not much bitch, how has it been going?

[ Conversation cut-consisted of catching up]

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