Euphemism is what? Do not remember? Or don’t you know? Well then, let's take a closer look. Remember, in the feature film "Brother-2", a debate broke out between the main characters about how to properly treat a person with dark skin: a black man or an African American? In the Russian language there is no fundamental difference between these two concepts: “Yes, I was taught this way in school: the Chinese live in China, the Germans in Germany, the Jews in this ... Israel, the Negroes in Africa!” - Danila Bagrov remarks in surprise. To which his companion replies: "Nigger - it is for them a curse offensive." "Why was this episode remembered?" - you ask. Yes, because he describes the language phenomenon such as euphemism as accurately and vividly as possible.
Euphemisms in RussianIn the above example, the word "African American" is a euphemism, a replacement word, designed to soften the direct meaning of the "sharp", in the opinion of the Americans, lexical unit "Negro". Our “Negro” is not offensive, caustic or humiliating, therefore, does not need an alternative. And what euphemisms are common in Russian? Let's talk about this further.
As you already understood, euphemism is the use of softer, more polite, non-abusive words or expressions. They replace rough and tactless ones. The appearance and duration of the “life” of a particular euphemism is associated with the development of history, culture, with changes in the worldview of society. For example, not so long ago, at the time of our grandparents, it was not customary to pronounce what is considered the norm in modern society. For example, instead of the word “pregnancy” they said “delicate position”, a hint of “sexual relations” was given by the phrase “close relationship, connection, live with someone”, the phrase “retreating place” meant “toilet”, the phrase “jester with it” "Instead of" to hell with him "," bystryuk "-" illegitimate "," to die "-" to die "," mental illness "-" mental illness ", and so on. Basically, this is a layer of vocabulary associated with the sexual side of life and with certain parts of the body. This can also include a taboo on swear words and the mention of the name of God, the devil, dark forces, before which people felt awe or, conversely, superstitious fear. This is not to say that euphemisms of this kind are completely obsolete.
However, in the
modern Russian language , two mutually exclusive phenomena are observed: on the one hand, coarsening of speech, and on the other, euphemization. A paradox, isn't it? Then what really happens? The secrets of the “human body” are no longer secrets, sexuality is the number one topic for discussion, swear words are one of the acclaimed ways of self-expression, and the opposition “good is evil”, “light and darkness”, “God is the devil” is from world of fairy tales and archaeological sites. It would seem that when the verge of permissible and decent is erased, “unprintable” vocabulary becomes “printed”, and insulting, hitting or humiliating another person in the subway or in the store becomes the norm, the question arises: "Then what are the substitute words for?" But they are not needed. Therefore, the essence of this linguistic phenomenon has changed. Therefore, modern euphemism is, above all, an unchanging component of politics, diplomacy and the media: “price liberalization” - “price increases”, “neutralize” - “kill”, “accident” - “disaster”, “failure” - “failure” ”,“ Religious movement ”-“ sect ”,“ campaign ”-“ war ”,“ ethnic cleansing ”-“ annihilation of this or that people ”,“ red line on the diagonal of the sheet ”-“ HIV-infected patient ”.
As you can see, less and less such words are used to avoid rudeness, harshness and tactlessness. More and more features
euphemisms
- content distortion, disguise,
juggling facts and manipulating consciousness. This “substitution” of concepts does not occur slowly, but rather imperceptibly. Freedom in the modern sense is to speak directly, as it is, not shy in expressions, regardless of how it sounds, whether it offends the dignity of another person or not, whether it serves to create, inspire or destroy you from the inside. The main thing is to express yourself and free yourself from your negativity. However, when we hear or read the speeches of politicians, it becomes important for us not to let this "bad energy" into ourselves, not to let any excitement close to our souls. Therefore, we can say that modern euphemism is words and expressions that do not help us avoid “unpleasant” vocabulary, but limit the independence of thinking, offering imaginary freedom in a beautiful wrapper. But there is always a choice, and it remains for us ....