A Study on English Euphemism

effects does such terminology have on those around us? Can what we casually toss around in

Lucas, K., & Fyke, J. P. (2014). Euphemisms and ethics: A language-centered analysis of Penn State's Sexual Abuse Scandal. Journal of Business Ethics, 122(4), 551-569. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10551-013-1777-0

Euphemism are types of words that make things sound better than they are. Dyseuphemism are types of words that make things sound worse than they are.

In the essay “Doubts About Doublespeak”(1993), William Lutz depicts how utilizing doublespeak can damage a society. Lutz begins with providing examples of doublespeak that range from silly to serious, showing how doublespeak can be harmless, but also disguise a truth with a manipulation of words. There are many different types of doublespeak, Lutz breaks it down into four different categories euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook and inflated language. By breaking them down, Lutz shows the audience that they share similarities in which they make something negative sound better than it is. There are more types of doublespeak that can be seen all around us, moreover, as more doublespeak is being created everyday and everywhere it becomes difficult

This is one way that that can happen. Other words vary in meaning from region to region, or are only recognized in certain regions. Sometimes an individual can make a mistake when interpreting a word that does have an accepted definition. For example, in a Ball State linguistics class, the professor was explaining this point with a story about a student in her class a few years before who had admitted he only recently had learned that ‘approximately’ was not a synonym of ‘exactly.’ When she said this, the girl two seats to my right exclaimed “Wait- then what does it mean?” Misconceptions, misinterpretations, and mispronunciations are all common in language, and can make a serious difference in how people respond to

A euphemism is used to express something in a neutral or positive manner in place of

The most mediocre use of language any person can possibly overuse. Jargon is forever changing because some teenager thinks of a weird way to express himself and it sticks. Take it back to the 1920s and people are calling each other the bee's knees, which is slang for the being the best person or making a person's day. Alternatively, take it back to the 1960s and people are being labeled hippies, which in a way is slang for peaceful druggies and potheads. Currently, teens say "boi" when something just is not right or, say "sike" when they say something realistic as a joke. Slang is evolving and has become mediocre in everyday life. When a new slang word is created, it is superlative for seconds because teens are desperate to sound "cool" and fit in with everyone. It is not long before the word becomes mediocre because youth nationwide begin incorporating the slang into their vocabulary. Then parents start using the slang to build a bridge and bond with their kid. Unfortunately, the parents only look stupid and the slang continues be used and continues to be

Idioms are words or phrases that are taken for its literal term when instead it means something completely

We use many euphemisms/colloquialisms in our everyday communication. A euphemism is a nicer word or phrase that is used to make a sensitive topic less harsh according to dictionary.com (1995). Colloquialisms are words or phrases that are used to express something other than the words literal meaning as stated by vocabulary.com (year unknown). Most of the time we hardly know we use such terms or phrases nor do we know where they originate from. The usage of euphemisms and colloquialisms is a worldwide tendency. Not only is it a universal thing but the wide variety of social groups/communities are very diverse in what phrases they use and how they use them. A certain word I use in many ways, the word I am going to base this writing off of, is a colloquialism. It is a word that is a very common use back in my home town, Kewaunee Wisconsin, and one I get very strange looks for here in North Dakota. In this paper I am going to describe to you: how I use balls and ballsy in conversation with my social groups and what many different meanings, the origins of the word, the overall reflection of the colloquialism along with other words that may have a hidden power.

In a world full of all kinds of languages, they don’t always mean the same thing. In the passage Words Don’t Always Mean What They Mean by Steven Pinker, he writes about the nature of language and cognitive science. In his passage, he is analytical and straightforward with analyzing multiple examples of how euphemisms are used and why. He always makes his examples to prove his points and by getting his audience involved and thinking by including rhetorical questions. Words don’t mean what they mean because of different interpretations, the complex and euphemism human language, and the manipulation of people 's intent.

Throughout the discussion in class about social diversity, I learned about several issues in society that affect people everyday. When minority labels become words with negative connotations they are also known as the Labeling Theory. For example, the words lame,dumb,retarded, and gay are all negatively used in society. Sometimes, I am with a group of friends giggling and joking and toss these words around.

misconceptions about a subject. These omissions often lead people to stigmatize the unusual language or group with a negative connotation based on instinctual perceptions they

It is related to complementarity and incompatibility. Whereas the relationship of implicit denial is called incompatibility, the relationship of implicit inclusion is called hyponymy. This relationship is easy to demonstrate, the color ‘red’ for example, includes the colors ‘scarlet’ and ‘vermilion’ just as the term ‘flower’ includes ‘daisy’ ‘forget-me-not’ and ‘rose’. The including term in our latter example “flower” is known as the ‘superordinate term’ and the included items are known as ‘co-hyponyms’. The assertion of a

A phonetic euphemism is used to replace profane language or cuss words. One version of phonetic euphony is using the first letter of a cuss word, and often times adding the word "word" after it. For example saying the, “F-word” instead of saying fuck, or the “B-word” instead of bitch. In the military, it’s common to say several completely different words using the first letters of profane words. For example, instead of saying, “What the Fuck”, they would say, "Whiskey Tango Foxtrot", or "Bravo Sierra” instead of, “Bull Shit”. In television and radio, profanity will often be covered up by a “bleep” noise. Usually, you can use context clues to figure out what the word was anyways but the “bleep” is a form a euphemism because it covers up the offensive language. Cuss words are also masked by mispronunciations, such as, “darn” instead of, “damn”, or “shoot” instead of “shit”. This type of phonetic euphemism is most commonly used for the word fuck. There are many different ways the word fuck is mispronounced, including, “frick”, “frack”, “fudge”, and “truck”. To alter the pronunciation or spelling of a taboo word to form a euphemism is also known as taboo deformation, or "minced oath".

A euphemism is a word used in the place of another to take away the harshness or crudeness. The beginning of the word euphemism is (eu-) which means good in Greek. Euphemisms are usually used to cover up the unpleasantness of situations; instead of saying something is terrible you can say it is not the best. However, euphemisms can also be used to elevate an occupation and make it sound more important and desirable. Certain occupations are frowned upon because they require little to no education. Jobs that include a lot of physical labor are not very popular in contemporary society. To combat the decline in popularity f physical labor jobs companies have started using euphemisms. Growing up we all had one day out the week that the garbage truck came and the