МОСКОВСКИЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ ЛИНГВИСТИЧЕСКИЙ УНИВЕРСИТЕТ

ФАКУЛЬТЕТ ГУМАНИТАРНЫХ И ПРИКЛАДНЫХ НАУК

Кафедра лексикологии

КУРСОВАЯ РАБОТА

КОНЦЕПТУАЛЬНАЯ МЕТАФОРА В РЕЧАХ ПОЛИТИКОВ РАЗНЫХ ЭПОХ

Выполнила:

Светочева А.

Группа 0-6-39

Научный руководитель

Порохницкая Л.В.

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Contents:

I. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………….3

II. Main body

1. The concept of a conceptual metaphor……………………………………......................4

2. The notion of Political Correctness………………………………………………….........6

a. Cultural-behavioral aspect ………………………………………………….........7

b. Linguistic aspect of political correctness …………….…………………………..7

3. The Phenomenon of Euphemia……………………………………………………………8

a. Etymology and usage of euphemisms…………………………………………….9

b. Types of euphemisms……………………………………………………………11

4. Euphemisms in English political discourse……………………………………………...13

5. Illustrative usage of political euphemisms in English political

discourse…………………………………………………………………………………16

6. Euphemisms in English political texts of the 21th century……………………………...17

III. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………….23

IV. Bibliography and webliography………………………………………………………….24

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Introduction

This course paper is dedicated to the study of the phenomenon of conceptual metaphor as a

way of forming politically correct vocabulary, its role in political discourse and to the analysis of

its value in the English language.

The main aim of the paper is to study conceptual metaphor as a stylistic device used in forming

politically correct vocabulary in the English language and show its differential peculiarities from

other stylistic devices in modern English

Objectives:

- to study the concept of a conceptual metaphor.

- to study the notion of political correctness.

- to study the phenomenon of euphemia.

- to study usage of political euphemisms in English political discourse.

The methods used while writing this course paper are analytical and comparative.

The material for my course paper was mainly taken from several books on the subject of

conceptual metaphor and from the Internet resources.

The theoretical value of the course paper consists in the fact that it contains the analysis of the

politically correct vocabulary used English political discourse of different historical periods what

may be of use during lectures and seminars on the given topic.

The practical importance of the course paper is that one can use given information to deepen

his knowledge of English thus improving language skills.

The course paper consists of introduction, main part, conclusion, bibliography and

webliography.

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The concept of a conceptual metaphor

In cognitive linguistics, conceptual metaphor, or cognitive metaphor, refers to the

understanding of one idea, or conceptual domain, in terms of another. An example of this is the

understanding of quantity in terms of directionality (e.g. "the prices are rising").

A conceptual domain can be any coherent organization of human experience. The regularity

with which different languages employ the same metaphors, which often appear to be

perceptually based, has led to the hypothesis that the mapping between conceptual domains

corresponds to neural mappings in the brain.

This idea, and a detailed examination of the underlying processes, was first extensively

explored by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in their work Metaphors We Live By. Other

cognitive scientists study subjects similar to conceptual metaphor under the labels "analogy",

"conceptual blending" and "ideasthesia".

Conceptual metaphors are seen in language in our everyday lives. Conceptual metaphors shape

not just our communication, but also shape the way we think and act. In George Lakoff and

Mark Johnson’s work, Metaphors We Live By (1980), we see how everyday language is filled

with metaphors we may not always notice. An example of one of the commonly used conceptual

metaphors is "argument is war." This metaphor shapes our language in the way we view

argument as war or as a battle to be won. It is not uncommon to hear someone say "He won that

argument" or "I attacked every weak point in his argument". The very way argument is thought

of is shaped by this metaphor of arguments being war and battles that must be won. Argument

can be seen in other ways than a battle, but we use this concept to shape the way we think of

argument and the way we argue.

Conceptual metaphors are used very often to understand theories and models. A conceptual

metaphor uses one idea and links it to another to better understand something. For example, the

conceptual metaphor of viewing communication as a conduit is one large theory explained with a

metaphor. So not only is our everyday communication shaped by the language of conceptual

metaphors, but so is the very way we understand scholarly theories. These metaphors are

prevalent in communication and we do not just use them in language; we actually perceive and

act in accordance with the metaphors.

There are two main roles for the conceptual domains posited in conceptual metaphors:

Source domain: the conceptual domain from which we draw metaphorical expressions (e.g., love

is a journey).

Target domain: the conceptual domain that we try to understand (e.g., love is a journey).

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A mapping is the systematic set of correspondences that exist between constituent elements of

the source and the target domain. Many elements of target concepts come from source domains

and are not preexisting. To know a conceptual metaphor is to know the set of mappings that

applies to a given source-target pairing. The same idea of mapping between source and target is

used to describe analogical reasoning and inferences.

A primary tenet of this theory is that metaphors are matter of thought and not merely of

language: hence, the term conceptual metaphor. The metaphor consists of words or other

linguistic expressions that come from the terminology of the more concrete conceptual domain,

but conceptual metaphors underlie a system of related metaphorical expressions that appear on

the linguistic surface. Similarly, the mappings of a conceptual metaphor are themselves

motivated by image schemas which are pre-linguistic schemas concerning space, time, moving,

controlling, and other core elements of embodied human experience.

Conceptual metaphors typically employ a more abstract concept as target and a more concrete

or physical concept as their source. For instance, metaphors such as 'the days [the more abstract

or target concept] ahead' or 'giving my time' rely on more concrete concepts, thus expressing

time as a path into physical space, or as a substance that can be handled and offered as a gift.

Different conceptual metaphors tend to be invoked when the speaker is trying to make a case for

a certain point of view or course of action. For instance, one might associate "the days ahead"

with leadership, whereas the phrase "giving my time" carries stronger connotations of

bargaining. Selection of such metaphors tends to be directed by a subconscious or implicit habit

in the mind of the person employing them.

The principle of unidirectionality states that the metaphorical process typically goes from the

more concrete to the more abstract, and not the other way around. Accordingly, abstract concepts

are understood in terms of prototype concrete processes. The term "concrete," in this theory, has

been further specified by Lakoff and Johnson as more closely related to the developmental,

physical neural, and interactive body. One manifestation of this view is found in the cognitive

science of mathematics, where it is proposed that mathematics itself, the most widely accepted

means of abstraction in the human community, is largely metaphorically constructed.

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The notion of Political Correctness

It is common knowledge that language is closely linked to the mentality, culture, traditions of

its speakers that is why many of the processes and phenomena occuring in society are reflected

in the system of language. English as one of the most dynamic languages in the world, over the

last decade has undergone significant changes, which are largely determined by changes in the

public sphere.

A powerful cultural and behavioral tendency, called “political correctness”, has appeared in the

world of English. As noted by S. G. Ter-Minasova in the book “Language and intercultural

communication “this trend was born over 20 years ago in connection with the “rebellion" of

Africans, perturbed by “racism of the English language" and demanding his “deracialization"

S. Trofimova writes that “political correctness” turned up in connection with the appearance of

the idea of cultural pluralism and thus the need to proportionally represent works of literature

and art, achievements of public and political life related to representatives of all ethnic and

sexual minorities in accordance with the new ideology.

The concept itself of political correctness has many aspects and is quite ambiguous. And since

this category is a matter of dispute, unified definition of the term "political correctness" is

missing. To my mind, the most capacious and adequate definition of the term contains the book

by professor S. G. Ter-Minasova, devoted to the problems of language and intercultural

communication. This work says that «Political correctness of the language is expressed in the

desire to find new methods of linguistic expression to replace the ones that hurt feelings and

dignity of a person, infringe upon his human rights by habitual linguistic faux pas and/or

straightness in relation to race, sex, age, state of health, social status, appearance, etc.».

The same author claims that: “language correctness is a very positive effort not to offend, not

to hurt person's feelings, to preserve his dignity, good mood, health, life”

Komlev N. G. defines political correctness as “established in the U.S. concept-slogan that

demonstrates liberal direction of American policy, dealing not so much with the content but with

symbolic images and adjustment of the linguistic code. The speech is decoded by marks of

antiracism, ecologism, tolerance towards national and sexual minorities".

Tsurikova, L. V. interprets political correctness as "behavioral and linguistic phenomenon, that

reflects the desire of speakers to overcome discrimination, which exists in society and is

recognized by him, against various members of this society".

Thus, from these definitions I can single out from two most significant aspects of political

correctness:6

1. Cultural-behavioral aspect, which is closely linked to ideology and politics, particularly

in the field of education;

2. Linguistic aspect of political correctness, which manifests itself in the search for new

means of linguistic expression and correction of speech code.

Cultural-behavioral aspect of political correctness is the dominant. In the USA, a country

where the problems of intercultural and interfaith relations receive considerable attention,

actually appeared the idea of political correctness. Particularly bright ideas of political

correctness are manifested in schools, American universities and colleges as centers of science

and culture.

Recently USA has become aboil with controversy around the influence of ideas of Political

Correctness on the society and language. The central themes of these disputes were the problem

of multiculturalism and speech codes.

The advocates of multiculturalism urge to consider when teaching such factors as race,

ethnicity, gender, social status, language, religion, age, etc.

The concept of a linguistic code was introduced by American socio-linguists in 1962. R. T.

Bell believes that "there are standards of behavior that an individual must, in opinion of the

others, follow to a greater or lesser extent, and some of these norms are norms of linguistic

behavior - codes of corresponding language".

There is a certain punishment for violation of these rules from verbal reprimands to expelling

from an educational institution. The scope of the prohibitions includes "the use of offensive

nicknames", "inappropriate jokes", and even “misdirected laughter”. Charters of many American

colleges list different types of discrimination: ableism – oppression of people with physical

defects; ethnocentrism - discrimination of cultures different from the dominant one;

heterosexism - discrimination against people of different sexual orientation; lookism –the

establishment of beauty and attractiveness standards and the infringement of rights of those

people which do not comply with these norms.

Consequently, the phenomenon of political correctness is connected with a change in the

norms of linguistic behaviour in modern English. This applies mainly to the restrictions on the

use of a word or expression in a particular situation. Discrimination can manifest itself not only

in any activity, but also in verbal forms (verbal harassment hate speech). Thus, politically correct

terms are created to avoid such discrimination. “The main trend in the English language now is

its inclusive nature, the desire not to offend anyone by using a certain word or expression,”

writes D. Adler.

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Accordingly, the words that for one reason or another do not fit into the politically correct

views are replaced with “inclusive" terms – this way goes the adjustment of the speech code.

It should be noted that all the above definitions are about the political correctness of the

language, but the inextricable link of this phenomenon with the culture of a society is obvious.

Language is the carrier of cultural knowledge, an instrument of culture. By means of language

we cognize the world and ourselves.

So, politically correct ideas are often manifested in softened expressions. That is why

euphemia is one of the most effective means to create a politically correct vocabulary.

The phenomenon of euphemia

Eufemia is a linguistic phenomenon with heterogeneous structure and of a high significance in

the lexical system of language. A euphemism is not only trope, which consists in the implicit

expression of negative evaluation, but also an element of the structure of language, which plays

an important role in its historical development, because euphemisation is a continuous process of

replacing some of one names by the others, based on a continuous human assessment and

reassessment of his forms of expression emanating from the desire of successful

communication.

Despite the considerable number of papers referring to the phenomenon of euphemia any

common understanding of this phenomenon is absent in the scientific literature. The dynamic

and multidimensional nature of euphemisms is responsible for a high diversity of their lexico-

grammatical forms, emotional neutrality or stylistic colouring, variability of their euphemistic

potential. These properties of euphemisms lead to the fact that the problem of defining a

euphemism poses a challenge for researchers. So, linguistic encyclopedic dictionary under the

editorship of O. S. Akhmanova defines it as follows: “Euphemisms - emotionally neutral words

or phrases used instead of synonymous words and expressions, which seem to be obscene, rude

or tactless to a speaker”.

Similar definition is given by the researcher D. N. Shmelev, which characterizes a euphemism

as: “refraining from inappropriate words, softened expression, which is used in certain

circumstances to replace such designations, which seem to be not quite polite, too sharp for the

speaker".

J. Lawrence: «euphemism - the form of words, which (for different reasons) expresses the idea

in the softened or veiled or more respectful».

Big Encyclopedic dictionary "Linguistics" edited by V. N. Yartseva gives the following

definition of euphemism: «euphemisms - emotionally neutral words or phrases used instead of

synonymous words or expressions which appear to be obscene, rude or tactless to the speaker.

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They also replace archaic and taboo names. Some occasional individual-context replacements of

some words by others to distort or disguise the true nature of denotatum are also regarded as

euphemisms».

J. Niemann, and K. silver: «euphemisation is the use of offenseless or pleasant term instead of

a direct, offensive, thus masking the truth».

Thus, a definition that reflects the meaning of all the definitions of a euphemism given above is

as follows: a euphemism is a substitution of any unallowed or unwanted word or expression with

a more correct one to avoid direct naming of all that can cause negative feelings, both in speaker

and in interlocutor, and for the purpose of masking certain facts.

So, now it is possible to conclude that euphemisms may be defined in different ways, but the

main idea remains the same. Euphemization of speech is an important part of every language

system in regard to the fact that people are always inclined to avoid abusing or confusing both

themselves and other people. Today, the euphemisms usage is a socially acceptable

phenomenon. But it seems that it is especially significant for the political sphere of our life.

Etymology and usage of euphemisms

The word euphemism comes from the Greek word ευφημία (euphemia), meaning “the use of

words of good omen”, which in turn is derived from the Greek root-words eu (ευ), “good/well” +

pheme (φήμι) “speech/speaking”, meaning glory, flattering speech, praise.

The eupheme was originally a word or phrase used in place of a religious word or phrase that

should not be spoken aloud. From the early beginning of language euphemisms have probably

existed at least in the religious aspect. Gods, whether benign or malign, had been treated with

respect to terror. As an example, the Ancient Greek term for the Furies and the Avenging Gods

was the Eumenides who was regarded as ‘the kindly one’ or ‘the good humored lady’ in the hope

that they might be flattered into being less furious.

Historical linguistics has revealed traces of taboo deformations in many languages. Several are

known to have occurred in Indo-European languages, including the presumed original Proto-

Indo-European words for bear (*rkso), wolf (*wlkwo), and deer (originally, hart – although the

word hart remained commonplace in parts of England until the 20th century as is witnessed by

the widespread use of the pub sign The White Hart). In different Indo-European languages, each

of these words has a difficult etymology because of taboo deformations – a euphemism was

substituted for the original, which no longer occurs in the language.

Euphemisms may be formed in a number of ways. Periphrasis or circumlocution is one of the

most common — to “speak around” a given word, implying it without saying it. Over time,

circumlocutions become recognized as established euphemisms for particular words or ideas.9

Bureaucracies such as the military and large corporations frequently spawn euphemisms of a

more deliberate nature. Organizations coin doublespeak expressions to describe objectionable

actions in terms that seem neutral or inoffensive. For example, a term used in the past for

contamination by radioactive isotopes was Sunshine units.

Military organizations kill people, sometimes deliberately and sometimes by mistake; in

doublespeak, the first may be called neutralizing the target or Employing Kinetic Effects and the

second collateral damage. Violent destruction of non-state enemies may be referred to as

pacification . Two common terms when a soldier is accidentally killed (buys the farm) by their

own side are friendly fire or blue on blue (BOBbing) – bought the farm has its own interesting

history. Its origins might come from the life insurance payout or a death benefit payment that

would permit the soldier's family to pay off the mortgage on real property, such as a farm, or

from “the farm” being a slang reference to a burial plot. In World War I the slang “become a

landowner” meant to “inhabit a cemetery plot”. The “farm” is a euphemism for property, and

"buying" it is a euphemism for the Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance benefit payment that

should be sufficient to outright pay for the soldier's “farm”. In 2010, the United States

administration of President Barack Obama approved a "targeted killing" of a man wanted by the

Central Intelligence Agency, effectively launching this term as an official alternative to legal

assassination.

Execution is an established euphemism referring to the act of putting a person to death,

with or without judicial process. It originally referred to the execution, i.e., the carrying out, of a

death warrant, which is an authorization to a sheriff, prison warden, or other official to put a

named person to death. In legal usage, execution can still refer to the carrying out of other types

of orders; for example, in U.S. legal usage, a writ of execution is a direction to enforce a civil

money judgment by seizing property. Likewise, lethal injection itself may be considered a

euphemism for putting the convict to death by poisoning.

Industrial unpleasantness such as pollution may be toned down to outgassing or runoff –

descriptions of physical processes rather than their damaging consequences. Some of this may

simply be the application of precise technical terminology in the place of popular usage, but

beyond precision, the advantage of technical terminology may be its lack of emotional

undertones and the likelihood that the general public (at least initially) will not recognize it for

what it really is; the disadvantage being the lack of real-life context. Terms like waste and

wastewater are also avoided in favor of terms such as byproduct, recycling, reclaimed water and

effluent. In the oil industry, oil-based drilling muds were simply renamed organic phase drilling

muds, where organic phase is a euphemism for “oil”. However, this kind of "euphemism" is not

necessarily malicious in the sense that labeling an individual byproduct stream "waste" can have 10

severe legal consequencies, such as additional taxes or prohibition of transport or export. In

medicine, magnetic resonance imaging has replaced nuclear magnetic resonance in order to

avoid frightening patients with the word nuclear (even though MRI scanning does not involve

the use of harmful ionizing radiation).

While sometimes used to refer to activities designed to make life more comfortable for

civilians, the term can also be used to imply intervention by coercive force, including warfare.

Examples: Pacification of Algeria, Pacification of the Araucanía, Pacification operations in

German-occupied Poland, and the Pacification of Tonkin. One can cite other instances of

political euphemisms usage such as:

1) presence: this term had been used as a euphemism for 'occupation' during the Cold

War;

2) police action: in the early days of the Korean War, President Harry S. Truman referred

to the United States response to the North Korean invasion as a police action. Similarly, the

Vietnam War is also referred to as a "police action" or "security action";

3) humanitarian intervention:the Clinton Doctrine of military interventionism argues for

involvement in warfare on humanitarian grounds. The Kosovo War is believed to be the first so-

called humanitarian war;

4) armed conflict; aggression; tension; unrest; crisis: these generic words are used

in many respects for battles, skirmishes, prolonged wars, and undeclared wars; they may also

refer to quasi-wars between peoples and factions that do not amount to a sovereign state or

nation. The Wikipedia uses this terminology, e.g. Israeli–Palestinian conflict. The Cold War has

been described as a stand-off conflict that was the result of tension;

5) limited kinetic action: after the 60-day War Powers Act deadline for

congressional authorization to remain involved in the 2011 military intervention in Libya passed,

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates refused to call the operation a war; instead describing it as a

"limited kinetic action".

The renaming of War Department as "Defense Department" in the post-World War II era

in various countries is itself a euphemism, as pointed out by George Orwell (who writes of a

Ministry of Peace or "Minipax" in a state at perpetual war in Nineteen Eighty-Four) [2].

So, it is obvious that political euphemisms usage has been flourishing since such a

phenomenon emerged. Now, it is wide-spread and socially-accepted part of speech which seems

to be especially significant for politicians.

Types of euphemisms

Short sharp terms make big points clear. But people often prefer to soften their speech 11

with euphemism: a mixture of abstraction, metaphor, slang and understatement that offers

protection against the offensive, harsh or blunt. In 1945, in one of history's greatest euphemisms,

Emperor Hirohito informed his subjects of their country's unconditional surrender (after two

atomic bombs, the loss of 3m people and with invasion looming) with the words, “The war

situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage.”

Euphemisms range promiscuously, from diplomacy (“the minister is indisposed”,

meaning he won't be coming) to the bedroom (a grande horizontale in France is a notable

courtesan). But it is possible to attempt a euphemistic taxonomy. One way to categorise them is

ethical. In “Politics and the English Language”, George Orwell wrote that obfuscatory political

language is designed “to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable”. Some euphemisms

do distort and mislead; but some are motivated by kindness.

One way to typify them is by theme. Another – and a useful way to begin – is by

nationality. A euphemism is a kind of lie, and the lies peoples and countries tell themselves are

revealing.

Besides the divisions mentioned above, euphemisms can be divided into six semantic

categories:

1. Profession euphemisms. In western countries, mental work is considered to be the high

job whereas physical labor is recognized as humble work, besides there is a great difference in

the remuneration. Thus, most 14of the people hold that people with different occupations have

different status in society. Some lowly paid or indecent jobs are often used in English culture just

for saving face and expressing politeness. Therefore there are fewer occupations called jobs,

many have become professions. Some words and forms like engineer are more popular among

people in the communication.

English euphemisms are used to express some fancy occupational titles, which can

elevate the people’s status. Many previously unwelcome professions have now taken more

appealing names. For example, in profession euphemisms, people always use cleaning operative

for road sweeper or dustman, sanitation engineer for garbage man, meat technologist for butcher,

and hairdresser has turned into beautician, etc.

2. Disease euphemisms. In the disease euphemisms, people always use long illness

replaces for cancer, social disease replaces for syphilis and AIDS, also they use lung trouble

substitutes for tuberculosis and so on. And if someone with a mental illness, we cannot say

psychosis directly, we should say he or she is a little confused, meanwhile, we should use hard of

hearing in stand of deaf.

3. Death euphemisms. In many societies, because death is feared, so people tend to avoid

mentioning death directly and talk about it in a euphemistic way. They try to employ pleasant 12

terms to express the ideas. So death has hundreds of soft, decent, and better-sounding names,

such as breathe one’s last, fall asleep, go west, join the majority, lay down one's life, pass away,

pay the debt of nature, reach a better world, to be at peace, to return to the dust, or he worked

until he breathed his last, etc.

4. Sex euphemisms. Euphemisms concerning sex: the great divide, willing woman, gay

boy, lost girl can be used to replace divorce, loose woman, male homosexual and prostitute.

5. Crime euphemisms. In the field of crime euphemism: gentleman of the road, hero of

the underground, the candy man are often used to substitute for robber, heroin, and drug pusher.

6. Political euphemisms. Since the function of euphemism can reduce the unpleasantness

of a term or notion, it is natural that announcements of governments will often resort them to

understate the facts, e.g. student unrest can be used to replace student strike; police action, search

and clear, war games are used to substitute for aggression, massacre and war exercise.

So, euphemisms which may be regarded as product of human activity may be classified

in a lot of different ways mentioned above, but it seems more reasonable to divide them

according to their semantic features. Now, it may be concluded that all the euphemisms can be

divided into six groups concerning six different spheres of our life. Those are the spheres

mentioning of which may be insulting or offensive for both vulnerable strata of population and

all the people at all. In regard to these factors, euphemisms now are very common and wide-

spread.

Euphemisms in English political discourse

Though euphemizing is now an accepted and established practice, it has acquired a dubious

connotation in light of its tendency to deliberately disguise real meanings of words in political

discourse. Lutz, an English professor at Rutgers University, a champion of rhetorical canons and

the art of clear writing across numerous discourses, focuses his work on ethical considerations in

using euphemisms, what he calls “the morality of rhetoric” (1989). He makes a clear distinction

between euphemisms proper and doublespeak: when a euphemism is used to deceive, it becomes

doublespeak. The sole purpose of doublespeak is to make the unreasonable seem reasonable, the

blamed seem blameless, the powerless seem powerful. The term doublespeak was coined as an

amalgam of two Orwellian expressions, doublethink and newspeak, both of which appeared in

Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty Four. Basic to doublespeak is incongruity: the

incongruity between what is said, or left unsaid, and what really is; between the essential

function of language (communication) and what doublespeak does – misleads, distorts, deceives,

inflates, obfuscates.

13

Chomsky noted that to make sense of political discourse, it’s necessary to give translation into

English, decoding the doublespeak of the media, academic social scientists and the secular

priesthood generally. Opposition to the use of doublespeak has noticeably increased since the

1970s due to mounting concern of the NCTE (National Council of Teachers of English) over the

manipulation of language by the government and the military in reporting and discussing the

Vietnam War. Since 1974 a Committee on Public Doublespeak has made an annual award to a

public utterance that is grossly unfactual, deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing, or self-

contradictory, especially one that has pernicious political and social consequences. The recipient

of the 2003 NCTE Doublespeak Award was President George W. Bush, who made unequivocal

statements regarding the reasons that the United States needed to pursue the most radical actions

against another nation – acts of war – reasons which remained unsubstantiated.

A popular synonym for euphemism in the media is ‘spin’. According to the New York Times

columnist William Safire, spin is “deliberate shading of news perception”.

Linda Wertheimer, a reporter for National Public Radio, defined spin as “not quite lying,” “not

quite truth.” The presidential campaign of both candidates in 2004 heavily relied on designated

spinners or spin-doctors, whose mission was to publicly defend or downplay errors made by their

candidate. The highly staged and hyperbolic spin operations, for example, included monitoring

the candidate’s every word and comparing his statements with public records through a computer

matrix for possible exaggerations or misstatements, sending the computer-generated list of

responses via emails to reporters and partisans all over the country. The intent was to reshape

public perceptions of the candidates’ performances and personalities. For example, the Kerry

campaign methodically highlighted the incumbent’s inability to face the reality and accused him

of spinning by presenting a “rosy” view of Iraq and the economy to the public, though the word

“lie” was never used. “He can spin till he’s dizzy,” the President lives in “a fantasy world of

spin,” one Yale gentleman charged another. Interestingly enough, commentators on both sides

also avoided using the “L-word” (lie). Instead, they chose to euphemize the instances when the

political opponents “misspoke”, “misstated” or “stretched the truth”. For example, USAToday

accused the Bush administration of putting an optimistic face on the worsening conflict in Iraq

and called it “upbeat spins”. There were numerous euphemisms coined by spin-doctors of the

Bush administration in the wake of 9/11. They all can be classified under the rubric of national

security euphemisms. 9/11 is one of them. The euphemism is an index, a minimal deictic, which

refers to the terrorist attack on America on September 11, 2001, when the country lost nearly

3,000 people. The terrorist attack was designed by Osama bin Laden and executed by 18

terrorists from different Arab countries. Being an escapist expression, it removes dreaded

connotations of horror and pain that the nation experienced as the victim of the attack. Jacques 14

Derrida, in a post-9/11 interview, attempted to explain the minimalist aim of this dating.

Jacques Derrida argues that the meaning of the event being ineffable, the language admits

its powerlessness and is reduced to mechanically pronouncing a date, repeating it endlessly, as a

kind of ritual incantation. “War on terror” became a pervasive euphemism for the war on militant

Islam. To use religion as the target of military engagement would be diplomatically perilous for

the United States. It could have alienated Muslim countries which have been the country’s allies

in the post 9/11 period, and inflamed millions of Islam believers worldwide. “Terror” does not

define the enemy explicitly; it refers to enemy activity on the emotional level, singling out

violence as its core sense. The invasion of Iraq was called “a liberation” (though it was later

defined as an occupation), “a broad and concerted campaign”, executed with the help of the

“Coalition of the Willing” (among them the United Kingdom is the only ally which has

contributed significantly to the occupation). The war was also defined as “tearing down the

apparatus of terror”, “confronting dictators”, and “regime change” in an attempt to justify the

invasion for a humanitarian reason. The outcome of the war in Iraq was portrayed

euphemistically in the political narratives of the Republicans. The war on terror has brought a

number of euphemisms intended to blur legal boundaries to justify illegal treatment of American

citizens or detainees from other nations. Among them are “unlawful combatants” or “enemy

combatants” rather than “prisoners of war” or “criminals”. The euphemism “prison abuse” was

coined after the Abu Ghraib prison scandal broke in spring 2004 in order to avoid the word

“torture”, which clearly characterized what some American soldiers and civilian contractors did

in one of the most notorious prisons of Saddam’s former regime. “Abuse” is a misdemeanor or

mistreatment, while “torture” denotes a violent crime which involves an infliction of severe

physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion. According to military officers at Abu

Ghraib, they were encouraged to create “favorable conditions” for interrogation, which is

another euphemism for “rough” and “aggressive techniques”, approved by the government for

conducting interrogation procedures. These techniques entailed a systematic “softening up” of

prisonersthrough isolation, privations, insults, threats, and humiliation – methods that the Red

Cross concluded were “tantamount to torture”. Originally, the above techniques were used

against Qaeda enemy combatants at Guantanamo Bay, but later the Guantanamo-style

interrogation methods were exported to Abu Ghraib, even though the Iraqi war was supposed to

have been governed by the Geneva Conventions.

So, as one can notice, euphemisms in political discourse deserve to be regarded as a

separate theme due to their number, rich history and the variety of features, goals and meanings

they possess. That is why, the euphemisms mentioned above will be analized in further sections

where we shall try to define their main objectives by implying illustrative usage in order to see 15

how they function in political discourse practice.

Illustrative usage of political euphemisms in English political discourse

Political euphemisms are in a class of their own, principally because they seem to involve

words that few would find offensive to start with, replaced by phrases that are meaninglessly

ambiguous. As the late G. Carlin, an American comedian, noted, people used to get old and die.

Now they become first preelderly, then senior citizens and pass away in a terminal episode or (if

doctors botch their treatment) after a therapeutic misadventure. These bespeak a national

yearning for perfection, bodily and otherwise.

There exists such a book as On Writing Well. In it, author William Zinsser argues that

euphemisms are one of the worst clutters in language. He finds it disappointing that they have

become so common in our everyday conversation. He says they often get in the way of what

we're actually trying to say, or give us a means of hiding behind certain facts, or worse yet,

vague rhetoric. It gives people, especially politicians, a way of hiding their mistakes or dispelling

possible criticism against their actions.

There are some of common political euphemisms:

1) slum - depressed socioeconomic area;

2) town dump - volume reduction unit;

3) bum - hard-core unemployed;

4) disabled person - minimally exceptional person;

5) invasion - reinforced protective reaction strike

When a company makes layoffs, it is simply resorting to “involuntary methodologies”.

When an Air Force missile crashes, it "impacts the ground prematurely”. When a corporation

closes a plant, it is a “volume-related production-schedule adjustment”. Companies that go belly-

up have a “negative cash-flow problem”.

As G. Orwell pointed out in "Politics and the English Language," an essay written in 1946 but

often cited during the wars in Cambodia, Vietnam, and Iraq, “political speech and writing are

largely the defense of the indefensible. . . . Thus political language has to consist largely of

euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness”. Orwell's warning that clutter is not

just a nuisance but a deadly tool came true in recent decades of American military adventurism.

It was during George W. Bush's presidency that “civilian casualties” in Iraq became “collateral

damage”.

Verbal camouflage reached new heights during General Alexander Haig's tenure as

President Reagan's secretary of state. Before Haig nobody had thought of saying “at this juncture 16

of maturization” to mean “now”. He told the American people that terrorism could be fought

with “meaningful sanctionary teeth” and that intermediate nuclear missiles were “at the vortex of

cruciality”. As for any worries that the public might harbor, his message was “leave it to Al”,

though what he actually said was: “We must push this to a lower decibel of public fixation. I

don't think there's much of a learning curve to be achieved in this area of content”.

The art of euphemism has been a part of political life since time began. When three

treasury ministers, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer, resigned from Harold Macmillan's

government in 1958, he described the crisis as “a little local difficulty”. “Politician's get it with

their mothers milk” says Nigel Rees, author of A Man About a Dog, which looks into the

subject.

Churchill's "terminological inexactitude" is a prime example, as is the now famous phrase

from the Australian “Spycatcher” trial that one of those being interviewed was being

“economical with the truth”.

To speak about more recent examples of usage of euphemisms in political discourse, it is

reasonable to cite Hillary Clinton who recently got into trouble when she claimed to have been

pinned down by sniper fire while on a trip to Bosnia.

When video footage revealed the episode had been a figment of her imagination, she

went in front of the cameras and admitted to “mis-speaking”:

“I did mis-speak the other day. You know this has been a very long campaign so

occasionally I am a human being like everybody else”.

So, there were cited some of the examples of usage of euphemisms in English political

discourse which demonstrate the extend of their significance to political life and the way

politicians try to explain their boners or justify their actions in order to look more decently,

honest and innocent while speaking to public.

Euphemisms in English political texts of the 21th century

Due to the lack of classifications of political euphemisms according to semantic groups, it is

reasonable to propose such a classification in this research that is based on the topic of articles

studied while preparing. All articles can be divided into nine groups:

1) articles on civil and public services policy;

2) articles on welfare;

3) articles of trade union issues;

4) articles on tax and spending issues;

5) articles on economic policy;

6) articles on election issues17

7) articles on defence policy;

8) articles of terrorism policy;

9) articles on political parties issues.

Taking to account the limitation obliging us to omit some of the articles, we can allow ourselves

to regard only the most important and, to some extand, the most interesting groups of political

euphemisms. So, let us start analyzing euphemizing of speech concerning election issues.

1. Articles on election issues contain a considerable number of political euphemisms, namely,

inflammatory language, lame duck, and HIPC.

a) inflammatory language is a euphemism for hate speech in the articles on election issues. The

following example illustrates the importance of the issue of prejudice against newcomers during

the period of elections in Britain where inflammatory language is used instead of hate language

in order to soften the deplorable immigrants’ situation. For instance:

• Some agreed it was becoming increasingly acceptable for Britons to use the kind of racist and

inflammatory language about eastern Europeans that they would never direct at black, Asian or

Middle Eastern people (guardian.co.uk, 29 April 2010).

b) lame duck is a euphemism for an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her

tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already been elected. Lame duck officials

tend to have less political power, as other elected officials are less inclined to cooperate with

them. The term was often used of an outgoing president of the United States who becomes

ineffectual during his last months of office, if not before, but nowadays this euphemism is used

to refer to officials of different rank and to the government itself, for example:

• But critics described the move as undemocratic and warned it could lead to a lame-

duckgovernment, hanging on in office after losing a no-confidence vote (guardian.co.uk, 5 July

2010).

• It is understood that Balls, Alexander and Mandelson argued against the proposal on the basis

that it would repeat the difficulties faced by Tony Blair, who also announced before the 2005

election that he would not serve a full term. That decision dogged Blair's third term, leaving him

as a lame duck (guardian.co.uk, 18 May 2010)

The use of a euphemism lame duck in the above examples reduces the negative opinion, i.e the

inefficiency and embarrassment experienced by lame duck officials and governments.

c) the last euphemism which is common within the field of elections is HIPC meaning heavily

indebted poor countries. During electioneering a great deal of politicians enjoy boasting about

their deeds and they rely on euphemisms while doing so in order to sound more polite and

nonoffensive. HIPC helps to approach issues concerning poor countries more easily which

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means that the euphemism performs a tactical function. The following example illustrates the

use of a euphemism HIPC for the sake of showing consolidation and support for poor countries:

• The new law prevents such companies taking nations that qualify for HIPC initiative to court

in the UK to enforce payment in excess of what has already been agreed by other creditors in

HIPC negotiations. The HIPC scheme involves up to 90% of the country’s debt being written

off.

2. Another group of articles with five most frequent used euphemisms is articles on defence

policy. This group consists of friendly fire, anti-personnel weapons, and enemy combatants.

a) friendly fire was originally adopted by the United States military. It is a euphemism for

inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage

enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. The following example presents

the usage of friendly fire in context:

• An air strike has killed five US troops and one Afghan soldier in southern Afghanistan, the

deadliest friendly fire incident of the war for Nato forces (guardian.co.uk, 10 June 2014)

It is obvious from this example that friendly fire performs a taboo function because this event

usually causes death which is a taboo in nature. Thus, the euphemism is used in order to make

this issue sound less unpleasant.

b) anti-personnel weapons is a euphemism for nuclear weapons or, in other words, weapons

which cause people’s death and in which buildings are allowed to survive. Addressing these

weapons directly as ‘people killers’ would cause greater society’s dissatisfaction and resistance

due to their disastrous consequences. Thus, in order to avoid the taboo words ‘nuclear weapons’

or ‘people killers’ politicians use anti-personnel weapons instead. The following example

illustrates how this euphemism might be used:

• B'Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, describes a flechette shell as "an anti-

personnel weapon that is generally fired from a tank. The shell explodes in the air and releases

thousands of metal darts 37.5mm in length, which disperse in a conical arch 300 metres long

and about 90 metres wide" (guardian.co.uk 20 July 2014).

c) the last euphemism in this group is enemy combatants. It is a euphemistic term historically

referring to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war. In the

United States the use of the enemy combatant may also mean an alleged member of al Qaeda or

the Taliban, in other words, a terrorist being held in detention by the U.S. government as part of

the war on terror. Thus, this euphemism has to be read in context to determine whether it means

any combatant belonging to an enemy state, or if it means an alleged member of al Qaeda or of

the Taliban being detained as an unlawful combatant by the United States. The first example

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illustrates enemy combatant being any combatant belonging to an enemy state while in the

second example enemy combatants refer to Guantanamo detainees used by Bush government.

• Declaring that "a state of war is not a blank check for the president," the Supreme Court ruled

on Monday that those deemed enemy combatants by the Bush administration, both in the

United States and at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, must be given the ability to challenge their

detention before a judge or other "neutral decision-maker."(New York Times, 29th June 2004)

• He picks up MoazzamBegg's book, Enemy Combatants, about the latter's experience in

Guantánamo Bay, and shows a bookmark at about page 10 (guardian.co.uk, 27 July 2008).

3. The penultimate group is articles on terrorism policy containing eight most frequently used

euphemisms: extraordinary rendition, crossfire, humanitarian intervention, extrajudicial

executions, sectarian violence, and surgical strike.

a) extraordinary rendition is a euphemism for torture, i.e. a procedure whereby criminal

suspects are sent for interrogation from one country to a second country, where less strict laws

governing interrogation apply. The phrase became widely known during 2005 when newspaper

articles began drawing attention to the fact the US Government was sending terrorist suspects,

previously held in the USA, to countries that have less stringent laws against torture, and

interrogating them there. The following example illustrates the usage of this euphemism clearly

performing a taboo function:

• The former detainees – Mohamed, Bisher al-Rawi, Jamil el-Banna, Richard Belmar, Omar

Deghayes and Martin Mubanga – deny any involvement in terrorism and allege that MI5 and

MI6 aided and abetted each man's unlawful imprisonment and extraordinary rendition

(guardian.co.uk, 6 July 2010).

b) one more euphemism which is frequently found in articles on terrorism policy is crossfire. It

is a euphemism for the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy or, in other words,

extrajudicial killings, for instance:

• He predicted that his client's death would be announced in due course, telling the Guardian

last December: “Perhaps it will be announced that Rashid was caught in crossfire during a

police operation” (guardian.co.uk, November 28, 2008).

c) humanitarian intervention is a euphemism referring to military invasion or “dropping bombs

on poor people”. The following example shows the usage of humanitarian intervention where

the euphemism performs an emphasizing function:

• The fall of Tripoli, opined the former US State Department official, was "the first

unambiguous military enforcement of the Responsibility to Protect norm, Gaddafi's utter defeat

seemingly putting new wind in the sails of humanitarian intervention"(guardian.co.uk, February

19, 2012).20

• It said the UN allowed “humanitarian intervention” in some circumstances, but such was not

the case in Iraq, and that it would be very difficult to rely on earlier UN resolutions approving

the use of force against Saddam (guardian.co.uk, November 30, 2009).

d) sectarian violence and insurgency are euphemisms for a civil war.

• Sectarian violence involving hundreds of people erupted in Belfast on Monday night, leaving

two men with gunshot wounds to their legs in what police called "major disorder"

(guardian.co.uk, 21 June, 2011).

• Evans said "a significant number of UK residents" were training in al-Shabaab camps to fight

in the insurgency in Somalia (guardian.co.uk, 17 September 2010).

These euphemisms perform a covering up function because a civil war is a bloody event

causing people’s death but with the help of the usage of the euphemism civil war is reduced to

something on the order of an inter-family feud.

e) surgical strike is a euphemism for a precision bombing. In other words, it is a a military

attack which results in, was intended to result in, or is claimed to have resulted in only damage

to the intended legitimate military target. This euphemism makes a precision bombing sound

like a beneficial medical procedure, thus, performing a covering up function. For instance:

• An Israeli human rights group said yesterday it was investigating claims that an apparent

surgical strike on a Hamas missile truck in Gaza, which is being published by Israel's armed

forces on its website, is a case of mistaken targeting that has left eight civilians dead.

(guardian.co.uk, 1 January 2009).

4. The last group is articles on political parties issues and politicians which contain the largest

number of most often used political euphemisms such as collateral damage, blow-in, U-turn,

and axis of evil.

a) collateral damage is a euphemism for civilian casualties in war or, in other words, a mass

murder of innocent people. It is perfectly moral to protect innocents against aggressors. It is not

moral, nor has it ever been necessary, to blow up cities filled with innocent people, for instance:

• Asserting that BSF never fires "first" towards the Pakistan side along the International Border,

the force today said the neighbouring country should be ready to suffer collateral damages if the

Indian side retaliates (guardian.co.uk, 1 January 2015).

Speaking about the death of innocent people makes politicians feel awkward and confused so

by using collateral damage they successfully avoid this taboo topic and cover up the most

serious of political crimes.

b) blow-in is a euphemism for a foreigner who meddles in domestic affairs. For example:

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• Her appointment is a surprise, given that to many in the DUP – especially those in the party's

evangelical wing – she is perceived as a “blow in” from another rival unionist party

(guardian.co.uk, 11 January 2010).

It is a euphemism of Irish usage often found in various discussions of Irish political parties. In

the example provided above “she” is Arlene Foster, the new caretaker first minister of Northern

Ireland, who is referred to as a blow-in. In this case she is not a foreigner meddling in domestic

affairs but rather a politician form a rival party. The usage of this euphemism performs a

politeness function because blow-in seems to be a more pleasant term than a rival.

c) u-turn is a euphemism for a fundamental change in policy. The euphemism in the following

situation softens the unwelcome change introduced by the Conservatives and makes it less

apparent:

• Obama accused of nuclear U-turn as guided weapons plan emerges (guardian.co.uk, 21 April

2013).

d) axis of evil is a euphemism for governments that George Bush accused of helping terrorism

and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Bush labeled Iran, Iraq and North Korea as the axis

of evil.

• Following 9/11 there were those who looked at the world and saw an “axis of evil”. George

Bush himself said faced with this axis indifference would be catastrophic (guardian.co.uk, 29

March 2011).

This euphemism performs a taboo function because to speak about countries helping terrorism

was and still is a taboo. Politicians are afraid to refer to these countries directly and that is why

Bush referred to the countries helping terrorism as “axis of evil”.

So, in this section some of the most common euphemisms in English political discourse were

analyzed with the help of the “Guardian” newspapers articles. It was shown that euphemisms

usage may be regarded within nine different articles, but, as it was impossible to mention all of

them, only the most popular ones were selected to be analyzed in the framing of the issues that

possess the most interesting content for our theme. One could observe the purposes which

incline politicians to euphemize their language and the main items being the very spot for using

more polite (or just not so fair) words.

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Conclusion

Summing up I’m going to summarize the content of the topic covered above, drawing the main

points of it.

So, conceptual metaphor is a term that belongs to the sphere of cognitive linguistics and stands

for a stylistic device which consists in understanding of one idea euphemisms are words formed

by means of a stylistic device called conceptual metaphor. There are plenty of euphemisms in the

language and its essentially important to know them to be a skillful language user in the course

of growing significance of the political correctness in the contemporary world, in other words it

is necessary to know politically correct vocabulary. The very phenomenon of political

correctness is highly debatable issue, it has two aspect – cultural-behavioral and linguistic, each

of them was described above. Consequently, there are lots of different approaches to the subject

of political correctness, as has been shown in the paper.

There are as well lots of different points of view on the topic of euphemia, different scholars

have their own approach to this issue and thus definitions of euphemia differ. But undoubtly the

phenomenon of euphemia has its long history and its origin goes back to ancient times;

nowadays esphemisms are common thing in both general speech practice and political discourse.

As a matter of fact, euphemisms are subdivided into several categories, according to the sphere

of life they pertain to. As for political euphemisms and their usage in the according discourse, as

has been illustrated in the paper, there are lots of them too and they play key role in politics as

means of diplomatic way of leading the conversation – that is important in terms of theoretical

value of my course paper. As well it’s necessary for both politicians and language learners to be

aware of the phenomenon of euphemia and to know how to use euphemisms in an appropriate

way to succeed in communication.

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Webliography

http://www.pglu.ru/lib/publications/University_Reading/2010/VII/uch_2010_VII_00031.pdf

http://www.academia.org/the-origins-of-political-correctness/

http://www.theguardian.com/uk

http://www.nytimes.com/pages/politics/index.html

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/

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