Euphemisms of the death thematic group in Chinese and their translation into Russian

Li Man' ORCID: 0000-0003-3931-1802 Postgraduate student, Department of General and Russian Linguistics, Peoples' Friendship University of Russia 117198, Russia, Moscow, Miklukho-Maklaya str., 10 liman.publ@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Today, the problem of studying euphemisms expressing unique cultural, religious, ethnic, etc. representations of a particular people in the language is of great interest. In this sense, the issues related to the specifics of the functioning of euphemisms in the Chinese language, as well as the identification of conditions under which semantic accuracy is preserved during their translation into Russian, are of particular relevance.

Modern scientists, in particular, Zhang Chan, considering these issues, comes to the conclusion that this phenomenon is based on three interrelated aspects: "social (implies the "acceptability" of lexical units and the prohibition of rude, indecent nominations); psychological (respect for the interlocutor, the exclusion of all possible types of insults); linguistic (selection of optimal linguistic means with euphony, etc.)" ^{[1, p. 5]}. According to L. P. Krysin, euphemisms, first of all, call objects, phenomena or actions indirectly, allegorically, often to soften words or expressions that have even become common (the speaker often includes them in speech intuitively, unconsciously) ^[2]. A number of scientists (M. L. Kovshova, V. P. Moskvin, etc.) associate the concept of euphemism with the representations of people who (representations) are tactless, uncultured, incorrect and indelicate in relation to the listener ^{[3, 4]}. Others note that the term euphemism itself comes from the Greek word euphemism mismos, where the prefix eu- (good), -ph-mi- (I say), which in the complex means euphh-me ?, i.e. I speak politely or euphh-m-a (eloquence, good speech, abstinence from obscene words) ^[5]. At the same time, of course, euphemisms speak not only about the communicative level of each individual speaker, but also demonstrate the depth of the language of the people, reveal the culture of the nation, its formation, attitude to the world.

The Chinese dictionary notes that [weiwan yu] / euphemisms are suitable expressions that people use in their communication so that both sides can communicate calmly and so that both sides feel that communication is pleasant. For example, when you unconsciously ask a deaf person for directions, and the person next to you may remind you that he is "hard of hearing", instead of directly saying: "he is deaf" ^[6]. That is, the use of euphemism in speech serves as a way to minimize the shortcomings of another person without hurting his dignity. And in this regard, the linguistic culture of the Han people, an ancient Chinese nation that has been developing its own unique culture for a long time, is of great interest.

One of the outstanding ideas of the Han culture is considered to be the golden mean, which reflects the ethical and moral ideology in philosophy ^[7]. It is the essence of Chinese culture, and Confucius considered it the highest moral standard. Its fundamental goal is to enable all things in the world to be in the best possible condition: this is not a mutually exclusive order, but one in which all things can achieve perfect integration and harmonious coexistence (we are talking about an unbiased, eclectic and harmonious attitude towards people and the world). In order to meet the golden mean, people have developed a sense of tact and respect: This is characterized by the ability to express oneself more subtly so as not to hurt the feelings of the interlocutor ^{[7, p. 54]}. This explains the peculiarity of the Chinese (Han) people to take an intermediate position and not speak directly in cases where communication is carried out, there is a need to express their opinion about a person or phenomenon.

In addition, in Chinese (as in any other) there are words in the language that are not instinctively pronounced by its speakers only because they are considered indecent, rude, excessively harsh, tactless or inappropriate. Therefore, those objects and phenomena that characterize these words, as a rule, are described not directly, but indirectly – with the involvement of substitutes, which are commonly called euphemisms. These include the euphemisms of the death thematic group: their presence in the Chinese language adds a certain charm and, in a special way, demonstrates the facets of its refinement and elegance, and also brings melody and harmony to the language. At the same time, it should be noted that in addition to the euphemisms of the death thematic group, there are groups of euphemisms in the Chinese language that name: shortcomings, diseases of a physical and mental nature; phenomena, actions and states of vital signs, physique, human health; dangerous acts, actions condemned by society; individual parts of the human body; prosperity, profitability and a high level of life; difficulties in life associated with low income; supernatural forces, etc. ^[1].

The formation of the concept of death in Chinese (Han) culture is associated with prehistoric times. Even in ancient China, people assumed that language has a supernatural power that can cause all kinds of human misfortunes and good fortune (this explains the unconscious equating of representations of language elements with the language itself). The unique ideas of the Chinese about the world and language led to a "euphemistic and taboo way of using words related to death, which is associated with the fear of offending the gods" ^{[8, pp. 115-116]}. All this contributed to the emergence of euphemisms, including the thematic group death (for example, instead of the word devil, unclean was actively used, etc.). And in general, the topic of illness, death refers to those topics that require delicacy and accuracy, in which it is often necessary to bypass literal definitions. In Russia, the word death is often not used, but a lethal outcome is said ^[9], among the Chinese people there are also similar euphemisms: [seshi] / go to a better world, [tsogu] / move to another world instead of the word ? [sy] / death. In addition, the Chinese (Han) people in the past actively used phrases of an aristocratic sense: [Guitian] / return to heaven, [jiahe siyu] / sitting on a crane, travel to the west ^[10]. The use of the above euphemistic expressions makes it possible to experience less fear of "forbidden, transcendental" phenomena, thereby avoiding mistakes and inconveniences in the course of communication.

The appearance of euphemisms is closely related to language taboos: with their help, taboo words that cannot be "mentioned" are replaced in the language. In Chinese, when someone does not know if the other's parents are still alive, the expression are your parents still alive? is often used, while the Chinese try to avoid the word dead to express the same meaning ^[4]. Similarly, if it is necessary to inform the other party that the parents have died, an indirect way of expression is often used, for example, they say: this sweater was knitted for me by my mother when she was alive. It is believed that such expressions will not cause the speaker much sadness.

Accordingly, it is advisable to present the euphemisms of the death thematic group in the Chinese language in the context of synonymous relations. So, for example, euphemisms-synonyms include linguistic units with the same or similar meanings, whose role in language expressions is as follows: firstly, they can make the language more precise and dense; secondly, it allows you to avoid repetitions in the text and make sentences lively and diverse; thirdly, they can express different styles of speech; fourth, they help to express character and convey various emotions; fifth, and most importantly, they can make the tone euphemistic ^[11]. It is known that the word death is taboo for many people, especially in China: this explains the existence in modern Chinese of a different designation of the concept of death, expressed in various synonymous series.

The first is a number of synonyms denoting death after adulthood: [qiushi] / to leave the world, [qishi] / to say goodbye to the world, [changshi] / to die for a long time and never return, [changmian] / to fall asleep for a long time and never wake up again ^[12]. All these lexical units convey the concept of death, but there are differences in application between them. Thus, the expression [qiushi] / get out of the world is used to denote almost all deceased people, indicating the departure of an adult from this world ^[11]. The expression has a wide range of uses, including it can be used regardless of a person's social status. In addition, the expression [qiushi] / get out of the world is an objective and literary term. In turn, the euphemism [tsishi] / to say goodbye to the world is usually used for people of a certain social status and has an emotional character, expressing a feeling of regret or sadness. [changmian] / to fall asleep for a long time and never wake up again expresses the speaker's admiration and longing for the deceased. [changshi] / to die for a long time and never return emphasizes the eternal separation of the deceased from the world, with a sense of regret. In Chinese (Han) linguoculture, the concept of death is perceived as a departure to another world.

The second set of synonyms includes euphemisms denoting early death (which occurred before adulthood): [zaosy] / die early, [duanshou] / short life, [zaoyao] / die early, [shangzhe] / die early ^[12]. All these euphemisms indicate a very early death or death at a young age. However, there are differences in their application. [zaos] / die early and [duanshou] / short life have a wide application and can be used to refer to all people who die at a young age. [zaoyao] / dying early is defined as death before the age of majority from natural causes or for health reasons. [shangzhe] / die early consists of two hieroglyphs ? [shan] / die and ? [zhe] / break. ? [shang] is a multi–valued Chinese character, most often used to denote early death; ? [shang] includes four more classifications, namely:

1) the death of a person before the age of seven inclusive, which is usually written as [zaoshan];

2) the death of 8-11 year olds, denoted as a ? [ [xiashan];

3) the death of 11-15 year olds, denoted as the [Zhongshan];

4) the passing away of 16-19 year olds, called the [shanshan].

The hieroglyph ?[zhe] / to break was first used in the Shang Dynasty; its ancient form resembles chopping wood with an axe, which originally meant to break (to break – to destroy and lose, later the hieroglyph began to denote the lexical unit to die) ^[13]. Thus, in the Chinese (Han) linguoculture, death at an early age is understood as a short life or to die early.

The third synonymous series concerns the religious and philosophical currents of Taoism and Buddhism. Death in Taoism is represented by the following euphemistic signs: [xianshi] / to die and become a deity, [xianqiu] / to leave the world and become a deity, ? [chengxian] / to become a deity; in Buddhism: [guixi] / to return paradise ^[12]. The hieroglyph ? [xian], which occurs in three combinations, means god in translation. Also in euphemisms, it means that the soul of a deceased person who found himself in heaven is divine ^[8]. The euphemism [ [guixi] consists of two signs ? [gui] / return and [si] / paradise. Thus, death in the religious and philosophical currents of Buddhism and Taoism, viewed through the prism of Chinese (Han) linguoculture, is defined as entering paradise after passing away.

The fourth synonymous series is represented by Chinese euphemisms: [sheshen] / to give life, [xianshen] / to give life, [juanqu] / to sacrifice oneself, [xiongguo] / to give life (to die, to fall) for the motherland (for the fatherland), [zhenwang] / to fall, to die in battle ^[12]. In euphemisms, the hieroglyphs ? [xun], ? [she], ? [juan], ? [xian] are used, meaning to give or dedicate when translated (a person, dying, gives his life in the name of a country or a sacred cause ^[14]). In these euphemisms, death means sacrifice for the good of the motherland, nation, faith.

The fifth group of the synonymous series is represented by the combinations: [hansy] / tragically (untimely) to die; violent death; death from an accident, premature death, [baotsu] / to die suddenly; sudden death ^[12], denoting unexpected, quick death, sometimes after an accident. The hieroglyphs ? [heng], ? [bao] unexpectedly in these expressions mean suddenness of death. However, these euphemisms differ in that [hansy] is used with an unnatural outcome, for example, after an accident on the road, and [baotsu] – with a sudden death, for example, from a stroke.

The sixth row of synonyms is used in the language when it is necessary to say about the death of a beautiful woman. So, when using the euphemism [yuxui zhuchen], it becomes clear to representatives of the Chinese (Han) linguoculture that they are talking about the death of an attractive girl. This euphemism is translated into Russian as a figurative expression of a beautiful jade is broken, and a precious stone has sunk ^[15]. The hieroglyph ? [zhu] means jewel, ? [chen] – to drown, ? [yu] – jasper, ? [sui] – to break.

The seventh group is synonymous euphemism denoting death: ? [van], ? [GU], ? [TSU], ? [Shi], ? [mo], ? [bi].The difference between ? [wang] and ? [gu] consists in the emotional coloring of the word death. So, ? [wang] is used when talking about death without feelings, with restraint. ? [gu] is applied if the deceased is shown deep reverence, respect. If the speaker wants to express a more respectful attitude, he uses ? [shi].The euphemism ? [bi] describes a quick departure from life in a short period of time. The use of the hieroglyphs ? [tsu] and ? [mo] depends on the status and position in society. In particular, ? [tsu] refers to the death of an official, and ? [mo] – a person who was ill, had a low status, sometimes denotes the death of children.

In addition, the euphemisms of the death thematic group in Chinese can be classified in terms of their metaphorical expression. Metaphor (as a rhetorical device for designating one object similar to another, as well as "a psychological, linguistic and cultural act of perception, experience and speech about such things" ^{[16, p. 752]}), is widespread in Chinese (Han) linguoculture and is a fundamental cognitive ability of thinking and linguistic behavior of people. For example, the following metaphorical expressions of euphemisms of death are common in modern Chinese:

1. Death is the end of the journey, the departure from the real world

The metaphor of life as a journey is formed on the basis of the experience of traveling – moving around any territory in order to study them, cognition. Thus, the end of life is the end of the journey, and the metaphorical expression of death is consistent with the word to leave. For example, [qishi] / to die, to order to live long, [guisi] / to die, to die, [seshi] / to say goodbye to the world, to depart into eternity, to order to live long, etc. – all these words mean death, but carry a good wish for life, thereby reducing the fear of death and woe to the living;

2. Death is sleep or rest

Rest is a state of rest: when a person is resting, he is in a state of immobility (this state is often correlated with the death of a person).Hence the use of the concept of rest as a metaphor of death, reflecting the most real and intuitive understanding of it ^[11]. In modern Chinese, the expressions long sleep, eternal rest, rest in peace, sleep forever, etc. are used as a metaphor of death.For example, in the euphemism [changmian] / to fall asleep with eternal sleep, the hieroglyph ? [mian] / sleep is projected onto death, since certain similarities are observed: a sleeping person and a dead person are in a state of unconscious immobility. In this sense, death is indeed a dream (rest), but not an ordinary, but an eternal sleep. With the help of this projection, the similarity between death and sleep is emphasized, and the sadness and fear that the death of a loved one brings are hidden and hidden, acting as a psychological device;

3. Death is like withering grass

In historical times, people's understanding of things and phenomena, as a rule, correlated with the year of a cyclical calendar based on natural cycles, including plant growth cycles. The plant emerges from the seed and goes through the stages of spring, summer, autumn and winter; similarly, a person goes through infancy, childhood, youth, youth and old age. Since ancient times, people have linked ideas about plants and man, correlating different stages of human life with different stages of plant growth ^[17]. Falling leaves correspond to the onset of old age, and withered flowers and plants correspond to death. In modern Chinese, the metaphor of human death is used, for example, in the euphemism [loe guigen], which translates as leaves falling to their roots;

4. Death is the lowering of the curtain

We are talking about the metaphor of life as a performance (life is like a performance, a performance is like life). Everyone performs their role on stage. The end of the play corresponds to the final stage of human life on earth – death.The euphemisms of this thematic group have become an integral part of Chinese (Han) linguoculture: an important means of harmonizing cultural relationships. At the same time, the abundance of metaphorical language in general in modern Chinese euphemisms of the thematic group death indicates, on the one hand, the cognitive mechanism by which people use concrete thinking to describe the abstract concept of death, and on the other hand, the use of euphemisms to express fear of it.

Thus, having considered the specifics of the functioning of the euphemisms of the thematic group death in the Chinese language, which (euphemisms) convey value orientations, religious interpretations and folk customs of the Chinese (Han) people, it is possible to identify a number of conditions under which semantic accuracy is preserved during their translation from Chinese into Russian. In particular, when translating, it is necessary to take into account the synonymous relations of the euphemisms of the thematic group death (within the group of synonyms denoting: death after adulthood; early death that occurred before adulthood; death in the religious and philosophical currents of Buddhism and Taoism; death as sacrifice for the good of the motherland, nation, faith; unexpected, quick death, sometimes subsequently, an accident; the death of a beautiful woman; death in various semantic and emotional shades). In addition, during the translation of the euphemisms of the death thematic group from Chinese into Russian, it is important to proceed from the classification in the context of their metaphorical expression (defined as death is the end of a journey, leaving the real world; death is sleep or rest; death is like withering grass; death is the lowering of the curtain). All this, of course, determines the conditions under which semantic accuracy is preserved during the translation of euphemisms of the death thematic group from Chinese into Russian, in the context of value orientations, religious interpretations, etc.

At the same time, the analysis carried out in the article allowed us to establish that one of the basic conditions for preserving the meaning of the euphemisms of the thematic group death is the exact transfer in the translation language of concepts denoting elements of the national linguoculture, the Chinese language picture of the world. Only compliance with this important condition will allow us to convey the specifics of the functioning of the euphemisms of the thematic group death in the Chinese language through the perception of life experience, value orientations, cultural concepts, religious interpretations and folk customs of the Chinese (Han) people from ancient times to the present day.