Publication details
The Use of Euphemisms as the Highest Form of Doublespeak in American Presidential Debates
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| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | The paper focuses on the use of euphemisms in American presidential debates in the years 2000, 2004 and 2008. Euphemisms are one of the forms of doublespeak, i.e. language that is used in order to manipulate people’s thought and influence their perception of reality. A euphemism is usually used when the original word has very negative affective associations. The speaker strategically chooses a word which somehow stresses the positive or optimistic aspect of a phenomenon and the negative or pessimistic aspect is thus played down. There are several processes how euphemisms are created. The research has shown that in addition to widening of meaning, metaphor, and metonymy, euphemisms are very often composed of two other lower forms of doublespeak: “purr” words and positive hidden bias. The aim of the paper is to show how euphemisms are used in order to promote the presidential candidates’ viewpoints on particular issues. |