How does the use of euphemisms affect emotional communication in Chinese

The use of euphemisms in Chinese emotional communication serves to express politeness, avoid conflict, and soften sensitive or taboo topics. Euphemisms help to regulate emotional expression in socially acceptable ways, reflecting the culture’s emphasis on harmony and indirectness in communication. Through euphemisms, speakers can mitigate the intensity of negative emotions or socially delicate subjects, which supports smoother social interactions and emotional restraint typical of Chinese conversational norms. ^{1, 2, 3}

In Chinese culture, emotional communication often involves subtlety and indirectness rather than direct emotional expression. Euphemistic language aligns with this by allowing emotions to be conveyed obliquely, minimizing potential offense or embarrassment and maintaining face for both parties. This indirect emotional expression is deeply embedded in Chinese social and cultural contexts, where moral, social, and aesthetic emotions are highly valued and carefully managed. ^{2, 4}

Moreover, euphemisms in Chinese can also maintain social harmony by softening critiques, avoiding direct confrontation, and facilitating polite discourse. This means euphemisms affect how emotions are communicated by shaping emotional content to be culturally appropriate and less confrontational, thus influencing emotional communication dynamics in Chinese language and society. ^{3, 1}

In summary, euphemisms in Chinese emotional communication soften and regulate emotional expression to preserve social harmony, politeness, and face, reflecting cultural preferences for indirectness and emotional restraint. ^{1, 2, 3}

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