Structure & Strategies on Euphemisms of the Word "Die" in Thai and Chinese

Abstract

This article is a documentary research article which is a part of the research paper titled "A Comparative Study on Euphemisms which means 'die' in Thai and Chinese." It aims to comparatively study euphemisms in Thai and Chinese indicating the meaning of "die", data are from the Thai Dictionary of Royal Academy (2011) and the Shanghai Dictionary of Chinese (2011). The results show that euphemisms in Thai which mean "Die" are formed through single words, idiomatic expressions and complex words. In terms of word usage, there are four meaning strategies in the euphemisms of "Die" both. It consisted of (1) neutral meaning (2) referential meaning (3) action verb, and (4) words or phrases lightened the word meaning. However, the strategies which disappeared in Thai were honored word and verbs about neutral meaning.