Miranda González is back with another lesson in her series about English grammar.
You’ve probably heard this old English proverb: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” It’s pretty good advice, I’d say. There have been times when I’ve said something rude and realized later that I should have kept my mouth shut. However, while it’s great to be a positive person, we can’t simply ignore everything negative around us. There will be occasions when we have to talk about things that aren’t very pleasant, and that’s where euphemisms come in.
A euphemism is a kinder word or phrase that you substitute for one that is unpleasant or offensive. For example, while you normally wouldn’t go around commenting on a person’s weight, you might find yourself in a situation where you have to find a polite way to discuss a person’s size. For example, stores market clothes for people with bigger than average body types as “full-figured”, “plus-sized”, or “curvy” (for women) and “husky” or “big and tall” (for men). A clothing store would NEVER EVER have a “fat clothes” section. And why not? Because overweight (that’s another euphemism!) customers would feel insulted and wouldn’t want to buy clothes there.
Just like in any language, English words have different degrees of meaning. Imagine that your friend does something foolish. Let’s say that he was making some cookies, wasn’t paying attention, and used a cup of salt instead of a cup of sugar. Not surprisingly, the cookies taste terrible. You tell your friend that he is …
Now, clearly “idiotic” isn’t the most offensive word in the English language (I can think of a few that are a lot worse!), but it’s the most offensive of the examples I gave you. I used these three words to show that all words fall somewhere on a spectrum between being positive, neutral, or negative. Some words are more positive than others, and some are more negative than others. The three words on the spectrum above all mean “not using good judgment”, so they are all somewhat negative, but if you tell your friend he is silly, he is likely to laugh and agree with you. If you tell him he is idiotic, he is likely to get upset and maybe even kick you out of his apartment.
When we use a euphemism, we replace a word that is on the negative end of the spectrum with a word that is closer to the positive end of the spectrum, even if it is only slightly less negative. When you are able to feel the degrees of difference between words in the English language, you are well on your way towards speaking like a native. And when you are able to successfully use euphemisms, you will have much more positive interactions with those around you.
Homework time!
How many euphemisms can you think of for death or dying? Write them in the comments!
Want more lessons by Miranda?
Here’s a list of more lessons posted by Miranda over the past two years.
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