Q: Can euphemisms turn into dysphemisms and vice versa? If yes, why does it happen?
A: Yes, euphemisms can turn into dysphemisms, and vice versa. The change from a euphemism to its opposite is referred to as pejoration (worsening), while the change from a dysphemism to a euphemism is called amelioration (bettering).
The linguist Stephen Pinker has described this phenomenon as “the euphemism treadmill” (“The Game of the Name,” The New York Times, April 5, 1994).
“People invent new ‘polite’ words to refer to emotionally laden or distasteful things,” Pinker writes, “but the euphemism becomes tainted by association and the new one that must be found acquires its own negative connotations.”
In all this vice-versa-ing, he says, “ ‘Water closet’ becomes ‘toilet’ (originally a term …
Q: Can euphemisms turn into dysphemisms and vice versa? If yes, why does it happen?
A: Yes, euphemisms can turn into dysphemisms, and vice versa. The change from a euphemism to its opposite is referred to as pejoration (worsening), while the change from a dysphemism to a euphemism is called amelioration (bettering).
The linguist Stephen Pinker has described this phenomenon as “the euphemism treadmill” (“The Game of the Name,” The New York Times, April 5, 1994).
“People invent new ‘polite’ words to refer to emotionally laden or distasteful things,” Pinker writes, “but the euphemism becomes tainted by association and the new one that must be found acquires its own negative connotations.”
In all this vice-versa-ing, he says, “ ‘Water closet’ becomes ‘toilet’ (originally a term for any body care, as in ‘toilet kit’), which becomes ‘bathroom,’ which becomes ‘rest room,’ which becomes ‘lavatory.’ ‘Garbage collection’ turns into ‘sanitation,’ which turns into ‘environmental services.’ ”
“The euphemism treadmill shows that concepts, not words, are in charge: give a concept a new name, and the name becomes colored by the concept,” Pinker writes, “the concept does not become freshened by the name. (We will know we have achieved equality and mutual respect when names for minorities stay put.)”
In Forbidden Words: Taboo and the Censoring of Language (2006), Keith Allan and Kate Burridge coin the term “X-phemism,” a collective word for euphemisms, dysphemisms, and orthophemisms (their term for neutral words).
Allan and Burridge discuss “the concept of cross-varietal synonymy, i.e. words that have the same meaning as other words used in different contexts. For instance, the X-phemisms poo, shit, and faeces are cross-varietal synonyms because they denote the same thing but have different connotations, which mark different styles used in different circumstances.”
We assume you’ve seen our 2016 post “On dysphemism and euphemism.” If not, check it out.
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