Up to now, many kinds of definitions have been devoted to euphemisms. From George’s definition of euphemism as a good favorable interpretation in a pleasant manner in the 1580’s to Allan’s definition of euphemism as an alternative to a disprefered expression .In order to avoid possible loss of face, either one’s own face, or through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party in the 1980’s,no matter how the wording changes, it’s obvious that euphemisms are characterized by the avoidance language and evasive expression. And they are not restricted to the lexical level, but can have recourse to phonetic, grammatical, pragmatic measures etc, as well. Furthermore, euphemisms are the society’s basic linguanon franca (Rawson 1981:1), for in everyday conversation, the euphemism is, at worst, a necessary evil; at best, it’s a hardy verbal tool to avoid making enemies needless or shocking words (Time, sept: 19,1969). By tracing the application of euphemisms as radioactive isotopes (Rawson 1981:1), it is possible to see what has been going on in our language, our minds, and between language and language users, how to avoid provoking other people, and how to finally communicate with any other people. |