THE FUNCTIONAL-SEMANTIC FIELD OF DEATH AS A EUPHEMISTIC PHENOMENON
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2017-6-76-79
The article deals with the peculiarities of the use of euphemisms and dysphemisms belonging to the functionalsemantic field of death. Euphemisms became important bricks in the walls people have built to keep the dead from making them uncomfortable. The most fertile ground for euphemizing is one where open discussion of a topic is taboo. So it was with sex in the Victorian era, and so it became with death after World War II. Postwar advice books counseled parents to avoid talking about this subject with their children. Having done their best to avoid anything connected with the dying and dead, English-speaking communities replaced associated expressions considered too direct with soothing alternatives. The words ‘passed away’, or simply ‘passed’, and ‘gone’ are the most prevalent synonyms for ‘died’. Much has been written on the psychology of denying imminent death. Euphemisms clearly have an important role to play in this denial process. Growing interest in death and dying during recent decades, supported by several publications on the subject, suggests a certain willingness to face the topic squarely in print. This willingness, however, is not reflected in everyday discourse which can be proved by mass literature contexts. In addition to euphemisms there exist various dysphemisms and slang words. Like euphemisms, dysphemisms are motivated by fear and distaste, but also by hatred and contempt. Slang expressions and dysphemistic terms of insult or disrespect should be avoided in speech and teaching a language.
Keywords: functional-semantic field, semantic vagueness, conceptual category, death, euphemism, dysphemism
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Issue: 6, 2017
Series of issue: Issue 6
Rubric: GERMANIC AND ROMANCE LANGUAGES
Pages: 76 — 79
Downloads: 892