Euphemism The fine art of speaking

Euphemism 

The fine art of speaking

I came across this word, “Euphemism” and I was quite intrigued to probe deeper, to see how it can. make a difference in the way we communicate with people.

So, what is Euphemism? Euphemism is “Conveying unpleasant news in a pleasant way through substitution of mild, indirect or vague terms in place of those terms that are considered to be harsh, blunt, or offensive”. 

Euphemisms are not idioms, but are similar in a way, that it a different way of saying the same thing. The functional purpose of Euphemism is that, it makes the bad seem not so bad, the negative seem not so negative, the unnatural seem not so unnatural, the unpleasant seem not so unpleasant, or at least tolerable. It is the practice of using the right words that convey a point and meaning, without sounding too hurtful. In short, we can call it as being diplomatic in approach.

An easy to understand common example of Euphemism is this: “Instead of saying someone “died”, we say he “passed away”. While both mean the same, the later sounds more polite and easy to take. Isn’t it?

In the social context today, we are learning to use alternative terms for people with difficulties. Like instead of calling someone as lame, handicapped or disabled, we use the term “physically challenged”. A still better term is “differently abled”. Also we say “visually impaired” instead of saying blind. We say “Senior Citizens” instead of saying old people.  It is not just because it sound better, but because there is equal amount of truth in it. In lines with Thiruvalluvar’s kural “Kaniyiruppa kaai kavarndhatru”- When sweet words are available why use bitter words?

Even advertisements today, try to convey their marketing message using Euphemism. Like before, old cars that went for sale were called used cars, but now the word they use is “pre-owned cars”. This gives an emotional comfort to the person who buys a used car.

Here are a few more amusing examples,

People aren’t poor, they are “economically disadvantaged.”

A man who runs out of money is not broke, but is having a “negative cash flow”.

People don’t live in slums. They live in “sub- standard housing.”

Even pornographic sites are better called as sites with “Adult rated content.”

When someone visits you or calls you up without any particular purpose, you can say it was “Just a courtesy call”.

Instead of saying, He was fired from his  job, we could say, he was “laid off”. Similarly, instead of saying that a company has terminated a sizeable portion of employees, we could say the company is “realigning their work force.” When a person retires from work,  we can say he was given a “golden handshake.”

Even job descriptions can be fine tuned to sound more comfortable to the people who do the odd jobs. In Europe, I have seen that they use the term “helper” to address the house maid. Similarly, we can call a peon, as an “office assistant”.

I read a quote, “Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy”. So, I think euphemism is a skill that we should try to learn, as we grow up in the ladder.

By taking conscious effort to think of alternative words and enhancing our vocabulary with those, can sound more sophisticated. Use of Euphemism, is by no way going to make the situation better, but it makes it sound easier.

 D. Senthil Kannan,

Managing Trustee, PALMS, Tuticorin.

Author of "Transformational Thoughts" - A Journey of learning 

Email: senthilkannand@gmail.com