Sometimes, when you are talking about something, you notice that the other person uses a strange word. You know what they are talking about, but at that moment they say the key word in such a different way that you know their intention. They don’t really mean to hurt you.
You are watching the news and unfortunately you come across an unpleasant one. There has been an accident and people have died. How should the newsreader present this? Should he say “Two people have died” or “Two citizens have lost their lives”?
The difference is obvious. It is called a “euphemism”. It is a combination of the words “good” and “speech”. It is used to shape the expression according to the moment, place and temperament, rather than to convey it directly.
In fact, although we use it when we talk to each other to make it more moderate and reasonable, it is a form that is used at all times and in all places, as well as in everyday speech. So much so that sometimes we can even see that this kind of use is necessary.
It can be useful to explain taboo subjects in a more modest, less shameful way. Personally, I find it funny sometimes, but it obviously works. Here we can see that we are avoiding something. We often use it with embarrassing subjects like sexuality, grim subjects like death, or frightening subjects like war. In fact, it is so ingrained in our language that we even forget the actual words we are using.
When I read about this term, I saw that there are actually many ways to use it, but I don’t need to go into detail because I’m sure it’s understandable even in this form. If you think about it, you may even have come up with some of these words.
Nevertheless let me help you remember them by talking about where they are used. Let’s say you’re in the supermarket and you’re going shopping. You are looking for a product, but you do not know which aisle it is in, so you look at the signs to guide you. “Where is the almond milk? Oh yes, I think I need to go to the diet section.” Because almond milk means a healthy life, doesn’t it? Well, at least the production order of the market can enforce this like that.
Now you are back home, and after the news of the accident you see that there are developments in the war. What’s that? The leader of the attacking country is making a speech. He says that he has carried out a routine military operation in the area where he attacked. I guess the people who “lost their lives” are a normal part of the routine operation.
You got bored with the news, so you called your friend and said let’s hang out outside. As the conversation went on, you felt the need to get up from the table. All you had to do was tell your friend, when asked, that you were going to the bathroom. But you did not want to go there to just wash your hands.
As we can see, we use methods such as avoiding direct expression, covering up its defect, reducing its severity and conveying it to friends without some others noticing. In addition, we sometimes use a completely different word, so to speak, in a way that seems at first glance to be completely irrelevant.
But why do we apply these “censors” to ourselves? Is it always necessary? Is it our own temperament to change our frequency according to the other person, to reduce the disturbance, the need to adapt to what the period and the time bring?
Whatever it is, I think the common situation is that we want to eliminate misrepresentation or misunderstanding in some way. Because the way we express ourselves reveals our personality. If we attach too much importance to the other person’s opinion, we turn ourselves into someone we are not. We begin to use some words and phrases that we feel do not belong to our mind. Yes, we have said that they may be necessary at some point, but how much do we really care?
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