With the emergence of the phenomenon of political correctness in the culture, the use of euphemisms has become widespread in various media. A prominent representative of the media is the newspaper. The language of the newspaper reflects changes in all spheres of public life much faster than the written language of other functional styles. With the help of a newspaper text, you can trace the main trends of euphemia.
After analyzing the theoretical material, we were able to find out the following: The prerequisite for the emergence of euphemisms is taboo. A euphemia is a lexical replacement of a word or expression that is rude and inappropriate in a particular situation with another word or expression that has a positive connotation.
Euphemisms can be classified based on various criteria. The criteria of fixity in language and thematic feature, in our opinion, represent the main criteria for the classification of euphemisms. Euphemisms perform the following functions: softening the rude and unpleasant for the speaker, softening the rude and unpleasant for the interlocutor, and masking reality.
The main areas of euphemization are personal and socio – political. The main functions of the newspaper-journalistic or media style to which the newspaper belongs are informative and impactful. These functions are implemented through the language. The vocabulary of the media style is characterized by the use of both neutral and emotional-evaluative words, figurative means of expression, including euphemisms. Newspapers use common language / constant euphemisms, since all words of the newspaper text should be understandable for everyone and do not require explanations.
After analyzing the material of the author's articles of British newspapers, we were able to find out the following/ In the texts of newspapers, indeed, euphemisms related to the personal and socio-political sphere are used. This fact can be evidenced by the language units we found that belong to the following thematic groups:
politically correct language units that exclude racial and ethnic discrimination;
politically correct language units created to raise the status of women;
politically correct language units that mitigate age discrimination;
politically correct language units that name mental and physical disabilities;
politically correct language units associated with poverty and financial hardship;
politically correct language units related to business and economics;
politically correct language units related to politics and armed conflicts.
Groups 1-4 belong to both the personal and socio-political sphere, while groups 5 and 6 belong only to the socio – political sphere. The absence of speech / occasional euphemisms in the texts of author's articles indicates that the authors use common language / permanent euphemisms.
We assumed that non-politically correct units predominate in the texts of author's articles, but we managed to find the opposite.
Analysis of the quantitative ratio of politically correct and politically incorrect terms in the texts of author's articles of the British press showed that author's articles adhere to the norms of communication with different groups of people, because in our material we found a much larger number of politically correct language units than their non-politically correct counterparts.
This work has the prospect of further research. The thesis examines personal and socio-political euphemisms and their politically incorrect counterparts in newspaper texts of author's articles of the British press. It would be interesting to consider these same classes in the press of other English-speaking countries, to identify similarities and differences in the use of euphemistic language units.
The data obtained allow us to conclude that each class has its own most productive ways and means of euphemization. But at the same time, it should be noted that for all four groups as a whole, the most important level of implementation of euphemism in speech is still the lexico-semantic level, at which the main processes that contribute to the euphemization of speech occur.
Speaking about the ways and means of forming euphemisms, it should be noted that they are usually considered as nominative units equivalent to the word and regularly reproduced in speech, i.e. they are analyzed mainly at the lexical level. However, the manifestations of euphemia are not limited to replacing one word with another. The communicator can use certain graphic signs, phonetic substitutions, word-forming affixes in order to reduce the emotional tension of the utterance, and can syntactically construct the phrase more gently. thus, euphemism in some cases is not a phenomenon of the lexical level, but a special stylistic technique that is achieved by various means and implemented at different language levels (phonetic, morphological, lexical-semantic, syntactic and even graphic).
It was also determined that most of the euphemistic phrases in the newspaper-journalistic style are used to manipulate the audience. And can you explain the choice of the main lexical-semantic level of effeminacy, what manipulative effect, aimed at conscious and unconscious sphere of personality, is carried out by means of specially selеcted lexical units filled with special semantics and questionable (right arm) Association. In addition, the language is constantly dynamically developing, new ways of euphemization appear. So, for example, we have identified a way of transferring a real, objective image to a semantic meaning: "in envelopes" - in the meaning of "give a bribe".
So, euphemisms, being not only a linguistic, but also a cultural phenomenon, are a reflection of the values of modern cultures. On the basis of some outdated euphemisms and their comparison with new ones, it is possible to trace changes in the value attitudes of the cultures under consideration, which, in turn, allow us to consider political correctness as its new value and reference point in speech behavior, as well as as a means of observing a polite behavior strategy and avoiding verbal aggression that can turn into a communicative conflict.
The study of euphemisms, methods and reasons for their formation, of course, can be considered one of the most promising areas in modern linguistics. An additional area of research can be a comparative analysis of euphemisms and ways of their formation in Russian and German. In the light of the fact that there is no tradition of compiling a dictionary of euphemisms in Russian lexicography to date, this goal seems all the more relevant. In addition, the continuation of the study of euphemisms not only in the language, but also in the socio-cultural context, using the methods of cultural studies and sociology, will probably allow us to supplement the theory of linguistics and intercultural communication with new data.
In conclusion, it should be said that euphemisms are not only a characteristic, but also a "legitimate" means of linguistic expression, which has a clear normative status: they are used when (in those situations and contexts) the speakers ' linguistic taste, their idea of moral and ethical values dictate the need to replace direct nominations with indirect ones. At the same time, euphemisms can serve as an indicator of certain stereotypes that exist in a given society at a given time: very often, what is called directly in some social conditions, in other, changed conditions and in another era requires euphemic designations.
When studying euphemisms, the linguist should consider and analyze not only the euphemistic expressions themselves, but also the socio-cultural background on which the need for this method of nomination arises.
It should be taken into account that, unlike ordinary vocabulary, euphemisms are extremely sensitive to public assessments of certain phenomena, both "decent" and "indecent". This is related to the historical variability of the status of euphemism: what appears to be a good euphemistic name for one generation may be regarded in subsequent generations as an unmistakable and unacceptable rudeness that requires a new euphemistic replacement.
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2020 год
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