Stylistic classification of the english vocabulary

c) Euphemism

Euphemism is a periphrasis, which is used to repla­ce an unpleasant word or expression by a more acceptable one. For example, the word 'to die" has the following eu­phemisms: to pass away, to expire, to be no more, to de­part, to join the majority, to cross the bar. So euphemisms are synonyms of words and phrases which aim at pro­ducing a deliberately mild effect.

The origin of the term euphemism discloses the aim of the device very clearly, i.e. speaking well (from Greek: eM-well, /?/ieme-speaking). Euphemism is sometimes figu­ratively called "a whitewashing device". The linguistic peculiarity of euphemism lies in the fact that every euphe­mism must call up a define synonym in the mind or the reader or listener. So instead of saying "to lie" people usu­ally use such expressions as "to possess a vivid imagina­tion", or "to tell stories"; instead of saying "a prostitute or a whore" the combination of words "a woman of a certain type" is used. These euphemistic synonyms are part of the language-as-a-system. They have not been freshly inven­ted. They are expressive means of the language and are to be found in all good dictionaries. They cannot be regarded as a stylistic device.

The life of euphemisms is short. They very soon be­come closely associated with the object named and give away to a newly-coined words or phrases. We trace periodic changes in terminology: the mad house; lunatic asylum; mental hospital; idiots; feeble-minded, low medium, high grade, mental defectives, persons of un­sound mind; mentally ill patients. These changes in the system of nomination are the signposts of progress in the development of the language.

Euphemisms may be divided into several groups ac­cording to their spheres of application. The most recogni­zed are the following: 1) religious, 2) moral, 3) medical, 4) political and 5) parliamentary.

Partly the political euphemisms always delude public opinion, distort the political events. Instead of saying "a liar" in the political sphere we usually come across such expressions as: terminological inexactitudes; "unemploy­ment" is called a dismissed worker.

Sometimes facts are distorted with the help of euphe­mistic expression. Thus the headline in one of the British newspapers "Tension in Kashmir" was to hide the fact that there was a real uprising in that area; "Undernourishment of children in India" stood for "starvation".

In A.J.Cronin's novel "The Stars Look Down" one of the members of Parliament, speaking of the word combi­nation. "Undernourishment of children in India" says: "Honourable Members of the House understand the mea­ning of this polite euphemisms". By calling undernourish­ment he discloses the true meaning of the word.

If a euphemism fails to carry along with it the word it is intended to replace, it is not a euphemism, but a delibe­rate veiling of the truth.

One and the same word may be periphrased by dif­ferent euphemisms in different speech situations. E.g.: The word "lair" in private conversation may have the fol­lowing euphemisms: untruther, story-teller, fabulist; in press: dissimulator, misleader, falsier, fabricator etc.

Here is an example of euphemistic phrases used by Galsworthy in the "Silver Spoon": "In private I should merely call him a liar". In the Press you should use the words: "Reckless dis­regard for truth" and in Parliament - that you regret he "should have been so misinformed".

In emotive prose euphemisms are usually expressed by metonymy, metaphor or periphrasis.

One of the stylistic function of euphemisms is to pro­duce a humorous effect or to distort the truth, to make the statement milder. E.g.: intoxication - drunkenness, perspi­ration - sweat.