Euphemism (Figurative Language)

Euphemism

Since so much of our rhetorical terminology originated with the Greeks, it is not surprising that so many of them have strong Greek roots. Euphemism is no exception here, as it is based on the Greek word euphemos, basically meaning "good" as in euphoria. Euphemism has been used over the centuries, but in today's word of careful public speech and political correctness, euphemism has moved from a relatively marginal position to one of the foremost devices for linguistic change. If you don't know the right euphemism for a particular idea or group of people, you will quickly find yourself apologizing for your lack of sensitivity and ignorance.

A euphemism is a word or phrase that stands in place of a different word or phrase that has negative or derogatory connotations, or that is seen as taboo. As the root of the word suggests, it is a good word standing in place of a word that is inappropriate. In orthodox Judaism, for example, saying the name of God, or even the word God is considered inappropriate and even blasphemous. As a result, they use the Hebrew word Hashem (or other similar constructions) which basically means "our Lord." In this way, it is possible to speak about God without using his name, since that would be considered taboo.

Euphemistic terms are everywhere in today's society, and it is not difficult to think of very common examples with a long history. The idea of death is one that has made human societies fearful across the ages, and in English we have many long-standing euphemisms that can replace the words "death" and "dying." When a police or military representative has to tell a family that their loved one has died, it is considered very harsh to bluntly state "Ma'am, your son is dead." Instead, other terms are used, the most common being "passed away." This seems like a somewhat odd term when examined, because though it seems to suggest that the person has gone somewhere, like heaven or some other spiritual realm, "away" is very vague, although it does make clear the fact that the person, wherever they have gone, is no longer here. "Kicked the bucket," "bought the farm," "croaked," and "taken a dirt nap" are all synonyms for "died," but these are all now considered more harsh than the term they have come to replace, and so do not properly qualify as euphemisms.

As I mentioned in the introduction, euphemism has grown robust through the progress of the political correctness movement, with both positive and annoying consequences. One of the original terms for a black person in the United States was the derogatory term "nigger," which comes from the Latin word for black. Since the term was used during a time of repression and inequality for black people, it was as much an insult as a descriptive term, and so the rise of the civil rights movement rightly saw changes in the language to rid it of the highly negative powerful term. "Negro" was a suitable replacement for a time, but since it contained the same root and sounded very similar, it was doomed from the start to take on the old connotations. "Colored," "black," "African American," and most recently, "person of color" have all moved into the position of neutral descriptive term, but all have been found to be problematic by various groups and sub-groups for being too broad, too specific, inaccurate, or negative. Part of the problem, of course, is that those who discriminate against a given group will use the new terms in discriminatory ways, bringing the old connotations to the new words. As a result, new euphemisms need to be introduced constantly in order to avoid producing unintended offence, and so we are left with a vocabulary with many, many synonyms, and a potential minefield for new speakers of the language who are not aware of the latest developments.