政治委婉语及其修辞应用

　　〔Abstract〕Euphemismisderivedfromtaboo，whichisusedtodescribesomethinginappropriatetotalkaboutdirectlyincommunication。Itisaculturalphenomenonaswellasarhetoricaldevice。Itisalsoaproperlanguagepatternpeoplecreatedinsocialcommunicationinordertomakethecommunicationeffective。Itplaysanimportantroleinourdailylife。Themostimportantsocialfunctionsofeuphemismareevasivefunction，politefunctionandcosmeticfunction。Politicaleuphemismisatypeofeuphemism，soithasthefeatureofeuphemism。Politicaleuphemismisusedwidelybypoliticians，throughwhichtheycandeliverthEirrealinformationinamildwaywithoutanyharshness。Thisarticlewillmakeanintroductionoftheorigin，socialfunctionsandtheapplicationofeuphemisms，andthendiscussrespectivelythepoliticaleuphemismsusedininternalandinternationalaspectandtherhetoricalapplicationofpoliticaleuphemisms。
　　〔KeyWords〕rhetoricalapplication
　　【摘要】委婉语起源于民俗禁忌，人们在交际中用来描述不宜直言的人或事物，既是一种修辞手法，又是一种文化现象。委婉语又是人们在社会交际中为谋求理想的交际效果而创造的一种适当的语言形式。它在生活中发挥着十分重要的交际功能。最主要的有避讳功能，礼貌功能，掩饰、美化功能。政治委婉语是委婉语的一个范畴，沿袭了普通委婉语的特征，广为政治家们所用。它使政治家们得以一种温和、不带任何刺激性的表达方式传递其真正的信息。本文将从委婉语的起源、社会功能、修辞入手，分别阐述政治委婉语的国际国内使用情况和政治委婉语修辞应用。
　　【关键词】社会功能；政治委婉语；修辞应用
　　1。Introduction
　　1。1Thedefinitionofeuphemism
　　TheEnglishwordeuphemismderivedfromtheGreekwordeuphemismos，whichmeansfairspeech。Theprefixeumeansgood，soundingwell，andphememeanssayingorspeech。Sotheliteralmeaningofeuphemismistospeakwithgoodwordsorinapleasantmanner。InthebookofModernLinguistics，itisdefinedasamild，indirectorlessoffensivewordorexpressionsubstitutedwhenthespeakerorwriterfearsmoredirectwordingmightbeharsh，unpleasantlydirectoroffensive。〔1〕
　　1。2Theoriginofeuphemism
　　Totracethebeginningofeuphemisms，wecan’tneglecttaboo。Inprimitivesociety，peoplecouldn’texplainsuchthingsasdeath，ailmentsandsomesupernaturalphenomena。Theyalsohadconfusionbetweenthenamesofthingsandthethingsthemselves：Thenameisviewedasanextensionofthethings。JustastheidiomsaysSpeakofthedevilandheappears。Naturallythewordsorthephrasesrelatedtotheseunexplainablethingsbecametaboos。
　　Forordinarypeople，thesafestwaytoavoidmentioningthesethingsthattheyhavetomentioninmanycircumstancesistouseanothernameeuphemismstoreplacethetruenameofsuchathing。Inmanycultures，thenamesofgodsanddevilsaretaboos。Inordertoavoidmentioningthemdirectly，peopleusegoshorgollyinsteadofGodanddickenoroldNickinsteadofthedevil。Therefore，wecansafelystatethattheexistenceoftaboowordsortabooideasstimulatesthecreationofeuphemisms。
　　Inourmodernsociety，however，thereligiousandsuperstitiousrelicsstillexist。Buttoalargerextent，euphemismismostlymotivatedbypeople’sfearofdeath。Thusitisnowonderthatsuchalargenumberofeuphemismsaboutdeathexist：depart，decease，passaway，etc。
　　Inshort，euphemismoriginatesfromtaboo。Becauseofthepsychologyoffear，peopledarenotorwouldrathernotcallsomethingbynamedirectly。Ifsuchunpleasantthingshavetobementioned，peopleworkoutindirecttermstoreplacethem。ThuseuphemismscomeintobEIng。Usingeuphemismsgivespeopleafeelingthattheyaresomewhatdistantfromwhattheyfear，andresortingtoeuphemismsseemstobeaguaranteeoftheirsafety，happiness，healthandgoodluck。
　　1。3Thesocialfunctionsofeuphemism
　　Fromtheoriginofeuphemism，wecanseethattheoriginalfunctionofeuphemismistobeusedintalkingabouttaboos。Inourdailylife，therearesometabooedthingsthatarebelievedtobedangeroustocertaininpiduals，ortothesocietyasawhole，ortobedisgustingandunpleasantandcausefear。Suchtaboothingsincludedisease，disabilities，death，sex，bodyexcretionandbodyeliminationprocess，etc。Peoplecanuseeuphemismstotalkaboutwhatcannotbetalkedabout。
　　Withthedevelopmentofoursociety，somenewfunctionscameintobeingduringthecommunicationinthecivilizedsociety。Inourdailycommunication，besides，tabootopics，thereareothersensitiveandunpleasanttopicswhichwedonotfeelliketalkingaboutdirectly，suchasoccupation，appearance，formofaddress，socialstatus，poverty，murder，andsoon。Ifwetalkaboutsuchthingsdirectly，wemayfeelormakeothersfeelembarrassedorunhappy。Suchpsychologyincommunicationresultsinanotherfunctionofeuphemism，thatistoshowpolitenessandconcealfeelings。Forinstance，unemploymentandpovertyareverydreadfulthingsnowadays。Inthemodernwayofthinking，tomentionsomebody’sunemploymentandpovertyistospeakpejorativelyofhiscondition。Sothereplacementsforthemkeepappearing。Themiserablefactofunemploymentissaidtobeinvoluntarilyleisured，betweenjobs，etc。Thepoorbecomestheunderprivileged，andthedisadvantaged。InChinese，wereferto失业as下岗，炒鱿鱼；被裁掉as给优化掉，etc。Andthepooraredescriedas拮据，手头紧，手头不便，囊中羞涩，etc。
　　Fromtheaboveexampleswecanseethateuphemismscanhelptokeepusmoredistantfromtheunpleasantreality，orinotherwords，theharshtruthhasbeenconcealedtoacertainextent，thatistosay，inreality，euphemismsarealsooftenusedtocoverthetruth。Theeuphemismsrelatedtopoliticsgivenexcellentexplanationforthis。Forexample，theWatergateScandalmadepeoplemoresensitivetopoliticallanguage。Itbecamenecessarytouseeuphemismstomakethesensitivepoliticalconceptssoftenedandvague。Hence，theCaperincidentsubstitutedphonestaps，gothehangoutroadfortellthetruth，andstonewallforflatlyrefusetocooperate。〔2〕GeorgeOrwellonceillustratedthebitterironyofsuchlinguisticphenomenon，politicallanguageisdesignedtomakeliessoundtruthfulandmurderrespectable，andtogiveanappearanceofsoliditytopurewind。
　　Basedontheabovedescriptionsaboutthesocialfunctionsofeuphemisms，wecanmakethegeneralizationsasfollows：
　　（1）Euphemismsnotonlyhelpthespeakeravoidtalkingaboutthedreadfulorembarrassedthingsdirectly，butalsohelpthespeakerorthelistenerfeelrelaxedtalkingaboutthethingsthatmightprobablymakehimherappeardisgracedorembarrassedifspokendirectly。
　　（2）Euphemismsareusedtocoverupthetruenatureofevents，deceivingthepublicwithnicesoundingandpseudotechnicalwork，andinthemeanwhileitalsocanhelpsomepeopleavoidtalkingaboutsensitivethingsdirectlysothattheycanescapetheirdueresponsibility，evenpunishment。
　　1。4。Rhetoricalapplicationofeuphemism
　　1。4。1。Thedefinitionofrhetoric
　　Beforewestudytherhetoricalapplicationofeuphemism，itisnecessarytomakeclearwhatisrhetoric。Rhetoricistheartofusinglanguageimpressivelyandpersuasively，esp。inpublicspeaking。（OxfordAdvancedLearner’sEnglishChineseDictionary，4thedition。）WhetherSpeakingorwriting，onehastogetoneselfacrosseffectively，i。e。，tobeeloquent，accurate，impressive，persuasiveandexpressive。Thestudyofhowtoexpressoneselfeffectively，generallyspeaking，isthemainconcernofrhetoric。
　　1。4。2。Rhetoricalapplicationofeuphemism
　　Whenweuseeuphemisms，wealsohavetothinkabouthowtoexpressourideaseffectively。Soweshouldmakeuseoftherhetoricaldevice。〔3〕Therhetoricaldevicesfrequentlyusedareasfollowing：
　　（i）Metaphor
　　Withthisfigureofspeech，theeuphemismalwaysseemstoberomanticsothatthestyleofthelanguagemaychangealot。TherearenumerouseuphemisticwordsfordieinEnglish。Actuallysomeofthemarevividandinformalmetaphor。Forinstance，gotohislonghome，gotosleepforeverandceasetothink，etc。
　　（ii）Metonymy
　　Metonymyisafigureofspeechinwhichthenameofonethingisusedtostandforanotherthing。Thetwothingsinvolvedinametonymyarenotofthesamekindbutarecloselyrelated。Euphemismmakesagooduseofit。Forinstance，somepartofhumanbodyareofteneuphemizedwithawholepartforaveryspecialone，whichisnotsuitabletomentiondirectly，suchaslowerparts，orpartbelowforsecretparts，upperpartsforbreasts，etc。
　　（iii）Synecdoche
　　Someeuphemismsareinventedbysynecdoche，aswholeforpartorpartforwhole，agenusforspeciesorspeciesforgenus，etc。（OxfordDictionary）Forinstance，Hehasasmoothtongue，infact，means，Heistalkative。
　　（iv）Personification
　　Someunpleasantthingsaregivenhumancharacteristicsorhumannamestoachieveavivideffect。Examples：
　　（1）Personifiedeuphemismsfordrugs：
　　BigHarryforheroin，MissEmmaformorphine，
　　MaryJaneformarijuana，etc。
　　（2）Personifiedeuphemismsforbathroom：
　　John（Am。E。），jakes，SirJ
　　Mrs。Tones，Aunt（e。g。togotoone’sAunt）（usedbyfemaleonly），etc
　　（v）Periphrasis
　　Periphrasis，ascircumlocution，referstoathingnamedinaroundaboutway。Rawsonsuggeststhelongertheeuphemisms，thebetter。Theyhavemoresyllables，andfrequently，twoormorewordswillbedeployedinplaceofasingleone。Forinstance，trousersdoesnotsoundwell，sonethergarmentsreplacesit。Fartistoounpleasanttotheear，sopeoplesayitaswindfrombehind。
　　（vi）Understatement
　　Understatementisafigureofspeechinwhichanideaisdeliberatelyexpressedtooweakly。Itisusedtoplaydownortominimizetheimportanceofsomething。Itisusuallyemployedinthreeways：litotes，meiosisandovertones。Litotesisunderstatementbydenyingthecontraryofthethingbeingaffirmed。Itistheuseofnegativeformforpositiveideaswhenthespeakerwishestoweakenhistoneofcommentonsomething。Forexample，impoliteinsteadofrude。
　　（vii）Irony
　　Ironyisafigureofspeechinwhichtheintendedmeaningofthewordsusedisthedirectoppositeoftheirusualsense。Forexample，whensomeonehatestheweather，whichspoilshistripandsays，Whatafineday！heisironical。
　　Someintimatefeelingsorbadthingsareexpressedresortingtoirony，afigureofspeechinwhichthemeaningliterallyexpressedistheoppositeofthemeaningindicatedandaimsathumororsarcasmandavoidhurtingothersbydirectexpressions。Incertaincontext，itcanholdthereader’sattentionanddeepenitsimpression，therefore，aPleasanteffectcouldbeachieved。Examples：MinistryofDefenseisinfactreferredtoMinistryofWar，therealmeaningoflifeinsuranceisinsurancewhenyouaredead，andfreedomfighterissubstitutedforterrorists。
　　2。Politicaleuphemism
　　2。1。Introduction
　　Politicsisafertileareaforthegrowthofeuphemisms，whicharecosmeticinexpressionbutdeceptiveinnature。Euphemismsofthiskindarealwaysusedconsciouslyanddeliberately。Euphemismsusedinpoliticalissuesaremainlyseenintheinternalandinternationalaspects。
　　2。1。1Internalaspect
　　Ininternalaspect，politicaleuphemismsareusedforsomesocialproblemssuchaspoverty，unemployment，crimeandracism，andtheactivitiesofthepoliticalorganizationandsoon，whicharecosmetic。
　　Inordertocovertheproblemsofpovertyandunemployment，etc，thegovernmentcontinuouslycreatedeuphemismsservingforhispoliticalpurpose。Forexample，inAmerica，thepooriscalledasthedeprived，manofmodestmeans，thelesswelloff，andthepoorareaastheinnercity，etc。Andlosejobsbecomebetweenjobs，fireemployeesbecomedownsizingorRIF（reductioninforce），lackofjobsecurityisreferredtoasjobflexibility。InBritain，theunemployedcanenjoythehalfpricefilmticketortheatreticket，onlybecausetheyarethelessfortunate。
　　Whenthewesterncountrieswereinthebeginningof20thcentury，therelationbetweenthelaborersandthecapitalistwasverytense，andstrikebecomeaserioussocialproblem。Inordertocoverthecontradiction，strikewasreferredtoasindustrialdispute，boycottclassesasstudentunrest，anddropasadjustmentdownward。〔4〕Americaisacountrypoundofitsperfectlawsystem，however，itisalsoacountryfilledwithallkindsofsocialcrime。Inordertoavoidthosedisgracedsayings，euphemismsarefrequentlyused。Forinstance，stealiscalledastohook，topalm，toworkthehole，torobberyisreferredtoastoclip，toputthearmon，tomurderisreferredtoastocrossout，todisappear，todieinanecktie，punishmentbecomestodropintothebucket，dotime，towalkthelastmile。〔5〕P47ThewordniggerwhichisfullofracialdiscriminationandhasabadconnotationisreplacedbyNegroandthencolored，blackandnowAfroAmerican。
　　Somepoliticalorganizationsalsoprefertouseeuphemisms。InAmerica，theactivityoftheFBIorganizationoftenbecriticizedandsatirized。PeopleespeciallydisagreedwiththEirsearchingactivities，whichinvadehumanrights。InordertocoverthEIrillegalactivity，theinvestigatorsoftheorganizercreatedandchangedthespeechtheyused，usingaseriesofeuphemisms，suchastechnicaltrespasses，surreptitious，uncontestedphysicalsearches，andwarrantlessinvestigations，etc，allofwhich，infact，aretheeuphemismofbreakin。AftertheAmericanpresidentReaganwintheelection，hesetabouttodealwiththecountry’sfinancialproblem。Heappealedrevenueenhancements。Infact，itistaxincrease，whichruncountertocuttaxeshepromisedduringtheelection。Theeuphemismusedherevaguehistrueintentionabstractlyandfuzzily。〔6〕
　　Therearealsosomeotherpoliticaleuphemismsusedtocoverthepoliticalscandals。Forexample，lieisreferredtoaslessthantruthful，prevaricate，illegalisreferredtoasinappropriateTherearealotofeuphemismsproducedduringtheWatergatescandalaboutpresidentNixoninAmericaof20thcentury1970s。Forinstance，plumberisreferredtoasintelligencestealer，eavesdropasintelligencegathering，theschemeofeavesdropasscenario，andeventhescandalbecameevent。
　　Inmodernsociety，socialproblemsarenumerous，soitiswithChina。Toreassureandpacifythepublic，thegovernmentjustmakessuchremarksas我们绝大多数党员干部是廉洁自律的，这样的人在我们的干部队伍中只是极少数，问题是有的，但成绩是主要的，主流是好的etc。Fordiplomatictalks，wehavesuchremarksas双方进行了建设性的会谈，双方就共同关心的问题坦率地交换了意见，总之，双方的会谈是有益的和富有建设性的etc。Alltheseindicatethatbothsidesarequitefarfromreachingagreementconcerningcertainissues。Thesevagueremarksjustconcealthefactoftruthandservecertainpoliticalpurpose。2。1。2Internationalaspect
　　Inthecaseofinternationalaspect，thecosmeticeuphemismsalsocanbeeasilyfoundinpoliticalandmilitaryactivities。Forinstance，bombingandblastingofwholevillagesaspacificationoftheenemyinfrastructureorsofteningupofenemyresistanceorgivemassiveairsupport。Theeuphemismshereareinthetruesenseofthewordfalse。Theyareusedtocoverupthetruenatureofevents，deceivingthepublicwithnicesoundingandpseudotechnicalwords。
　　Politicaleuphemismsusedinmilitaryactivitycomeintobeingwiththewar。Ptherefugeetideduringthewarastransferofpopulation。
　　ThemilitaryactivityofthealliedforcesoftheUSAandBritaininIraqalsoproducedmanypoliticaleuphemisms。TthesloganofthisactionwasIraqiFbombingwascalledasatargetofopportunity，thatis，atargetoftheIraqileadership，whichreallymeansrandombombing。
　　GovernmentdiscussionoftheVietnamWarwassaturatedwitheuphemisms。Villagerswereburnedandtheinhabitantsimprisonedthatwere‘pacifications’；saturationbombingwithB525was‘ordnancedelivery’，destroyingcropswas‘defoliation’；thewaritselfwasnotawarbuta‘conflict’。Theseeuphemismsformaframeworktodeceive，tohidethedirtybusinessofwar。Andexamplesareeverywhere：in1983，aftertheU。S。sentitsarmedforcesintoGrenada，Reaganshowedhisirritationwithreportersattheir‘frequentuseofthewordinvasion。‘This’，hesaid，‘wasarescuemission。’Actually，itwasReaganhimselfwhohadfirstcalleditaninvasion。In1999，theU。S。governmentbombedChineseembassyinYugoslaviaonpurpose，buttoconcealtheirguilt，theycalledthebombing‘friendlyfires’andsoon。
　　Sometimes，theinvaderevenusesthecosmeticfunctionofeuphemismstoshirkone’sresponsibilityandkeepthemselvesfrombeingcensuredbytheinternationalpublicopinion。Forexample，theJapanesegovernmentwasunwillingtoadmititsheinouscrimeinfrontofitsciviliansafteritssurrenderintheWorldWarTwo。Itevendistortsthehistory。Initshistorytextbooks，invadeChinaismisrepresentedasenterthemainland，massivekillinginNanjingcitywhichshockedthewholeworldwascalledasoccupyNanjingcity。Intheendof20thcentury，NATO，inordertospeeduptheprocessoftheplanofeastward，takingtheKosovoCrisisasanexcuse，bombedYugoslaviaheavily，whichlastovertwomonths。TheunscrupulousbombingbroughttheYugoslaviansthematerialandmentalloss。WhencountriesallovertheworldblamedtheNATO’srobberyaction，inordertoescapefromit，NATOcalledthewarashumanitarianintervention。TheAmericanDefenseMinisterWillianCohendeniedthewaragainstYugoslaviaontheNewsReleaseMeeting，andsaideuphemisticallythat，Wearecertainlyengagedin‘hostilities’；weareengagedin‘combat’。AmericanSecretaryofstateMadeleineAlbrightevencalledthecontinuousbombingofNATOagainstYugoslaviaasNATO’soperation，sothattheycouldtaketheeasierwaytotalkaboutthesituationofYugoslaviaconcernedbypeopleallovertheworld。〔7〕
　　Ininternationalaspect，therearealsosomeexamples，whichreflectthepositivefunctionofthepoliticaleuphemisms。Forinstance，thedevelopingcountryisreferredtothepoorcountrytoavoidtheproblemofundevelopmentandshowthepoliteness，whichisgoodforthecooperationbetweenthecountriesallovertheworld。Anotherexample，whendifferentpoliticalsystemsarereferred，peopleoftenusetheeasterncountriestorefertothesocialistcountries，suchasChina，andthewesterncountriestothecapitalistcountries，suchasAmerica，soastosoftenandavoidtheconflict，andkeepaharmoniousatmospherebetweenthecountries。
　　WecanalsoseetheuseofpoliticaleuphemismsusedforpolitenessfromthereportsaboutNuclearWeaponProbleminKoreanPeninsula。ThespeakerofAmericanWhiteHouseSteveMcClarenonceemphasizedonaNewsReleaseMeetingthat，theAmerica’sattitudewouldneverbechanged，thatis，wewillcontinuetolookfordiplomaticresolutioncooperatingwiththeneighborcountriesofKorean，butatthesametime，westillkeepalltheotheroptionalplans。RichardPerle，thehighgradeconsultantofAmericanDefenseDepartment，whowasvisitingMoscowatthattime，whenhewasinterviewedbythelocalTVprogramaboutNuclearWeaponProbleminKoreanPeninsula，hesaid，Idon’tthink（America）wouldsolvetheproblemthroughuseofforce，butnoonecanensurethatitisimpossibletouseforce。Wearemakingourendeavortosolvetheproblem，andaretryingtomakeKoreanstopitsnuclearplanwithoutconsideringusingforce。InfaceofAmerica’sbeatingaroundthebush，Koreanreliedthat，IfAmericaattackKorean，KoreanpeoplearmycertainlywillgivetheAmericanarmy‘theruthlesspunishment’。Inthediplomaticspeech，althoughthetwosideopposedeachotherwithequalharshness，expressedeachother’sfirmattitude，theystilltriedtoavoidtalkingaboutwardirectly，sothattheycanremaintheroomforpeacesolutionthroughpoliticalanddiplomaticdevices，soasnottobefallenintothepassivesituation。〔8〕
　　Fromalltheexamplesabove，wecanconcludethattherearetwomainfeaturesofthecommunicationofpoliticaleuphemisms。
　　（1）Todisguise：Theuseofsuchpoliticaleuphemismshelpsgovernmentbeautifythefact，andpreventspeoplefromtakinganyantigovernmentaction。Theseeuphemismsformaframeworktodeceive，tohidethedirtybusinessofwar。
　　（2）Tobepolite：Itwasusedtomaintainthefriendlyrelations，whicharerequiredforsmoothandeffectivecommunication。Thepurposeofsocialinteractionistopromotethefriendshipbetweenthespeakersandtherefore，everytimewhenonespeaks，hehastoconsiderwhetherwhathesaysislikelytomaintain，improve，ordamagethefriendship。
　　3。Rhetoricalapplicationofpoliticaleuphemism
　　Politicaleuphemism，asanimportanttypeofeuphemism，alsousestherhetoricaldevicestomakethecommunicationeffectively。〔9〕Peopleoftenusethefollowingrhetoricaldevices：
　　3。1Theuseofunderstatement
　　Thefeatureofunderstatementisthatthespeechofittouchestheessenceofthematterinaverylittledegree，sothatpeoplewhodon’tknowthetruthortheimplicationcan’tfeeltheseriousnessofthematter。Politicaleuphemismsoftenusetherhetoricdeviceofunderstatement。Therearemanyexamplesofthiskind。Forexample，poorisadreadfulwordbothinEnglishandChinese，itmeansthelifeisinadifficultposition，andindicatesthelowsocialposition。Italsoindicatesthegovernmentalinabilitytosolvesocialandeconomicproblems。Inordertocoverupitandmakethepovertyproblemseemtobenotsoserious，governmentcallpoorasneedyordisadvantaged，calltheslumassubstandardhousing，slumchildrenastheculturallydifferentchildren，andghettoisreferredtoasinnercity。InEnglish，therearenotpoornationsorpoorcountries，butonlybackwardnations，underdevelopednations，developingnationsandemergingnations。TheUNcallsthosepoorcountriesaslessdevelopednationsorcountries。
　　Intheinternationalpoliticalaffairs，especiallyinthemilitaryfield，therearemoreexamplesofthiskind，whichareusedtocovertheessenceofsomedirtymatters。Forexample，MinistryofDefense，infact，isMinistryofWar。AmericangovernmentonceusesOperationSunshinetocoveritsheinouscrimethattheytooktheexperimentofhydrogenbulletinthePacificOcean。DuringthewarofGulfwar，Americanuseairoperationandgroundoperationinsteadofairstrikeandgroundwar，asaresult，peoplecouldn’tfeelabouttheterriblenessandcruelnessofthewarfromthewordsdirectly。
　　3。2。Theuseofperiphrasis
　　Periphrasisusuallyuseslongphrasesorsentencestomakethelistener’sattentionfarfromthetopic。Politiciansoftenusesomelongerwordstoexpresstheirideas。Becausewhenpeoplewanttodisguisesomefacts，theyoftentakearoundaboutwayoftalk。Thentheymustusemorewords。Expressionsinpoliticalissuesareusuallymadebylongerandmorewordsorphrases。ThetypicalexampleofthiskindisthedifferentexpressionsoftheWarSyndromeinthreedifferentperiods。InWorldWarOne，inWorldWarTwo，whilein20thcentury1960sthephrasebecamePosttraumaticStressDisorder，usedtodescribethepanicoftheordersoldiersofVietnamWar。Wecan’tseeanythingrelatedtowaratallfromthephrases。Therearesomeotherexamples：inofficialEnglish，HigherEducationContributionSchemeinsteadofEducationalLevy。Andfireissaidasgivethesack，imprisonmentcanbecalledasliveatthegovernment’sexpense，pooriseconomicallydisadvantagedinpiduals，weaponequipmentdevelopmentiscalledasreconnaissanceforcessweeping，dropasadjustmentdownward。
　　3。3。Theuseofirony
　　Ironyisafigureofspeechinwhichthemeaningliterallyexpressedistheoppositeofthemeaningindicatedandaimsathumororsarcasmandavoidshurtingothersbydirectexpressions。Thatistosayironyiswhatwesaidistheoppositeofwhatwemeant。Throughirony，lettingthelistenerguessandgraduallyunderstandwhatthespeakerreallyintendtodo，wecanavoidtomakethelistenerembarrassed。Throughit，wecannotonlycoverwhatisnotconvenienttosaydirectly，butalsoincreasesthehumor。Forexample：
　　Nixon’sproposalshavebeenhailedaswoundifnotoriginal。Butthisappraisalofhisownstewardshipsometimesseemsmoregenerousthancandid。
　　Thewordgenerousisoriginallyusedasacommendatorywordtopraisesomebody。Itsusingherehastheeffectofirony，whichintendstocriticizethatthepresidentexaggeratedsomethingandwasnotmodest。〔10〕
　　4。Conclusion
　　Thepresentpaperhasfocusedonthepoliticaleuphemismusedininternalandinternationalaspectsanditsrhetoricalapplication。Itwouldbeabeneficialguideforthelanguagelearnerstounderstandthecultureandthepsychologies。Inaddition，onlywhenlearningwhattopicsorsubjectsarerequiredtobeeuphemisticallydescribed，canweavoidbeingmisunderstoodindealingwithdiplomaticaffairs。Nowadays，moreandmorepeoplepayattentiontotheresearchonpoliticaleuphemism。Bystudyingpoliticaleuphemism，wecannotonlyenlargeourknowledge，butalsograspthesocialpsychologyoftheuserusingpoliticaleuphemisms，andthenunderstandanduseitproperly。
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