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Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena

Politicians are notorious for their employment of words in a disguised fashion through the usage of euphemisms. Consequently, their message becomes a recurrent theme of conspicuous deception. Elected government representatives deliberately engage in grandiloquent expression conscious of its subversi...

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Main Author: Savo Karam,
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2011
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2043/1/2._3LVol17%281%292011Savo_Karam.pdf
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spelling my-ukm.journal.20432016-12-14T06:30:45Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2043/ Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena Savo Karam, Politicians are notorious for their employment of words in a disguised fashion through the usage of euphemisms. Consequently, their message becomes a recurrent theme of conspicuous deception. Elected government representatives deliberately engage in grandiloquent expression conscious of its subversive capacity. The deviancy of euphemisms is guided by social norms that politicians are permitted to exercise in order to safeguard their images. When politicians envelop seemingly good intentions with conscious deception, people are harmed in the process. Those in power transgress justice and commit crimes with their overwhelming command of euphemisms. In fact, euphemisms are utilized as masks, hiding truths under the protective tones of a speaker with a genuine, worthwhile goal. Selective vocabulary is employed to arouse, rationalize and justify. To achieve this end, politicians misrepresent the facts of various political situations by using terms that completely transform or falsify them. Euphemisms are used simplistically in daily conversations. However, where they are used and misused more frequently is in the political arena, in such cases as “soft targets” or “peace keepers” or “collateral damage.” These expressions are heard frequently, while past ones are forgotten and new ones primed in their place as transgressions continue. In this paper, I will make use of Jurgen Habermas’ public sphere theory, a critical theory that demonstrates how the audience’s outlook affects political action. This article will demonstrate the deliberate use of euphemisms in political language both as a cultural element and as one that is constantly changing to suit the ever-changing political arena. Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM 2011 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2043/1/2._3LVol17%281%292011Savo_Karam.pdf Savo Karam, (2011) Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena. 3L; Language,Linguistics and Literature,The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies., 17 (1). pp. 5-17. ISSN 0128-5157 http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/3L/3LHome.html
institution Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
building Perpustakaan Tun Sri Lanang Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
content_source UKM Journal Article Repository
url_provider http://journalarticle.ukm.my/
language English
description Politicians are notorious for their employment of words in a disguised fashion through the usage of euphemisms. Consequently, their message becomes a recurrent theme of conspicuous deception. Elected government representatives deliberately engage in grandiloquent expression conscious of its subversive capacity. The deviancy of euphemisms is guided by social norms that politicians are permitted to exercise in order to safeguard their images. When politicians envelop seemingly good intentions with conscious deception, people are harmed in the process. Those in power transgress justice and commit crimes with their overwhelming command of euphemisms. In fact, euphemisms are utilized as masks, hiding truths under the protective tones of a speaker with a genuine, worthwhile goal. Selective vocabulary is employed to arouse, rationalize and justify. To achieve this end, politicians misrepresent the facts of various political situations by using terms that completely transform or falsify them. Euphemisms are used simplistically in daily conversations. However, where they are used and misused more frequently is in the political arena, in such cases as “soft targets” or “peace keepers” or “collateral damage.” These expressions are heard frequently, while past ones are forgotten and new ones primed in their place as transgressions continue. In this paper, I will make use of Jurgen Habermas’ public sphere theory, a critical theory that demonstrates how the audience’s outlook affects political action. This article will demonstrate the deliberate use of euphemisms in political language both as a cultural element and as one that is constantly changing to suit the ever-changing political arena.
format Article
author Savo Karam,
spellingShingle Savo Karam,
Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
author_facet Savo Karam,
author_sort Savo Karam,
title Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
title_short Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
title_full Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
title_fullStr Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
title_full_unstemmed Truths and euphemisms: How euphemisms are used in the political arena
title_sort truths and euphemisms: how euphemisms are used in the political arena
publisher Pusat Pengajian Bahasa dan Linguistik, FSSK, UKM
publishDate 2011
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2043/1/2._3LVol17%281%292011Savo_Karam.pdf
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/2043/
http://www.ukm.my/ppbl/3L/3LHome.html
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score 13.211869

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