WAYS OF ACHIEVING THE EUPHEMISTIC EFFECT AT THE LEXICO-SEMANTIC LEVEL IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to highlight the lexical-semantic ways of achieving the euphemistic effect in the English language. The research material was a sample of journalistic contexts with a total number of 110 units. The source of factual material is the paper The Washington Post, as well as the British National Corpus. The analysis of the factual material was carried out with the involvement of the following linguistic methods: the method of contextual analysis, methods of semantic and linguopragmatic analysis. The necessity to manipulate the addressee’s consciousness is explained by the need to hide or “improve” the real state of affairs. This applies in particular to the socio-political, military and economic spheres. The most productive level of euphemization is the lexical-semantic level of the language system. At this level, the suggestive and manipulative nature of euphemistic substitutes manifests itself most strongly. The main mechanisms of formation of euphemisms at this level are generalization, metaphorization and metonymization of meaning. The essence of generalization consists in replacing an unwanted word with a lexeme with a wider meaning, for example, “conflict” instead of “war”. Metaphorization involves making a semantic shift, which is based on a certain obvious similarity between an object or concept in the taboo sphere and a corresponding denotation outside this sphere, for example, “ethnic cleansing” instead of “genocide”. The metonymic formation of euphemisms is based on the regular or occasional transfer of a name from one class of objects or a single object to another class or a separate object associated with the target concept based on the principle of their contiguity or involvement in a common situation. For example, Wall Street, on which the stock exchange is located, is associated with business as a whole, and in some negative contexts can be used instead of the lexical unit “economy”. The reasons for the appearance of euphemisms lie in the depths of the people’s subconscious and historical and cultural memory, in particular, the desire to avoid the nomination of taboo phenomena of reality. The reaction of the language system to this need was the formation of units that mask or do not directly name unwanted denotations. The primary function of euphemisms is to have a certain “planned” effect on the recipient, that is, to achieve a “controlled” perception by the addressee of certain information that reveals the suggestive potential of such language units. The main principles of the formation of euphemisms are the neutralization of the negatively evaluated components of the original concept, the reduction of the degree of negative evaluation, and the change of the evaluation sign of the statement from negative to positive.