浅析英汉宗教死亡委婉语的异同

论文总字数：33253字

摘 要

委婉语是一种普遍的语言现象，不同学者对委婉语有不同的定义，委婉语也涵盖很多方面。委婉语包含了多类人们不愿意直接谈及的话题，在对话交流中起到了十分重要的作用。本文以宗教死亡委婉语作为切入点来对比英汉两种语言的异同之处，旨在探究不同语言之间的联系与区别。汉语中的宗教死亡委婉语主要来源于道教和佛教，而英语中的宗教死亡委婉语主要来源于基督教。本论文在对比了道教、佛教以及基督教里的宗教死亡委婉语的用法之后，认为英汉两种语言中的宗教死亡委婉语的主要具备两个相似点：一是英汉两种语言都使用抽象的符号，二是使用动词及动词短语来委婉地表达死亡。而英汉两种语言的宗教死亡委婉语的主要差异，主要体现在两个方面：一是英汉宗教死亡委婉语的使用人群不一样，二是英汉宗教死亡委婉语的来源不同。本论文旨在让人们对宗教中的死亡委婉语有个基本的、具体的了解。

关键词：死亡委婉语；异同点；道教；佛教；基督教

Contents

1. Introduction 1

2. Literature Review 1

3. Death Euphemism 2

3.1 The Definition of Death Euphemism 2

3.2 The Origins of Death Euphemism 3

4. Death Euphemisms in Major Religions 6

4.1 Death Euphemisms in Taoism and Buddhism 6

4.2 Death Euphemisms in Christianity 8

5. The Major Similarities of Chinese and English Death Euphemisms in Religion 8

5.1 Using Nonfigurative Symbols 8

5.2 Using Words or Phrases of Verbs to Describe Death 9

6. The Major Differences between Chinese and English Death Euphemisms in Religion 10

6.1 Different Target Users of Language 10

6.2 Different Sources of Death Euphemisms in Religion 10

7. Conclusion 11

Works Cited 13

1. Introduction

Language, as the carrier of culture and human civilization, is a social phenomenon and a communication tool which conveys thoughts and information. Euphemism is a common language phenomenon, a social phenomenon and a cultural phenomenon. “A euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one’s own face or through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party.” (Allan and Burridge 1991:11) Respect and politeness play an important role in social occasions. Euphemism provides a reserved, appropriate and elegant way to talk about unpleasant and dreadful things, such as death. There are large amounts of euphemisms both in Chinese and English. They reflect similarities and differences between the two languages. Different kinds of euphemisms are used in different occasions. Among them, death euphemism is symbolic. Death euphemisms originate mainly in religious belief, social estate and concepts of value. Among the three origins, religious belief makes an important impact on death euphemisms of different languages. This thesis intends to make a comparative study of Chinese and English death euphemisms in religion and explore the similarities and the differences between Chinese and English. It will not only help people to get a better understanding on euphemistic words of death, but also play a positive role in understanding similarities and differences between Chinese and English.

This thesis is composed of seven parts. The first part is the introduction part which tells the purpose of the thesis. The second part discusses the previous researches of scholars and their findings. The third part focuses on definition of death euphemism and the origins of death euphemisms. The fourth part exemplifies death euphemisms in Taoism, Buddhism and Christianity. The fifth part dwells on the similarities of Chinese and English euphemisms in religion. The sixth part dwells on the differences between Chinese and English euphemisms in religion. The seventh part is the conclusion part.

2. Literature Review

In 1981, British linguist Hugh Rawson compiled the dictionary A Dictionary of Euphemism and Other Double-talk. In this dictionary, the English linguist summarizes the achievements in the study of euphemism. The domestic scholar Shu Dingfang gives a high evaluation of this book. In 1983, American scholars Neaman and Silver published the dictionary Kind Words - A Treasure of Euphemisms, which describes in detail the origin, history, development and change of euphemism. In 1991, Allan and Burridge published the book Euphemism and Dysphemism, which is useful to scholars who study English euphemism from the pragmatic point of view, and is regarded as one of the most frequently quoted reference works for domestic researchers. There are also many domestic studies on death euphemism and its relation to culture, but few studies focus on similarities and differences between Chinese and English death euphemisms in religion.

However, there are still some problems on the studies of death euphemism. First, there are few treatises on death euphemism at home and abroad for researchers to refer to. The main reference books are: the dictionary Kind Words 1983 compiled by Judith S. Neaman and Carole G. Silver, the Euphemism and Dysphemism: Language Used as Shield and Weapon (1991) by Keith Allen and Kate Burridge, symposium Fair of Speech: the Uses of Euphemism (1985) edited by D. J. Enright, A Dictionary of English Euphemisms (1993) edited by Liu Chunbao. Second, there are few studies on the comparison and translation between Chinese and English euphemisms. Third, religious beliefs are not discussed about as a separate topic in current studies of death euphemism, because religious beliefs used to be viewed as one of the factors that caused the differences between Chinese and English death euphemism. This point can be shown in Li Huiqiong’s (2008:146) paper and Wei Huizhe’s (2004) master’s thesis. Based on the previous researches, this thesis mainly focuses on death euphemism in different religions and explores the similarities of and differences between Chinese and English death euphemism in religion.

3. Death Euphemism

3.1 The Definition of Death Euphemism

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, a euphemism is the use of a pleasanter, less direct name for something thought to be unpleasant. The word euphemism originates from Greek “eu” and “pheme”. “Eu” means good and “pheme” means speech. It literally means to speak with good words or a pleasant manner, or speak favorably. “A euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one’s own face or through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party.” (Allan and Burridge, 1991:11)

All the above definitions share the similar element. The purpose of euphemism is to conceal, beautify or weaken something that is viewed as taboo, sensitivity or embarrassment. Based on what has been mentioned above, death euphemism is an alternative expression of the word “death” in order to weaken the strong sad feeling which death brings about.

3.2 The Origins of Death Euphemism

3.2.1 Different Religious Beliefs

Death euphemism is a main part of all kinds of euphemisms and it has a close relationship with religion. Neaman and Silver point out that “the topic of the earliest euphemisms was undoubtedly religious.” (Neaman and Silver, 1983:1)People seek for relief from religion when they must face death. Different religions offer different explanations about death and all these differences are reflected in languages.

The Chinese don’t share a common and unified religious belief. Only a small proportion of people believe in a certain religion. However, death euphemisms differ from one religion to another religion. In China, some people believe in Buddhism and Taoism which are considered as the polytheism beliefs. In Chinese, people prefer to talk about life and pay more attention to the contemporary age. Therefore, they avoid talking about death. “好死不如赖活着” (A bad life is better than death.) “言生不言死” (We’d better mention the life than the death.) are just the best reflections of Eastern cultures. When it comes to death, people will use a great deal of euphemisms to refer to death, such as “离开了”, “去了” , “走了”. All these phrases mean that people die.

In Taoism, it is considered that there is no extreme difference between life and death. Materialization, hidden and Dun Hua are used in Taoism to refer to death. Taoism believes that, after some practice, the world can be thoroughly to remould oneself, an immortal. Taoism believes in celestial being (仙). Words related to celestial being, such as “驾鹤西去”, “羽化”, “仙游”, “仙逝”, “登仙” are euphemisms of death. Buddhism considers nirvana as the highest realm. They have specific words for death of Buddhist monks and nuns, such as“坐化”, “入寂”, “圆寂”, “物化”, “升天”, “归西”, “灭安”. These death euphemisms in Buddhism are only used to refer to the death of Buddhist monks and nuns, not the death of common people.

In English, Christianity is the major religious belief. The death euphemisms in Christianity mainly stem from the Bible. Being the root of English culture, Christianity puts core on eternal salvation. For example, “return to dust”, “be called to God”, and “answer the final summons” are all the euphemisms of death. God made up human from dust. In the Old Testament, God tells Adam that “Thou come from dust, and shalt return to dust”. According to the Bible, human beings can only enjoy life after death. Their existence in this world is a process of self salvation. They should behave morally and kindly so that they can “go to Heaven/Paradise” and “be with God” and “be asleep in the Arms of God/in Jesus/lie in Abraham’s bosom” and then “be at peace”. In a word, Christianity believes that human beings are created by God and they are God’s sons and daughters. God loves his children and human beings must love God. Human beings are born with original sin. They must believe in God with loyalty to expiate original sin and achieve the eternal salvation.

Therefore, the death euphemisms in Christianity are related to God, Heaven and angel etc. For instance, “answer the final summons”, “be called to God”, “depart to God”, “be with God”, “be asleep in the arms of God”, “join the Heavenly Host”, “join the angels”, “join the angelic choirs”, “be called to the Great Beyond”, “be taken to paradise” and “go to heaven”. These euphemisms show that Christianity depicts a beautiful after-death world containing human’s best wishes so that human beings can live happily and die peacefully. Some Christians often use phrases like “gone to be with the Lord”, “called to higher service” or “promoted to glory” (the latter expression being particularly prevalent in the Salvation Army) or “graduated” to express their belief that physical death is not the end, but the beginning of the fuller realization of redemption. “Earned his/her angel wings,” is commonly used for the death of a child, particularly after a long illness. Orthodox Christians often use the euphemism “fallen asleep” or “fallen asleep in the Lord”, which reflects Orthodox beliefs concerning death and resurrection. As believers of Orthodox Christianity, Greeks in particular are apt to refer to the deceased as “the blessed”, “the forgiven”, or “the absolved” ones, in the belief that the dead person will be counted among the faithful at the Last Judgement.

3.2.2 Different Social Estate

In English, God is the subject which people seldom talk about, while in Chinese, upper-class people are the object which common people avoid talking about. China has a long history of feudal domination. The concept of feudal hierarchy is deep-seated. This is also reflected in the death euphemism. The ancient China was a society of strict official rank standards. The imperial power is supreme. The feudal rulers are superior to common people before their death and their death must be spoken differently from others. If the emperor died, we call it “驾崩”. We have specific euphemisms to refer to emperors’ death, such as “千秋万岁”, “山陵崩”, “晏驾”, “升遐”, “宾天”, “大行”, etc. If common people die, we can only call it “弃世”, “弃平居”, “弃馆舍”, “弃堂帐”, etc. From literal meaning, the euphemisms of death for emperors are related to the mountain, the sky and other grand things and reflect supreme power while the death euphemisms for common people are related to small and humble things, such as their house and bed-curtain. In a word, death euphemisms are also classified according to different social estates, which originate in the deep-seated hierarchy.

Different from China, in Christian countries, human beings are created by God and all men are created equal. An old English saying goes that “Popes, Kings, beggars, and thieves alike must die”. This means that men are equal when they face death. This equality is embodied in the death euphemisms such as join the great majority, go the way of all flesh etc. In the Bible, especially in the books of Kings and Chronicles, a deceased king is said to have “slept/rested with his fathers” if he received a proper burial.

3.2.3 Different Concepts of Value

While different languages might have similar codes and standards of ethics, there are apparently particular ethics in different languages. The views on death and the attitudes toward death are the basis and premise of ethics and values.

Throughout Chinese history, heroism is greatly respected and preached. Death is endowed with social value. To die for righteousness is very common. This is called “杀身成仁”(to die for benevolence) or “无求生以害仁”(not to live to blemish benevolence). People who are actuated by lofty ideals wish that their death could be weightier than Mount Tai but not be lighter than a goose feather. This metaphor comes from Shi Ji written by Si Maqian, a great historiographer, writer and thinker in West Han Dynasty. It describes the importance and meaning of how one dies. If one dies for the society or country, commendatory and positive words will be used to comment their death, such as “壮烈牺牲”(sacrifice one’s life bravely and gloriously), “慷慨就义”(be executed and die a hero’s death), “为国捐躯”(lay down one’s life for the sake of one’s country) “以身殉国”(be martyred for the country), etc. These euphemisms give people a heroic feeling. That is because people pay more attention to the social value of death and advocate the value of collectivism.

In Christian countries, national heroes are also respected by their men. There are also some euphemisms of hero’s death, such as “to fall”, “to lay down one’s life”, “to kiss the dust”, “to bite the ground”, “to make the ultimate sacrifice”, “to fire one’s last shot” etc. Compared with Chinese euphemisms of hero’s death, these words can’t convey the strong tragic emotion and can’t describe the deep-felt condolences and respect. Different from Chinese culture, English culture emphasizes on individual spirit and the realization of individual dreams. Lei Jing regarded that western culture pays more attention to achieve individual desire, hoping that oneself can exist with God. (Lei Jing, 2006:39-43) They judge hero’s death from the perspective of religion. Hero’s death indicates that they have accomplished their mission to save others and this accomplishment is in accordance with the doctrine norms. In their eyes, hero’s death is the realization of their mission; therefore there is little grandiloquence to describe hero’s death.

As to some negative people’s death, such as evildoers, scoundrels and criminals, derogatory euphemisms are used to talk about their death. In Chinese, we call this kind of death “横死”, “丧命”, “吹灯了”, “见鬼去了”, “玩完了”, “仰天了”, “一命呜呼” and “翘辫子” etc. These death euphemisms express people’s detestation and hatred and give the audience an unpleasant feeling. So we can see that in Eastern culture, people advocate justice and good deeds and hate evil behavior, on condition that they use negative euphemisms to refer to bad deeds. Compared with Chinese euphemisms of negative death, English euphemisms are more humorous, such as “drop/slip off the hooks”, “to kick off”, “to kick the bucket”, “to send somebody to eternity”, “to go west” etc.

4. Death Euphemisms in Major Religions

In English, people hold that “God is different from human beings” while in Chinese, people hold that “God and human beings are amalgamated”. These two concepts are reflected in death euphemisms and highlight different features of Chinese and English.

4.1 Death Euphemisms in Taoism and Buddhism

Religion has exerted a major impact on the Chinese view of life and death. As early as in the primitive society, the worship of ghost as an ancient religious form of human was common in China and it was quite developed. The theoretical basis of ghost worship is the immortality of the soul. Death meant that the body was dead but the soul was alive which was reincarnated to the other world. Such expressions like “去世”, “逝世”, “辞世” and “转世” are death euphemisms from ghost worship in Chinese culture.

Taoism and Buddhism have exerted a significant influence on Chinese death euphemisms. Buddhism originates in ancient India while Taoism is an indigenous religion of China. Chuang-tzu explained the Taoist view of life and death in detail. He believed that life and death is a continuum and people should obey their destiny. (Hai Bo, 2007:42) This philosophical indifferent view of life and death is well reflected in the euphemistic expressions of death in Taoist ideology. Taoists have an expression called “物化” to describe death which means objectification. There are some other euphemisms such as “遁化”, “隐化” and “迁形” which have similar meanings as “物化”. Taoism is developed from Taoist ideology. The pursuit of eternal life and physical immortality are the main ideas of Taoism. Taoism believes that human beings will turn into celestial being (仙) after they die. As a result, death euphemisms containing celestial being are often used to refer to death, such as“归道”, “化仙”, “升天”, “登仙”, “仙游”and “仙逝”. Human beings die like cicada ecdysis, hence there are euphemistic expressions like “蝉蜕” and “蜕化”. Human beings are compared to birds and their death is compared to birds flying to the sky with their wings open, so “羽化” and “升天” refer to death in this sense. Other death euphemisms like “跨鹤”, “化鹤” and “驾鹤西游” imply that humans find their right path and change into celestial being riding a crane after death.

Buddhism originated in ancient India and started to spread in China in East Han Dynasty. Buddhism believes that all human beings are in the “samsara” of “six domains of the desire realm” in accordance with their “behavior” and “karma”. The six domains are the God domain, the jealous god domain, the human domain, the animal domain, the hungry ghost domain and the hell domain. Only when human beings are converted to Buddhism, by means of praying to Buddha, chanting Buddhist scriptures, offering sacrifice to Buddha, being initiated into monkhood or nunhood, being involved in meditation etc., as well as doing good deeds, can they get rid of samsara of “six domains of the desire realm” and reach the realm of Buddha, which is the lifelong target for every Buddhist. As in Buddhism, death is an aspect from which one’s behavior is examined. (Hai Bo, 2007:47) Influenced by such thought, Buddhists have a unique set of euphemistic expressions of death, such as “坐化”, “示灭”, “归真”, “归寂”, “灭度”, “寂灭”, “示寂”, “圆寂” and “成佛”, etc. These euphemisms exude a strong spirit of Buddhism, and embody distinctive cultural traits of Buddhism. Buddhism emphasizes on the understanding of doctrines everything has a cause and a result. (He Xiaolian, 2002:115) In addition to the death euphemisms mentioned above, Buddhism also adopts the Taoist euphemistic expressions of death, such as “仙游”, “仙去”, “登仙” and “仙逝”, etc.

4.2 Death Euphemisms in Christianity

As the major religious belief, the doctrines of Christianity are considered as the moral standards of entire social practices. The Bible, as well as the Christian legends and stories, is the main source of death euphemisms in English which are refraction of Christian philosophy and the religious interpretation of death in Christianity.

In Christian philosophy, God, as Lord of the universe, created humans with dust, so when human beings die, they just “return to the dust” or are to “be called to God”. Man was born with original sin and must atone for his original sin, so his death is “to repay the debt of nature”. When people are “called to God”, they should “hand in their accounts”, truthfully report their secular behavior, and then wait for God’s “last judgement”. Only the good doers can see Charon, boatman on The River Styx, “say hello to Charon” and “pay Charon” for “crossing the River Styx” safely. After that, they could “pay Saint Peter a visit” who is in charge of the key of heaven’s gate and are to “be promoted to glory”. All the phrases in quotation marks are death euphemisms in Christianity which are related to God. There are some other death euphemisms which come from the Bible stories, such as “lie in Abraham’s bosom”. “Bosom of Abraham” refers to the place of comfort in sheol where the Jews said the righteous dead awaited Judgment Day.

5. The Major Similarities of Chinese and English Death Euphemisms in Religion

5.1 Using Nonfigurative Symbols

Some symbols in death euphemisms in religion are nonfigurative, which means the concepts in these euphemisms are abstract. Some symbols may refer to a place that does not exist in real world. For example, in Buddhism, “西天(the west)” is used to refer to the place that people may go to after death. There are no clear or specific descriptions of what “西天” is like. In Buddhism, the “pure land(极乐世界)” in the west is the ideal world where Buddha lives. People, who do good deeds when they are alive, may go to the “pure land” and visit Buddha after death. So “上西天”, “归西” and “见佛祖去” in Chinese are euphemisms referring to death in that sense. In Taoism, “fairyland(仙境)” is the ideal world where people do not need to care about the world outside. “Fairyland” is an imaginary place that is not scientific.

In Christianity, “heaven” shares the similar meaning with “西天” and is viewed as the ideal world where people can see God. “Go to heaven” in English can be regarded as the equivalent of “上西天” and “归西” in Chinese. God who creates human beings is the lord of everything. So human beings’ death is “to be called to God” or “to be with God”.

Similarly, in Buddhism, Buddha is regarded as a sage who protects everything. So, if people die, we can use “见佛祖” to avoid saying death directly. People hold the similar attitude towards the belief that people’s spirit will go west after death. For example, “去西天” in Chinese and “to go west” in English. People of the two languages believe that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Therefore, east symbolizes the beginning of life and west symbolizes the end of life.

5.2 Using Words or Phrases of Verbs to Describe Death

Death is a kind of state. In the usual sense, death means that a person lies down without breath or physical action. As we all know, verbs are often used to refer to a kind of action or how things happens. Both in Chinese and in English, words or phrases containing verbs are used to refer to death euphemistically, such as “to answer the final summons”, “to hand in one’s account”, “say hello to Charon”, “join the angelic choirs” and “to lie in Abraham’s bosom” etc. in English and “涅磐”, “升天”, “上山”, “仙游”, “登仙” and “驾鹤西游” etc. in Chinese. Words or phrases of verbs are more expressive than words or phrases of nouns. Verbs can give people a positive and upward feeling.

All these death euphemisms mentioned above show a process of death and put an emphasis on the action. These euphemistic words depict vivid and beautiful pictures. For example, “驾鹤西游” depicts a picture that a person in white rides a crane heading to the west. Similarly, in English, “join the angelic choirs” depicts a picture that a person walks toward a choir of angels that is chanting and joins the choir. Such a vivid and euphemistic way of expressing death makes the lifeless and static state more acceptable to common people. When these words appear in people’s mind, people may not feel so grieved about death.

Moreover, death, as a serious topic, gives people a feeling of depression. These death euphemisms in religion mentioned above can help people relieve the sadness by creating a light atmosphere. In Buddhism, death is not the end of life. “涅磐” in Buddhism means rebirth. The dead just go to the “pure land” to live another new life. In Christianity, death is just to “be called to God” or to “be taken to paradise”. People can also talk and chant, as reflected in the euphemisms “say hello to Charon” and “join the angelic choirs”.

6. The Major Differences between Chinese and English Death Euphemisms in Religion

6.1 Different Target Users of Language

Language is created by people and also used by people. Different languages have different target users. Euphemism, as a typical type of language, has its specific users, too. Death euphemism is no exception, too. Death euphemism is used when people face death and do not want to say death directly. Chinese and English death euphemisms in religion contain different expressions for different people’s death.

In Chinese, most death euphemisms in religion can only be used to refer to the death of a certain group of people. For example, “归寂”, “灭度”, “寂灭”, “圆寂” and “归真” can only refer to the death of monks and are the real doers of Buddhist philosophy and doctrines. These euphemistic words are related to the practices in this life, involving praying to Buddha, chanting Buddhist scriptures, offering sacrifice to Buddha and so on. There are few death euphemisms in Buddhism for common people who are just believe in Buddha but do not practice Buddhism. As in Taoism, the use of some death euphemisms is also limited to certain group of people. For example, “仙游”, “隐化” and “羽化” refer to the death of Taoist priests. Not all people who believe in Taoism can become Taoist priests. Euphemisms of death in Taoism exude a spirit of longing for freedom.

In English, most death euphemisms in Christianity are from the Bible which advocates that all human beings are created equal. No matter whom you are or what job you do in this life, people are going to die in the end. Humans are equal in the sense that all human beings come to die. So death euphemisms in Christianity can be used to refer to the death of all humans, from upper class to common people.

6.2 Different Sources of Death Euphemisms in Religion

Buddhists believe in samsara, karma and rebirth. In Buddhism, samsara is defined as the continual repetitive cycle of birth and death that arises from ordinary beings’ grasping and fixating on a self and experiences. Specifically, samsara refers to the process of cycling through one rebirth after another within the six realms of existence. In Buddhism, karma specifically refers to those actions of body, speech or mind that spring from mental intent, and bring about a consequence. Rebirth refers to a process whereby beings go through a succession of lifetimes as one of many possible forms of sentient life, each running from conception (Keown, 1996:107) to death.

Buddhism regards death as a mirror of a person’s secular behavior and a standard to measure the value of life. In Buddhism, death is the natural rule of all living things. Since death cannot be avoided, humans should show respect to it. (Hai Bo, 2007:47-48) In Buddhists’ eyes, to reach the realm of Buddha is an honorable end of life. Buddhism teaches people to be kind and do what they can to help those in need. People should be calm when they face death, which can be reflected in some of the death euphemisms, such as “坐化”, “归寂”, “归真”, “圆寂” and so on. These alternatives of death are full of a kind of peaceful spirit. Taoism longs for the eternal being and creates some unrealistic ways to avoid death. Taoists don’t consider death as a thing to happen, which is not scientific, and they lay stress on being alive. Therefore, they created some death euphemisms with unrealistic images, such as “celestial being (仙)”, to give people a kind of wrong feeling.

The Bible, as the main source of English death euphemisms in religion, describes death as being with God, a divine symbol of spirit in heaven. Christianity accepts death with an unperturbed heart and views physical death as a turning point of life renewing. Physical death, as well as the death of flesh does not mean the death of spirit because in Christianity spirit and flesh are two parts of human being. Therefore, Christianity takes a rather objective attitude towards death which is different from Taoism. As reflected in death euphemisms, “be fallen asleep”, “return to the dust” and “last judgement” convey an objective attitude toward death, which is more realistic.

7. Conclusion

Chinese and English are two different languages, so there are definitely numerous similarities and differences between the two languages. However, the thesis mainly focuses on the apparent similarities and differences of Chinese and English death euphemisms in religion.

Language is the carrier of culture. A thorough and detailed study of death euphemism in religion can promote good understandings of different cultures. From the analyses of the similarities of death euphemisms in religion in Chinese and English, it can be seen that these two languages do have something in common, indicating that there exist certain common factors in the two cultures. Moreover, the use of death euphemisms in Taoism and Buddhism by common people is less when it is compared with that in Christianity. In other words, death euphemisms in Taoism and Buddhism are rarely used by people in their daily talk while death euphemisms from the Bible are often used in people’s daily conversations. Therefore, the comparison between death euphemisms in religion has more significance on the theoretical level than on the practical level.

Works Cited

[1] Allan, K., And K. Burridge. Euphemism amp; Dysphemism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991: 5-15.

[2] Enright, Dennis Joseph. Fair of Speech: the Uses of Euphemism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985: 2-8.

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