名人教英文：euphemism & innuendo
the term "figures of speech" (文章之词采) should not be confused with the term "parts of speech" (英文之文法). the former refers to various ways of using words or phrases to enrich expressions for rhetorical and vivid effect. the latter refers to traditional grammar which classifies words into eight parts of speech: verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections.
this week we focus on two figures of speech, namely: "euphemism" and "innuendo".
euphemism 婉词
the term "euphemism" is greek in origin: "eu" means good and "pheme" refers to speech. "euphemism" thus means "speaking in a nice way or not speaking at all". thus, euphemisms are words used to replace offensive words in order to mask unpleasantness or profanity (不敬).
when words and phrases are used euphemistically, they are used as substitutes for words which are taboo, inappropriate or too vulgar and risqué to mention in polite company. (1)
some examples of frequently used euphemistic expressions are given below:
◆"pass away" means "die".
◆"sleep with" or "get laid" means "have sex".
◆"to be in the family way" means "to get pregnant".
◆"senior citizens" simply means "old people".