Abstract：A lot of experts and scholars at home and abroad hold that euphemism has a wide and frequent use in our daily life. The efficient use of euphemism in the doctor-patient conservation can ease the relationship and is beneficial to the recovery of patients. In the fact, the use of euphemism between doctors and patients is an efficient way to keep language taboo and harmonize the doctor-patient relationship, which is also a kind of dynamic adaptation for different factors in the communication. Thus, different patients need different ways to treat.

The examples from House M.D will be adopted and the thesis will study how the use of euphemism in the doctor-patient conversation can adapt to the communication context and linguistic context, and aims at handle the following questions:

1 The euphemism of doctor-patient conversation adapts to the commnication context and linguistic context.

2 doctors should take euphemism when communicating with patients, and they tend to use the strategy of adaptation theory.

3 When facing different patients, we should use different euphemisms and strategies of adaptation theory.

It is an efficient way to ease the relationship using euphemism between doctors and patients, and improve cure rate.Verschueren’s adaptation theory provides us a great frame structure, which can guide us to seek to the solution to the relationship of doctors and patients.

Keywords:  euphemism  doctor-patient conversation  House M.D  the theory of adaptation

中文摘要：许多国内外专家学者发现，委婉语，在生活中使用的十分普遍，医患对话中委婉语的恰当使用可以缓解医患关系，并且对患者的康复有着有利的影响。医生和患者之间使用委婉语,实际上是维持语言禁忌,协调医患关系的有效方式。这也正是对交际中各种因素的一种动态顺应，因此，医生对待不同的病会采取不同的委婉方式。

本文将以《豪斯医生》为例，从顺应论的角度来探讨医患对话中委婉语的使用是如何顺应交际语境和语言语境的，并旨在探讨四个问题:

1.医患对话中的委婉语对语境的顺应。

2.医生在面对病人时对委婉语以及语境顺应策略的使用。

3.医生面对不同的病人应使用不同的委婉语。使用委婉语时应该运用不同的顺应策略。

恰当的使用委婉语可以有效的缓解医患关系，提升治愈的可能性。Verschueren的顺应理论给我们提供了一个很好的理论框架，为我们探讨医患对话中的委婉语提供了很好的平台。

关键词: 委婉语；医患对话；《豪斯医生》；顺应理论

Contents

Abstract

中文摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 Background of the Research-1

1.2 Significance of the Research-1

1.3 The Orgnization of Thesis-2

Chapter Two Literature Review-3

2.1 Studies of Context-3

2.2 Verschueren’s Linguistic Adaptation Theory-4

2.2.1 Making Choices-4

2.2.2 Three Properties of Language-5

2.2.3 Angles of Investigation-5

Chapter Three Euphemism in Doctor-patient Conversation-8

3.1 Definition of Euphemism-8

3.2 The Use of Euphemism in the Doctor-Patient Conversation-8

Chapter Four The Study of Euphemism in House M.D from the Angle of Contextual Correlate of Adaptability-10

4.1 Adaptation to Communicative Context-10

4.1.1 Adaptation to Language Users-10

4.1.2 Adaptation to Mental World-11

4.1.3 Adaptation to Social World-12

4.1.4 Adaptation to Physical World-13

4.2 Adaptation to Linguistic Context-14

Chapter Five Conclusion-16

References-18