EUPHEMISM

NGUYEN THI THU HA

PHAM QUYNH ANH
NGUYEN THI HAT
HOANG THI XAM

L/O/G/O
www.themegallery.com
OUTLINE

1 DEFINITION

2 CLASSIFICATION

3 EUPHEMISM VS IRONY

4 EUPHEMISM VS OTHER
SEMANTIC CHANGES
 WHAT IS EUPHEMISM?
• An inoffensive or indirect expression that is
substituted for one that is considered offensive or
too harsh
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
• A mild word of phrase which substitutes for
another which would be undesirable because it is
too direct, unpleasant, or offensive.
www.tnellen.com/cybereng/lit_terms/terms/Literary.Te

• Pleasant term for unpleasant thing

www.yorku.ca/paolucci/language.doc
 Etymology
• euphemize [1855-60; Gk euphēmízein to
use words of good omen]
• eu- a combining form meaning “good,”
“well,” occurring originally in loanwords
from Greek
• euphemism: made up of three bound
morphemes:, all Greek in origin:
eu (good) + phem(speaking/speech) +ism
(act/result)
 Formation of euphemisms

• Borrowing words from other

languages: halitosis (bad breath)<
Metaphorical transfer: the comparison of
Latin things
halitusof for
onebreath
order to things of another.
e.g. blossom
• Widening: growth(pimple)
(cancer), foundation
Phonetic
(girdle), distortion:
solid human When
waste we(feces)
encounter
words that we dare not speak their
• Semantic
names,shift: rear endapocopate
we abbreviate, (bottom)
(shorten or omit the last syllable), initial,
convert, backform and reduplicate them.
 Examples of euphemism

•
1.garbage man sanitation engineer
2. old people senior citizen
3. pregnant in the family way
4. die pass away
5. the dead the deceased /the late

6. burier undertaker / mortician

7. lunatic asylums mental institutions

 TYPES OF EUPHEMISM
• Different people hold different view on the
classification of euphemism
• 3 most popular ways to classify
euphemism:
-Positive vs. negative euphemism

-Semantic-based classification

-Other
 POSITIVE EUPHEMISM
• Can also be called stylistic euphemisms or
exaggerating euphemisms.
• Inflate and magnify to make euphemized
items seem altogether grander and more
important than they really are
• Eg: exterminating engineers = ratcatchers,
beautician = hairdressers
 NEGATIVE EUPHEMISM
• Can be called traditional euphemisms or
narrowing euphemism.
• Extremely ancient, and closely connected
with the taboos.
• Eg: In many cultures, it is forbidden to
pronounce the name of God  “Jeeze”,
“Jeepers Creepers” , or “Gee” for “Jesus”,
“Jesus Christ” or “Christ”, “goodness” for
“God” or “My Gum” for “My God”
 EUPHEMISM DIVIDED BY ITS
SEMANTIC GROUP
1.Naming death : “to breath one’s last (one’s last
breath, gasp)”, “to depart this life”, “to pay
one’s debt to nature”, “to go to one’s last
home”, “to go the way of all flesh”, “to kick the
bucket”, “to hop the twig”, “to join the majority”,
“to be no more”, “God’s acre”, etc.:
- He's gone to meet his maker.
- I won't worry about money When I'm six feet under."
- So Joe has finally kicked the bucket.
2.Naming social evils, crimes, human vices
and their consequences: “three sheets in
(to) the wind”= inebriated(person)
-“send somebody to kingdom-come”,“send
somebody to glory” = to kill sb,
- shoot (sling, throw) the bull”= chat, gossip
- “kiss the cup”, “have (take) a drop”, “have
one too many”, “have had a few” = to be
drunk
3. Euphemisms naming poverty, hard
financial situation: e.g. “be in Queer
Street”, “live from hand to mouth”, “not to
have a shirt to one’s back”, “without a
penny to one’s name”, make <both, two>
ends meet”:
• Eg:The government is introducing new
schemes to help the disadvantaged.
- I'm afraid I can't come to the restaurant with
you. I'm financially embarrassed at the
moment.
• 4. Euphemisms naming mental deformities
(disability): “be out (take, leave) of one’s
senses”, “be off one’s nut”, “go nuts”, “soft
(touched, weak) in the head”, “a strange
bird”, a weird (strange) customer”, a weird
(strange) card (duck)”, etc.
Eg: Bob went nuts because his car got a flat
tire.
• 5. Euphemisms naming some acts or
conditions from the sphere of physiology,
e.g. - “pay a call” = go to toilet
- “in a (the) family way” = pregnant
- , “in nature’s garb”, “not a stitch on”, “in a
state of nature”, “in one’s skin”, etc.: =
naked.
6. Euphemisms referring to the sexual
sphere
e.g.: - “a lady of easy virtue”, “a light (easy)
woman” = a prostitute, an easy woman
- sleep with: have sex intercourse
1)
OTHER THEMES
Religion: "Adonai" = Jewish God's name
2) Unemployment: between jobs, being a resting actor
3) The toilet: restroom, Where can I wash my hands?,
public conveniences:
ladies and gents, the bog, the smallest room of the
house, see a man about a dog…Eg "He's gone to see
a man about a dog.”
4) Lying
economical with the truth: "The boss is known for
being economical with the truth.“
5) Arguments:
full and frank discussion: "The directors had a full
and frank discussion in the meeting."
have words with someone: "Those two have had
words."
 THE 3RD WAY
Many euphemisms fall into one or more of these categories:
• Terms of foreign and/or technical origin: "perspire",
"urinate
• Abbreviations : Plays on abbreviations :"H-e-double
hockey sticks" for "hell", "a-double snakes" or "a-double-
dollar-signs" for "ass”
• Abstractions and ambiguities: "the situation" for
pregnancy, "going to the other side" for death, "do it" or
"come together" in reference a sexual act
• Indirections: ("behind", "unmentionables", "privates", "live
together", "go to the bathroom", "sleep together“
• Reserved understatement ("not exactly thin" for "fat", "not
completely truthful" for "lied", "not unlike cheating" for "an
instance of cheating")
 EUPHEMISM VS. IRONY
EUPHEMISM IRONY
- an indirect word/phrase - the use of words that
used to refer to st offensive say the opposite of
or unpleasant what you really mean
 to avoid taboo words.  to imply literal
 to avoid negative meaning meaning
,create less offensive i.e: “That was bright”
expression is said when sb dis st
i.e: having sex with -> stupid.
making love to, doing it.  to create humor
 EUPHEMISM VS. IRONY
EUPHEMISM IRONY
Humor makes the Humor occurs because of a
cruel reality become contrast
more endurable i.e: a i.e: “as hard as putty”
female tiger
- No intonation’s - Intonation has important role
effect to play in expressing the
messages:
i.e: - Hey, are you still sad
about that?
- No, I am not upset at all.
(emotional voice)
 SIMILARITY
• - Affected by lifestyles,
traditional notions and
customs from different
countries.
• i.e: in USA, “rooster”
instead of “cock”
• - Full of humor
• i.e: “a female tiger”
(eu.)
 EU in comparison with other
semantic changes

• Metaphor
• Metonymy
• LITOTES
• HYPERBOLE
 Metaphor
Change based on similarity between
conceptshidden comparison.
Eg
. A cunning personreferred to as a fox.
A woman may be called a peach, a lemon,
a cat, a goose, etc.
 HEAR THEIR VOICES FADE
 SUNBRIGHT SMILE
based upon very different types of similarity,
 Similarity of shape: head of a cabbage, the teeth of a
saw.
 Similarity of function. : the head of the school, the key
to a mystery.
 Similarity of position: foot of a page, of a mountain
 Behaviour and function: bookworm, wirepuller
 .Metonymy

Metonymy: Change based on contiguity between

concepts
E.G The White House supports the bill
 The Crown
"He writes a fine hand"
"The pen is mightier than the sword,"
"The House was called to order,"
 LITOTES
• A figure of speech
• Expresses it even more effectively, or achieves
emphasis, by denying its opposite
• Form of understatement, always deliberate and
with the intention of subtle emphasis
• However, depend on context, including cultural
context
• Examples
- "She is not so unkind."
- "She was not a little cross."
- "I am not unwell.“
- “ Not bad."
 HYPERBOLE
• used to evoke strong feelings or to create a
strong impression, but is rarely meant to be taken
literally.
Examples:
- This cat smells like 500 million years worth of
spoiled milk! ( The cat smells bad )
- These books weigh a ton. (These books are
heavy.)
- I could sleep for a year. (I could sleep for a long
time.)
- The path went on forever. (The path was really
long.)
 IT’S YOUR TURN!
• Let's see if you can guess the meaning of
these!
1. To be economical with the truth
A to have more to drink than sensible
B to be quite fat
C to tell lies C
2. To put something sleep
• A to be out of work
• B kill st , usually animals
B
• C to declare war to someone
3. “to go to glory” means:
• A to die
• B. to be quite fat
• C. st which is quite cheap because it as
stolen
A
4. “Between jobs”
• A. to be out of work
• B. to declare war to someone
• C. to be quite fat
A
5. Big boned
• A. to die
• B. to be quite fat
• C. to have more to drink than sensible

B
The expressions in italics are euphemisms. What
do they probably mean?

1. She was less favoured by beauty.

2. Tom’s driving ability had plenty of room
for improvement.
3. They are now at their final rest.
4. Tears were my only company.
5. Someone borrowed money without asking
from my purse.
 KEY
• 1. She was ugly or unattractive.
• 2- Tom was a bad driver.
• 3- They died.
• 4- The person cried a lot.
• 5- Someone stole money from her purse.
 Funnn
• Powder my nose

 Go to WC
• Asking Jesus for shoes

 Having sex
• Bite the dust

 To die
• Still cutting with rounded scissors

 Be stupid
• Worm food

 To Die
Thank You!
L/O/G/O
www.themegallery.com