Match these words of war with what they refer to.

EUPHEMISMS AND POLITICAL CORRECTNESS IN TRANSLATION

Euphemism-is a figure of speech that “camouflages” direct, unfriendly or disagreeable expressions with more pleasant and ethically correct words or phrases. The word euphemism originated from the Greek word "euphemia" meaning "the use of words of good omen." They can be creative verbal fresheners that make it easier to discuss touchy subjects.

Though, as Ralph Keyes notes in his book Euphemania, “Euphemisms can have a bright side and a dark side.” They can be a source of evasion, a way to avoid topics that should be confronted, a way of choosing not to face unpleasant truths. At worst, euphemisms are employed by politicians, bureaucrats, merchants, and others as tools of manipulation. [Keyes R.]. Bureaucracies such as the military and large corporations frequently spawn euphemisms of a more deliberate (and to some, more sinister) nature. Organizations coin doublespeak expressions to describe objectionable actions in terms that seem neutral or inoffensive. "The CIA doesn't kill anybody anymore. They neutralize people. Or they depopulate the area. The government doesn't lie. It engages in misinformation." (George Carlin, "Euphemisms." Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics, 1990) Politically correct euphemisms are among the most pernicious. Good and bad become “appropriate” or “inappropriate”. A ghastly problem becomes a “less alarming challenging issue”, “affected by material error” (in European Union parlance) means “money stolen from the budget”.

Euphemistic periphrasis is closely connected with the concept of “political correctness” (PC). PCinitially used by the American legal system in the late 1700s, has slowly turned into a global linguistic effort meant to promote more tolerant human relationships. The concept was quickly adopted by many cultures, through the calque method, possibly because it sounded right and seemed to involve politics as well; nevertheless, in many languages the resulting term fails to convince.

In linguistic terms, being politically correct generally means preserving a moderate attitude and the due respect in matters regarding genre, religion or race – that is, speaking or writing without hurting other people’s feelings. But the initial admirable efforts later turned to exaggerations, sometimes embarrassing, if not even ridiculous.

Irrespective of how ridiculous this topic may seem in theory, the problem of translating such terms from English is a very serious one. Most such terms have a deep cultural connotation, thus making it even more difficult to choose, in the target language, the “right words” or euphemisms to express the same meaning as in the source language.

Match these words of war with what they refer to.

2. Match these contemporary euphemisms with what they refer to:

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 979