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Euphemism2006-5

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Etymology of the word euphemism

euphemize [18 55-60; Gk euph mzein touse words of good omen]

eu - a combining form meaning good, well,occurring originally in loanwords from Greekeuphemism : made up of three boundmorphemes : , all Greek in origin :

eu (good) + phem(voice) +ism (act/result)

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Etymology of the word euphemism

Examples : eulogy : a statement of praise, esp. a set oration inhonor of a deceased person; -high praise

eulogize v ,euphony: agreeableness of sound; pleasing effect tothe ear, esp. a pleasant sounding or harmoniouscombination or succession of words

euphonic adj.eugeniceupeptic etc.

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Etymology of the word euphemismIn the sixteenth century, the British aristocracy wasde v eloping its own elaborate court language.Characterized by circumlocutions and amplifications, or, inother words, beatings around the bush, runnings around incircles, and excessi v e v erbiage, this courtly argot wasknown as euphuism and was gi v en its name by the author John Lyly who employed it in a satirical work calledEuphues (157 8) . By the early 1580s, the author GeorgeBlount used the term euphemism in English, defining it asa good or fa v orable interpretation of a bad word.

Although the terms euphuism and euphemism do notha v e the same meaning, they both describe a manner of speaking that leans toward indirectness in the ser v ice of pleasantness.

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F ormation of euphemismsJoseph M. Williams suggests fi v e general semantic

processes by means of which euphemisms arecreated.borrowing words from oth e r lang u ag e s ----termsthat are less freighted with negati v e associations,e.g., halitosis (bad breath )< Latin halitus for breathwid e ning ----When a specific term becomes toopainful or v iv id, we mo v e up in the ladder of abstraction. e.g., growth (cancer ), foundation (girdle ),

solid human waste (feces )s e mantic shift ----the substitution of the whole, or asimilar generality, for the specific part we do notchoose to discuss. e.g., rear end (bottom )

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F ormation of euphemismsm e taphorical transf e r ----the comparison of things of one order to things of another. e.g. blossom (pimple )

phon e tic distortion ----When we encounter words thatwe dare not speak their names, we abb revi at e ,a pocop at e (shorten or omit the last syllable ), ini t i a l,conver t , ba ckform and reduplic at e them. e.g.

Abbre v iation : ladies < ladies room Apocopation : v amp < v ampire (a seducti v e woman )Initialing : JC < Jesus ChristBackforming : burgle (rob ) < burglar Reduplication : pee-pee < pissPhonetic distortion : cripes < Christ, Gad < God

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F ormation of euphemisms

Examples of euphemism1.garbage man sanitation engineer 2. old people senior citizen3. pregnant in the family way4. die pass away5. the dead the deceased /the late6. burier undertaker / mortician7. lunatic asylums mental institutions

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Analysis of the organization of the text

P ara. 1 : A common definition : euphemism has got abad name.

P ara. 2 : Change in names v s change in nature.P ara. 3 : Euphemism -- a method of generating new

and useful ways of perception.P ara. 4 : The neutral nature of the process of

euphemisingP ara. 5 The cultural effect of euphemizing on language : P ara. 6 : Moral dimensions of euphemisingP ara. 7 : Summary of main idea

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Language pointsauspicious : (fairly formal ) fa v orable or glorified, raisingthe status of the person referred to, e.g. It was anauspicious start to their election campaign.exalted : upliftingdown - to -earth : factual, telling what something actually ispartial : showing special fa v or to one side, person, etc.,esp. in an unfair way; biasedpartiality : bias

e.g. Show no partiality in your decisions.be partial to: like v ery much, e.g,Im v ery partial to sweet foods.

detestable : hateful

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Language pointsoperation : (singular ) used as part of a code namefor military campaigns

expunge : (formal ) remo v e completely, e.g. from apiece of writing or from your memory, because itcauses problems or bad feelings

e.g. He had tried to expunge memories of the failure.his battle to expunge the clause from the contact

imagery : the mental pictures that are created in your mind by poetic language; used also of the wordswhich create these pictures.e.g. He argued that Shakespeares plays werepatterns of imagery.

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Language pointsamiss : wrong, inadequate(sth. ) not come/go amiss : it would be v ery welcome andusefule.g. A little calm and detachment wouldnt come amiss.vein : style or mood

e.g. - John Gielgud can also be heard in much lighter v einon Radio Four

- The letter continued in this v ein for se v eral pages.generate : (formal ) cause (a situation or feeling ) to begin,esp. when it then continues to exist or de v elop by itself e.g. - Technology by itself does not generate new ideas

-This book will continue to generate excitement for along time

- Tourism will generate new jobs.

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Language pointsattend to : deal with (e.g. a problem ), see toe.g. - I had two items of business to attend to before I could relax.- If we do not attend to the problem, it will certainly grow.divert : cause to be used for a different purpose of acti v itye.g. -We feel it desirable to di v ert funds from armaments tohealth and education.- If you dont use it, you can di v ert the money into sa v ings.alienate from : emotionally or intellectually separate from,estrange, isolatee.g. - We li v e in an age in which people ha v e been alienatedfrom their roots.- The leadership must ne v er become alienated from the ordinarymembers.- I felt alienated, angry and alone.- the growing feeling of despair and alienation

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Language pointsframe of mind : the mood that someone is in, which causeshim to ha v e a particular attitude to something; humour e.g. Im not the right frame of mind for riddles.

authentic : (painting, a piece of writing, etc. ) genuine rather than being an imitation; real; bona fidee.g. - They inserted among the authentic documents se v eralthat had been forged.- It is an authentic Air Force jacket

incongruous : strange for not fitting properly into the rest of

the ev

ent or situatione.g.- He was an incongruous figure among the tourists.-The sound of the horn hung in the air, lonely and incongruous.-I was struck by the glaring incongruity of the scene. There I was, my face dirty, my clothes torn; and there he was,immaculate as usual.

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Language pointsamount to : ha v e particular worth or importance; beworthe.g. - It is unlikely that the forthcoming talks will

amount to v ery much.- What do these rumors amount to?

priorities : a set of problems, considerations, or courses of action, which need dealing with in aparticular order because some are more important

than others.e.g. - There is little attempt to find out the priorities of the public.- The policeman had his priorities right.

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Language pointscategorically : positi v elye.g. - The go v ernment ha v e stated quite categoricallythat were going to see a change in priorities.- be categorical about : completely certain about;

positi v ee.g. On this point we can be clear and categorical.

propriety : (formal ) correctness of beha v iour in termsof what is considered socially or morally acceptable

e.g. - What is questionable is the propriety of dilutingtruth for the sake of a good story.

- I always try to write with propriety.

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O rganization and development of the

text II

Clutter P ara. 1: Introducing the topi c - fighting clutter is likefighting weeds : the writer is always slightly behind.The simile hints at the difficulty in v olv ed in fightingclutter.P ara 210 : Various forms that clutter may take:-- Prepositions that are draped onto v erbs

-- adjectiv

es that do not really qualify the noun-- laborious phrases

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O rganization and development of the

text II

Clutter P ara 2 -10 : v arious forms that clutter maytake:

-- ponderous euphemisms-- language of business companies-- language of the interoffice memo

-- language of the Pentagon-- language of go v ernment officials

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O rganization and development of the

text II

Clutter P ara. 11: Re -asserting the point:Clutter is the enemy, whatever form it

takes .P ara. 12 14: Illustrating withexamples of long words that are nobetter than their shorter synonymsP aras. 15 -18 Citing personalexperience in fighting

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Thank you for your attention