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Euphemism. Why?
Euphemisms. Why do we have them? Why are people taught that certain valid, accurate and simple words are 'unpleasant', that they should be hidden? Why are words seen as ‘swear words’? The common English language swear-words are simply words that the Normal invaders of Britain didn’t like because they weren’t French, and so were ‘low class’ words. And that attitude has stuck firmly in place.
Let’s look at slightly more recent times. Words like hell and damn. Words that seem to have been taken from the Christian bible (‘damn’ is an abbreviation) and put into general use. Does replacing the use of those two words with ‘heck’ and ‘darn’ really make it sound better? Everyone knows exactly what word is intended, so why use the euphemism?
Come right up to modern times and we are getting more and more people here asking to use the ‘bathroom’. Seeing ‘rest room’ signs on doors in public places. Bloody hell people, it’s a TOILET – a simple toilet! The thing that we sit on is a toilet pan. What is so offensive? Come to my house and ask to use the bathroom and that's exactly where you'll be shown, the bathroom. It has a bath, a hand basin and a shower. Not what you wanted? Then ask to use the toilet - that is the correct name. Look up the word in a dictionary.
In our job we use items that have names associated with plumbing and engineering. For instance, to join hoses together we have couplings. If these couplings have an external, or visible, thread they are ‘male couplings’; an internal thread and they are ‘female couplings’. Should we invent new terms for these items because some narrow minded, puerile person is ‘offended’? I think not, the problem is in the eye of the beholder. School kids always laugh when I explain these hose fittings to them. They laugh once and then use these correct terms, as they are being taught to do.
This rant came about because someone saw fit to replace the word ‘penis’ in a thread title. Replace a simple word with “Private Parts”. “Private Parts” – sounds like someone who’s just joined the Army, what is his or her given name?
Using a euphemism doesn’t make things nicer, it makes them worse. As a child of ten I used to laugh at my school dictionary describing ‘fart’ as “an explosion of air between the legs”. When we were given better dictionaries the joke was removed, a fart became “an emission of wind from the anus”. Accurate and no longer funny, even to young minds.
Let’s look at slightly more recent times. Words like hell and damn. Words that seem to have been taken from the Christian bible (‘damn’ is an abbreviation) and put into general use. Does replacing the use of those two words with ‘heck’ and ‘darn’ really make it sound better? Everyone knows exactly what word is intended, so why use the euphemism?
Come right up to modern times and we are getting more and more people here asking to use the ‘bathroom’. Seeing ‘rest room’ signs on doors in public places. Bloody hell people, it’s a TOILET – a simple toilet! The thing that we sit on is a toilet pan. What is so offensive? Come to my house and ask to use the bathroom and that's exactly where you'll be shown, the bathroom. It has a bath, a hand basin and a shower. Not what you wanted? Then ask to use the toilet - that is the correct name. Look up the word in a dictionary.
In our job we use items that have names associated with plumbing and engineering. For instance, to join hoses together we have couplings. If these couplings have an external, or visible, thread they are ‘male couplings’; an internal thread and they are ‘female couplings’. Should we invent new terms for these items because some narrow minded, puerile person is ‘offended’? I think not, the problem is in the eye of the beholder. School kids always laugh when I explain these hose fittings to them. They laugh once and then use these correct terms, as they are being taught to do.
This rant came about because someone saw fit to replace the word ‘penis’ in a thread title. Replace a simple word with “Private Parts”. “Private Parts” – sounds like someone who’s just joined the Army, what is his or her given name?
Using a euphemism doesn’t make things nicer, it makes them worse. As a child of ten I used to laugh at my school dictionary describing ‘fart’ as “an explosion of air between the legs”. When we were given better dictionaries the joke was removed, a fart became “an emission of wind from the anus”. Accurate and no longer funny, even to young minds.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ron Ayotte on
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As firefighters, we use euphemisims to "depersonalize" the horrors that we see. If we let it get to use, the asylums would be full of burnt out jakes and EMS personnel.
Some of the euphimisms used in the New England area are...
The degree of burn is either rare, medium or well done .
A burn fatality is a crispy critter.
A suicide by hanging is a swinger.
A GSW victim has lead poisoning
The morgue is the Eternal Care Unit.
The ambulance is a bone box.
etc. etc. etc.
My 3 year old niece calls a fart a "butt duck"! In the firehouse, it's called "floating an air biscuit."
The narrow minded, puerile person needs to be in analysis... I hope they don't live in a condominium
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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on
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Call a Spade a spade and dont beat around the bush..............................................................................
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Permalink Reply by Tony P on
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Ron? Love it! We also use station slang for some of our nastier happenings (crispy critter for one, chicken soup for when we have a person v. train). A fart at my station is often followed by "who dropped their guts?". None of those terms can be seen as 'nicer', they are as you said, something to help us continue with the job. So I call them 'slang' not my dredded "Euph".
Bill? My sentiment exactly. Except for the 'slang' as I mentioned.
Dottie? You're correct with a lot of our behaviour being simply the result of our upbrigning etc. My question is more about why is this sort of thing perpetuated, even extended? I think that the PC thing really started in the USA, with the Europeans being more 'strait to the point'? But I won't start on the PC thing, I'd end up with another post as long as my OP ! Oh all right, I can't stand the whole PC thing.
Thanks, nice responses.
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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I have asked myself and others this question many times. I've never really resieved a good answer. When my daughter was around 3 yrs. old she discovered the word dammit and used it often. I found myself telling her to use a different word like darn and I had absolutely no idea why. I have never punished her for using "bad words" unless they were specificly directed to a person. I agree that you should say what you mean and mean what you say. It's the meaning of the words that matter not the words themselves.
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Permalink Reply by Art "ChiefReason" Goodrich on
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I have a little bronchitis, but I don't have full blown euphemism.
Gonzo; your warped.
Sometimes; a single, succinct adjective describes with as much detail as a long, meandering trail of precisely placed footnotes.
Art
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