INTRODUCTION
The euphemismis a substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of onethat may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener, [1] or to make it less troublesome for the speaker, as in the case of doublespeak.The deployment of euphemisms is a central aspect within the public applicationof political correctness.
It may alsosubstitute a description of something or someone to avoid revealing secret,holy, or sacred names to the uninitiated, or to obscure the identity of thesubject of a conversation from potential eavesdroppers. Some euphemisms areintended to amuse.
CHAPTER 1. THE HISTORY OF EUPHEMISMS
1.1 Etymology
The word euphemismcomes from the Greek word euphemo, meaning "auspicious/good/fortunatespeech/kind "which in turn is derived from the Greek root-words eu (ОµП…)," good/well "+ pheme (П†О®ОјО·)"Speech/speaking". The eupheme was originally a word or phrase usedin place of a religious word or phrase that should not be spoken aloud;etymologically, the eupheme is the opposite of the blaspheme (evil-speaking).The primary example of taboo words requiring the use of a euphemism are theunspeakable names for a deity, such as Persephone, Hecate, or Nemesis.Euphemism was itself used as a euphemism by the ancient Greeks, meaning 'tokeep a holy silence '(speaking well by not speaking at all).
Historicallinguistics has revealed traces of taboo deformations in many languages.Several are known to have occurred in Indo-European languages, including theoriginal Proto-Indo-European words for bear (* rtkos), wolf (* wlk w os),and deer (originally, hart; the deformation likely occurred to avoid confusionwith heart). In different Indo-European languages, each of these words has adifficult etymology because of taboo deformations - a euphemism was substitutedfor the original, which no longer occurs in the language. An example is theSlavic root for bear - * medu-ed-, which means "honey eater". Oneexample in English is "donkey" replacing the oldIndo-European-derived word "ass". The word "dandelion"(Lit., tooth of lion, referring to the shape of the leaves) is another example,being a substitute for pissenlit, meaning "wet the bed", a possiblereference to the fact that dandelion was used as a diuretic.
In some languagesof the Pacific, using the name of a deceased chief is taboo. Among indigenousAustralians, it is forbidden to use the name, image, or audio-visual recordingof the deceased, so that the Australian Broadcasting Corporation now publishesa warning to indigenous Australians when using names, images or audio-visualrecordings of people who have died. [2]
Since peopleare often named after everyday things, this leads to the swift development ofeuphemisms. These languages ​​have a very high rate of vocabulary change. [3]
In a similarmanner, classical Chinese texts were expected to avoid using characterscontained within the name of the currently ruling emperor as a sign of respect.In these instances, the relevant ideographs were replaced by synonyms. Whilethis practice creates an additional wrinkle for anyone attempting to read ortranslate texts from the classical period, it does provide a fairly accuratemeans of dating the documents under consideration.
The commonnames of illicit drugs, and the plants used to obtain them, often undergo aprocess similar to taboo deformation, because new terms are devised in order todiscuss them secretly in the presence of others. This process often occurs inEnglish (e.g. speed or crank for meth). It occurs even more in Spanish, e.g.the deformation of names for cannabis: mota (lit., "something whichmoves "on the black market), replacing grifa (lit.," something coarseto the touch "), replacing marihuana (a female personal name, MarГaJuana), replacing caГ±amo (the original Spanish name for the plant,derived from the Latin genus name Cannabis). All four of these names are stillused in various parts of the Hispanophone world, although caГ±amoironically has the least underworld connotation, and is often used to describe industrialhemp, or legitimate medically-prescribed cannabis.
1.2 History ofeuphemisms in English
A great numberof euphemisms in English came from words with Latin roots. Farb (1974) writesthat after the Norman Conquest of England in 1066: "the community began tomake a distinction between a genteel and an obscene vocabulary, between theLatinate words of the upper class and the lusty Anglo-Saxon of the lower. Thatis why a duchess perspired and expectorated and menstruated - while a kitchenmaid sweated and spat and bled. "
In the"Good 'old' (read over the hill, chronologically-gifted) days" of theEnglish language, there was a dazzling amount of delightful doubletalk not tomention a smattering of simply hilarious handles as seen below:
"brandy"- Referred to as "French Cream" by time-enhanced tabbies and dowagerduchesses who added it to their tea (scandal broth)
"breeches"- Bumfiddles, galligaskins, inexpressibles
"brewer"- Brother of the Bung
"constable"- Bus-napper
"coachman"- Brother of the Whip
"dealerin fruit "- costard monger
"eggs"- Cackling farts
"footboy "- catch fart
"footman"- Bone picker
"fiddler"- Gut scraper or tormentor of cat gut
"indigent"- Gentleman of Three Outs, i.e. without money, without wit, and withoutmanners
"match-maker"- Buttock broker
"parson"- Autem bawler who conducts his affairs in an "autem cacle tub"(Church meeting hall)
"pimp"- Brother of the Gusset
"roundaboutstory or way "- circumbendibus
"salesman'sshop "- Bow-Wow Shop (because the servant barks and the master bites)
"SargeantAt Arms "- Brother of the Coif
"schoolmaster"- Bum brusher
"shoe-making"- The art of gentle craft
"tea"- Cat lap, scandal broth
"undertaker"- Embalming surgeon
"upholsterer"- Bug-hunter
"wife"- Comfortable importance
1.3 Euphemism treadmill
Euphemismsoften evolve over time into taboo words themselves, through a process describedby W.V.O. Quine, and more recently dubbed the "euphemism treadmill"by Steven Pinker. (Cf. Gresham's Law in economics). This is the well-knownlinguistic process known as 'pejoration' or 'semantic change'.
Wordsoriginally intended as euphemisms may lose their euphemistic value, acquiringthe negative connotations of their referents. In some cases, they may be usedmockingly and become dysphemisms.
For example,the term "concentration camp", to describe camps used to confinecivilian members of the Boer community in close (concentrated) quarters, wasused by the British during the Second Boer War, primarily because it soundedbland and inoffensive. Despite the high death rates in the Britishconcentration camps, the term remained acceptable as a euphemism. However,after the Third Reich used the expression to describe its death camps, the termgained enormous negative connotation.
Also, in someversions of English, "toilet room", itself a euphemism, was replacedwith "bathroom" and "water closet", which were replacedwith "restroom" and "WC" These are also examples ofeuphemisms which are geographically concentrated: the term "restroom"is rarely used outside of the United States and "WC", where beforeit was quite popular in Britain, is passing out of favor and becoming morepopular in France and is the polite term of choice in Germany.
Connotationseasily change over time. "Idiot", "imbecile", and "moron"were once neutral terms for a developmentally delayed adult of toddler, preschool,and primary school mental ages, respectively. [4] As with Gresham'slaw, negative connotations tend to crowd out neutral ones, so the phrase mental...