Euphemi sm and I t s Soci al - Cul t ural Background i n Ameri can Engl i sh
Hi r oa ki UEBA
1.Introduction
Changesin euphemism used to be akind of“naturalchange.”Originally,aeuphemism wasused in connection with taboos.Euphemisticexpressionsabouttaboosgradually changed in accordance with the change in people'swaysofthinking aboutthem.
But,atpresent,changesin euphemism occurmainly as“intentionalchange.” One example isaeuphemism used forpoliticalreasons.Thatisto say,achange caused by someone'swill,for political,commercial,orotherreasons.In the case of“naturalchange,”itiscaused by the changes in itsbackground and surroundings. Butin the case of“intentionalchange,” the causesare someone'swilland intention.
2.1.The Origin ofEuphemism
There isasuperstition thatamagicalconnection existsbetween thingsand the wordsthat indicate them.Atpresentthe superstition seemsto have faded out,butithasindeed influenced the origin ofeuphemism.
The word “Word Realism” meansthatevery word hasitsoriginalsubstance.The indication ofathing oraconceptisnotthe only function ofaword. A word isthoughtto have amagical substance according to the conceptof“Word Realism.” To speak in abroad sense,the meaning of“Word Realism” isaword'spowerto influence human beings.
People in olden timeswere afraid ofdisasterscaused by “Word Fetishism.” They thoughta word wasnotonly an indicator;they also thoughtofitasan influentialpower.They tried to avoid misfortune by evading the use ofdirectexpressionsand using indirectwordsinstead.
People in olden timeswere literally surrounded by “taboos.” Forthem,“taboos” existed asthe rulesforsecurity.The ruleshad to be obeyed,and could notbe broken.By doing so,they could feelasense ofsecurity.
Originally,euphemism wasused in connection with taboos. The contentsoftabooscan be divided into two types.One is“awe ofholy things.”Needlessto say,people were expected to both
fearand respectthingsconsidered holy.They may be asoul,an animal,astar,ahead ofavillage or anything the human mind may have had cause to fear.
The othertype is“repulsion towardsunclean things”:death,blood,and certain partsofthe human body.Taboosthusinfluenced the firststage ofeuphemism.
Concerning thiskind oftaboo,euphemism in itsfirststage can be divided into two groups.The firstbeing “euphemism in connection with the human body,”and the other“euphemism forevading disasterorunfavorable things.”
“Euphemism in connection with the human body” includes expressions concerning sex, excretion, and birth. This division can be said to be “euphemism regarding nature's call.” Conventionally,people have thoughtofnature'scall,which includessexualdesire,excretion,etc.,as shameful. Considering sexualdesire to be shameful,people came to use indirectexpressionsin orderto referto the human body.In some situation,even silence playsasignificantrole.
When people try to avoid saying wordslike “death,”“die,” orsomething referring to death, they think ofdeath asathing they worry aboutand wantto avoid ifthey can. In thismeaning, euphemism concerning death can be categorized as“euphemism forevading disasterorunfavorable things.” The euphemism used in orderto avoid misfortune,including euphemism relating to the taboo of“awe ofholy things,” iscontained in thiscategory.
2.2.Changes in the Usage ofEuphemism
The presentusage ofeuphemismsisdifferentfrom thatofthe firststage mentioned above.The purpose ofthissection isto pointoutthe connection between socialeventsand changesin the usage ofeuphemism.
Itcan be said thatthe two typesofeuphemism in the firststage mentioned above are relating to personalmatters.And these two typesofeuphemism are gradually fading out.Instead ofthem,at present,euphemism ismainly used with regard to publicmatters,especially,politicaland social expressions. I will point out the usage of euphemism in tandem with its social-cultural backgrounds.
Since the Vietnam War,thiskind ofeuphemism hasbeen influenced by politicalsituationsin the world.Forexample,“Make love notwar” wasan anti-warslogan,which wasused by those who were opposed to the Vietnam War.The expression reflectsthe American counterculture ofthe 1960s,but“make love” hasbeen invoked in anti-warcontextssince.
At present,“make love” mainly means to have a sexual intercourse, which doesn't have anything to do with warcontexts.
In the following three sections, euphemisms related to the Vietnam War, the Obama administration,and job terminology are examined.
2.2.1.Euphemism relating to the Vietnam War The Vietnam War
Following isan excerptfrom PresidentNixon'sspeech on "Vietnamization"on November3, 1969.
Orwe can persistin oursearch forajustpeace through anegotiated settlementif possible,orthrough continued implementation ofourplan forVietnamization ifnecessary a plan in which we willwithdraw allourforcesfrom Vietnam on aschedule in accordance with ourprogram,asthe South Vietnamese become strong enough to defend theirown freedom.
Ihave chosen thissecond course.
（PublicPapersofthe Presidentsofthe United States:Richard Nixon,1969）
Following the example ofthe Nuremberg Courtwhich judged the Nazis,the RussellCourtwas held forthe Vietnam War.
According to Bertrand Russell,from the pointofview ofthe people concerned with thiswar,the Vietnam Warwasthoughtto be anecessary and tragicproductproduced by delay and poverty in South-EastAsia.And the cause ofthiswarcan be found in the tragicpast― the deep-rooted conflictbetween the North and the South.According to such aview,the interference ofthe United Stateswasthoughtto be acoincidence.The Vietnamese people were viewed asapitiable people.
Americawasforced to interfere,so itwasasorrowfulthing.
Russellattacked the kind ofview mentioned above.The problem in thisconflictisbased on racial discrimination. The word “Vietnamization" shows this fact clearly. The expression
"Vietnamization” wasused concerning thisconflict. The meaning ofthe word isto make the Vietnamese kill each other. One could even say that Genocide was included in the word
“Vietnamization.” Genocide by napalm bombsand so on wascruelty itself.Added to this,the American government authorities had to make excuses for the war. So many euphemistic expressionswere used regarding thiswar.
RogerCarasso explained the word “Vietnamization” asfollows.
“Vietnamization” wasallthe rage forthe defendersofAmerican intervention in Vietnam.Yes,we'llpulloutassoon aswe've armed and trained ourVietnamese friends.
Exceptthatthese corruptfriendswere asmallminority ofthe people,asisalwaysthe case when amajorpowerintervenesin acivilwaron the unpopularside.Assoon asitwithdraws, itsside collapses.
The same mistake isbeing made in Afghanistan.
(TheNew York Times,March 2,2012)
Euphemism regarding the Vietnam War
The Vietnam Warwascrueland wasconnected with politicalmotives,and many experiments were held atthe costofthe Vietnamese and theircountry.In orderto hide the politicalmotivesand the cruelexperiments,the governmentauthoritieshad to use many euphemisticexpressions.
“ resourcescontroloperation”
Thiswasalso called defoliation operation.Chemicalswere scattered and plantswere killed.
The aim wasto give the enemy trouble and to stop the food supply.
“weathermodification”
Cloudswere seeded in orderto cause rain;the aim wasto cause flooding and to protectbombing missions.
Butin spite ofsuch crueloperations,the United Stateswasdefeated in thiswar,in no uncertain terms. The authoritiestried to hide the defeat,and to hide the factofthe existence ofPOWs (prisonerofwar).
“We today have concluded an agreementto end the warand bring peace with honorin Vietnam and SoutheastAsia.” (The Presidentatthattime,Nixon'sspeech atthe Parispeace agreementin 1973)
Asaresult,thisattitude made a“credibility gap” between the leadersand the people.
2.2.2.Euphemism made by the Obama administration
Though the U.S.had “police action” in Korea,“conflict” in Vietnam and “use offorce” in Afghanistan and Iraq,the United StatesCongresshasn'tdeclared warsince the 1940s. The relationship between the U.S.A.and Libyahasbeen severely strained since the 2011 Libyan civil
war.The Obamaadministration had no choice butto use euphemisticexpressionsmainly forthe budget.The following euphemism wasmade by the Obamaadministration.
“kineticoperation”
"Kinetic"isan adjective used to describe motion.The Obamaadministration hasborrowed the wordsfrom the Bush administration,itspredecessor.
"The way Ilike to putitis,from ourstandpointatthe Pentagon,we're involved in alimited kineticoperation."(RobertGates,Defense Secretary)
"Military steps--and they can be kineticand non-kinetic,obviously the fullrange --are not the only method by which we and the internationalcommunity are pressuring Gaddafi,"
(Tom Donilon,nationalsecurity adviser)
On September11,2012,which happened to be the eleventh anniversary ofthe infamousattack on American soil,the U.S.ambassadorto Libyaand three embassy staffwere killed by Islamists blaming Americaforafilm they said insulted the ProphetMohammad. Following the attack,anti- American demonstrationsoccurred in Cairo and throughoutthe Muslim world. The title “kinetic operation” meansnothing butwarforthe Libyan people.
“OverseasContingency Operations”
The Obamaadministration prefersusing “OverseasContingency Operation” to using the term
“Long War” or“GlobalWaron Terror[GWOT].” The BudgetforFiscalYear2012 ofObama administration usesthe word “OverseasContingency Operations.”The Obamaadministration has tried to avoid the term “war.” The administration had no choice butto inherittwo foreign wars and now doesn'twantto be credited with starting athird.
2.2.3.Euphemism relating to Job Terminology
Job titleshave been changed according to people'sconsciousnessabouttheirrank in society. white collar,blue collar,pink collar,black collar
“White collar”and “blue collar”have been established. The division “white collar”and “blue collar”mainly dealswith almostexclusively male work.Co-related to thisdivision,the word “pink collar” came to be used.“Pink collar” isageneralterm forjobsmainly performed by women,
such assecretary,typist,salesgirls,and so on.
Working women are stilldisproportionately herded into so-called “pink collar” jobs
―teaching,clericaland retailsaleswork. (Time,10 August1964:49)
“Black collar” also came to be used.Garbage men and so on are included in “black collar.” With regard to “black collar,” there are many euphemisticexpressions.
Partofthe blame can also be traced to the statusrace,which hasvirtually eliminated the lowly job ― atleastin name.Only lastweek,garbage men ofMilwaukee,Wis.,petitioned the city councilto be called “publicworkscombustible field man.” When janitorsstarted calling themselvescustodians,status-seeking library custodianswere forced to inventanew title ― archivist. (Newsweek,8 June 1964:64) The altered job titlesseem to be improved on the surface. The labelsare changed,butthe contentsare stillthe same.The upgrading oftermscostslessthan the upgrading ofthe contents.
Forthe company itismore convenientto upgrade the termsthan to raise theirwages.In the field ofpolitics,itisconvenientto upgrade the termsifthe leaderscan deflectthe complaintsofthe people.So many euphemisticjob titlesexistin the world today.
Though the expressionsmentioned above stillexist,the otherfocuson “white collar” has appeared.
Like many white-collarcrime investigations,thisone hasuncovered atrailofe-mailsthat givesaframework,butthe recollectionsofthe participantswillbe crucialto determining whetherprosecutorscan build acriminalcase.
(Buildinga CriminalCasein theMF GlobalAffair,New York Times,March 26,2012) Ifanyone had notalready realized it,insidertrading isthe “hot” white-collarcrime these days. (Behind theCrackdown on InsiderTrading,New York times,March 1,2012)
White Collar,aUSA Network television series,hasbeen broadcasted.Itpremiered on October 23,2009,and the serieswasrenewed forafourth season on August25,2011.
A no-nonsense federalagentin the FBI'sWhite CollarCrime Unit,PeterBurke believesin earning successthe old-fashioned way,with perseverance and hard work.
(from the characterprofile ofWhiteCollar,aTV drama)
executive
The word “executive”isnow often seen in Japanese commercials. The word “executive”in these commercialsmeans“ V.I.P.”or“elite.”The usage in Japan isofcourse derived from the popularity ofthe word “executive”in the United States.In connection with thisword,there isan interesting paragraph.
Ifyou're an executive,you may notbe called an executive,butinstead,amanager,or president,orvice-president.You may be called aforeman,supervisor,orjust“the boss.” We want to look at the man who's really an executive, not the building janitor who is designated as“ManagerofBuilding Services.”
(ChesterBurger:Survivalin theExecutiveJungle,P.27)
Job titleswhich end with the suffix “-ian”or“-ist”are favored above those which end with the suffix “-er.”The reason isbased on the nuance ofthe words.Workerswhose job titlesend with “- ian”or“-ist”have theirspecialskillsin theirfields,and the nuance leadsto the image thatthe workershave specialabilities.Butthe suffix “-er,”asthe dictionary shows,doesn'thave such a nuance,so wordsending with “-ian”or“-ist”are favored.
The Trend ofEuphemisticExpressionsRegarding Job Terminology
Wordswhich have anuance ofbeing in ahighergrade in society and anuance ofability are favored.Such occupationsasmedicaldoctor,scholar,and so on,are thoughtto be highly-ranked in society. Such awareness exists at present, so the expressions which are derived from such occupationsare favored.Such occupationsasartistare thoughtto representcreativity,potential, and so on,so the expressionswhich are derived from such occupationsare favored.
Expressionsrelating to Unemployment
The unemploymentrate in the United States(9.09% in 2010)ishigherthan thatofJapan (4.87%
in 2010).The U.S.hasn'thad the lifetime employmentsystem like Japan.So in the United States, changing jobsisnotrare.Companieswhich actasago-between between aworkerand acompany
― executive-search firms― existin the U.S. In such conditions,the expression “in between jobs,” which meansdismissed,appeared.The Japanese lifetime employmentsystem ischanging, and ifitbecomesmore similarto the U.S.system,such expressionsas“in between jobs” will appearalso in Japan.
3.Conclusion
The naturalchange in euphemism seemsto have the tendency to use directexpressionsrather than ambiguousexpressions,and the intentionalchange seemsto head the opposite way.Butthese two changesshare acommon feature,which could be called social-culturalcirculation.
The tendency ofchanging expressionslowersthe words'value.Atfirst,aword ischanged into anotherword,and eventually losesitsoriginalvalue.Then the word isagain putinto anotherword.
Afterthe processrepeatsseveraltimes,in the end,forlowerranked words,new expressions differentfrom the formeroneswhich are directexpressionsoftheirrespective ranks,willbe used.
Forthe top ranked words,the originalexpression willremain butwith itsmeaning narrowed and referring to the top position in avery exactsense.
The following isthe system forword change (superficialchange only): 1. An originalexpression isdisliked and disappears.
2. In place ofthe originalexpression,an expression indicating the upperranked position is used in orderto indicate thisposition.
3. The altered expression loses its original value and it also becomes unpopular and disappears.
4. Forthe position,an expression indicating ahigherrank than the formerisused.
5. The expression also losesitsoriginalvalue and disappears.
6. Thisprocessrepeatsforthe expression which indicatesthe higherranked position.
7. Finally,forthe originalposition,adirectexpression which isdifferentfrom the original expression willbe used and the expression which indicatesthe top ranked position will remain.
The othersystem isforword change (expansion ofintrinsicmeaning): 1. An originalexpression isdisliked and disappears.
2. The range of the expression indicating an upper ranked position is expanded to the meaning oflowerranked positions.
3. The expansion refersto the word'soriginalmeaning.
4. Finally,the range ofmeaning ofthe expression isnarrowed back to aboutthe same asits originalrange.
Figure :The mechanism ofthe replacementofexpressions
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要 旨
アメリカ英語での婉曲表現の変化に焦点をあて言語の変化と社会の変化の関係を考察する。
日常生活の変化に伴う「自然変化」とは異なった、言葉を使う者の意図によって作られる変化、
言語の「意図的変化」を取り上げる。戦争に関する婉曲表現が多用されたベトナム戦争に関す る政府の表現と、2012年11月６日の大統領選挙で再選を決めたオバマ氏の戦争に関する表現を 比較する。また、失業率が高まる中での現状を覆い隠す職業名表現の変化を考察し、社会の変 化と語法変化を考察する。タブーなどに見られる「自然変化」の婉曲表現は婉曲表現を使わず 事実を表現する方向に向かい、戦争の表現などに見られる政治的な「意図的変化」がなされた 婉曲表現は事実を曖昧に表現する方向に向かっており、その両者は逆の方向に向かっているよ うに映るが、婉曲語の変化としては共通性がある。
Abstract
Focusing on the change in euphemism,Ihave explored the relationshipsbetween the change in language and the change in society. Ihave focused on “intentionalchange,” which ismade in accordance with the speakers'will.The above change isdifferentfrom “naturalchange,” which derivesfrom the change in daily life.Ihave compared euphemisticexpressionsaboutthe Vietnam Warand those used by the ObamaAdministration.Barack Obamawasre-elected forasecond term on November6,2012.And Ihave also explored the change in job terminologies,which makesthe ambiguity ofthe actualeconomicsituation recording the high rate ofjob dismissal. The natural change in euphemism seemsto have the tendency to use directexpressionsratherthan ambiguous expressions,and the intentionalchange seemsto head the opposite way.Butthese two changes share acommon feature,which could be called social-culturalcirculation.
