Euphemism: Article Analysis

The article by Erika Christakis, informs future teachers and parents how preschool today may not be benefiting their children as much as they thought. She talks about how preschool has changed drastically over the years as well as kindergarten. She states that “kindergarten may be the new first grade”. Her statement shows how children today are expected more then they were years ago in all grades, especially preschool and at such a young age. Many think this is helping our children or will benefit them in the future if they know more as a child but this may not be the case. The article talks about multiple studies done throughout America to children are learning and how school curriculum changing affects children. A studied showed that children

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

Mr. McWhorter exemplifies that with people using the abbreviation "LOL" (laugh out loud). While at first the meaning was intended to just mean laugh out loud, it has taken a more generalized approach in it's use today. He states that "LOL" is much more used to express empathy to the person receiving, and not so much it's prior definition. He provides examples to show how words change over time as in silly meaning blessed in the past. Other words that have changed are gay (happy), bitch (female dog), and awful (to

The critique in the article by The Onion is revolved around marketing techniques such as outrageous claims that advertisers make in an attempt to convince their audience to buy their product. This critique is made using a sarcastic tone and caricatures of the characters commonly seen in commercials. Not only are caricatures and hyperboles used but also a use of overly scholarly language to make the product out to be much more than it’s worth.

Growing up in an environment filled with a variety of cultures, there are words that mean different things and are used in different ways. In Hawaii, there is an official language, but there is also a slang language, “pidgin”, that was used during the era where sugar plantations were very popular. They created this language so that people of different ethnicities could communicate with one another as they traveled from other countries such as, Japan, China, Philippines, and Korea. Today, pidgin and the Native Hawaiian language are used amongst the locals allowing us to connect on another level by keeping our culture alive. Some words, however; have changed since ancestral times from something innocent to something derogatory and insulting. The word, “haole”, pronounced “hau-lay”, was used to describe Captain Cook and his men, today; this word is used to describe Caucasian people and is used as an insult amongst one another.

Will the state fulfill the desires of the community like it promises? Many Denver residents of the article Colorado Aims to Expand a Main Artery, but beleaguered Neighbors Balk do not think so; nor the author Julie Hurwitz. Despite the expansion helping with the flow of traffic, it is causing many negative impacts on the current residents. It is the city’s most controversial topic.

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.

The United States consumes more than 25% of the world’s petroleum products which is a large percentage, considering only 3% of the world’s oil reserves are produced by the United States. Given the demand for petroleum products such as gasoline, understanding why Crude oil prices have skyrocketed in recent years, is not hard. According to the article “Ending America’s Oil Addiction,” the surge in crude oil prices can be reduced in large part to the simple concepts of supply and demand. (Cooper, 2008)

The author is writing this article to tell Americans that most schools give out awards for just showing up and avoiding the problem of having parents complain because their child did not receive an award. He thinks that it is ridiculous. He’s writing to the audience of school children and their parents. He tries to persuade his audience by explaining that trophies are better earned than given. It will promote higher self-esteem. Yes, I do agree with the author’s point of view for a few reasons. If a student earns good grades and the whole class gets an award they will feel that no matter what their grades are they can receive an award. So, they will stop earning good grades. In order to receive an award you should have to put in hard work and

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

In the novel The Giver written by Lois Lowry, when Jonas asks his mother if she loves him, she chastises him “Precision of language, please!” (Pg. 162) This is ironic because love is a specific emotion. This incident reveals to the readers that in the superficial society no meaningful emotions are felt anymore and have lost significance. In the novel, euphemism is used to emphasise how people’s thoughts and views on things are controlled.

In an article written by The Onion, the writers chose to parody the method in which products are marketed towards consumers through use of common satirical strategies such as paradoxes, stylistic devices, sarcastic diction, and hyperboles. The product that is described is a shoe insert which supposedly enables the soles of one’s foot to “heal your entire body as you walk.” The piece satirizes the overzealous nature behind the ads presented by companies, the authors are quick to utilize satirical strategies in order to illustrate advertisements as overly exaggerated.

This cycle has three steps starting with the form of a new word: Euphemism a polite expression then the next step to Neutral expression and then to Dysphemism: Nasty expression (Roswell, pg. 283). The Euphemism Treadmill Cycle shows how terms go through a cycle of becoming a “good” term thats used, to a polite expression, then to a neutral expression and then a nasty expression. This cycle eliminates some of political incorrectness to define new terms instead of suing demanding ones such as “retarded”

In William Lutz’s essay “The World of Doublespeak,” from Christopher Ricks’s and Lenonard Micheal’s anthology State of the Language, he examines the art of doublespeak. This essay is meant to enlighten people on different uses of doublespeak and how organizations and others use it to mislead. Lutz begins by defining doublespeak as “A blanket term for language which pretends to communicate but doesn’t, language which makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant attractive, or at least tolerable” (278). Specifically, people who use doublespeak pretend to convey a certain message while in reality they do the exact opposite. The author gives examples of doublespeak that affect the way people think; for example, he

The fifth barrier of communication Euphemism. Euphemism is replacing an acceptable word for one that may be harsh. This needs to be avoided. This type wording can really offend your audience