Euphemism

1 EUPHEMISMS AND THEIR POSITION IN THE LANGUAGE
It is more comfortable for people not to talk about unpleasant or embarrassing topics
directly. The effort to be polite makes them replace offensive words by more acceptable
ones. The purpose of the use of euphemisms is to avoid unsuitable words in order not to
offend hearer.
According to Enright, the word euphemism originates from Greek, where it means to speak
in a good way (Enright, 2004). Primarily, euphemism was a milder term used as a
substitution for taboo expressions only. Later, the use of euphemisms was enlarged for any
vulgar, offensive, harsh, embarrassing, blunt or other indelicate term. The oldest social
taboos that made people use euphemisms, occurred in areas exuding fear and respect such
as religion or death.
Unlike Enright, Alkire (Alkire, 2002) claims that euphemisms have Latin roots. There are
many euphemistic phrases derived from Latin, which appeared especially after Norman
Conquest in 1066, when Latin presented the language of the upper-class.

1.1 Definitions of Euphemisms
Definitions considering euphemisms do not differ very much. Euphemisms are described
as milder or soft expressions used as a substitution to dispreferred terms. According to
Holder (Holder, 2008) euphemism is a milder or uncertain term, which is used to replace
an unsuitable or impertinent expression.
Horny (Horny, 2005) defines euphemisms as word or expressions that refer indirectly to
some unsuitable, unpleasant or embarrassing issue in order to make it seem more
acceptable.
Longman´s (Longman, 2009) definition of euphemisms considers the presence of a hearer.
According to the dictionary, euphemism is an indirect term that is used by a speaker to save
a hearer from being shocked or feeling embarrassed or upset.
According to Glone (Glone, 2003), a speaker using euphemisms is motivated not only by a
hearer. Glone claims that here exists a term “face”. “Face” means how a speaker represents...