2015-03-04 Communication: euphemisms

Greg Malivuk
[email protected]
http://www.pastebin.com/u/gmalivuk
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Homework: the other side of the handout (p. 112) part 2 (complete the letter)
1 disadvantaged senior citizen
2 disabled
3 retirement pension
4 garden plot
5 pass away
6 lower income bracket
7 under the weather (= a little bit sick)
8 low IQ
9 Department of Defense
10 have a dialog
11 companion animal

stigma: negative ideas people attach to something

senior citizen = old person
law-enforcement officer = LEO = police, sheriff, FBI agent, Marshall, etc.
undertaker = the person who takes a dead body from a house, and prepares it for the funeral
collateral damage = unintended additional or secondary damage (usually additional deaths) caused by a military or police action (usually means that people died who had nothing to do with the military target)
pro-choice = in favor of the legal choice to have an abortion to end a pregnancy
pro-life = in favor of protecting the life of the embryo/fetus from an abortion
white meat = chicken or turkey breast
("the other white meat" = pork)
adult video = pornographic video
economical with the truth = dishonest (especially lying by omission - maybe the person doesn't say things that are false, but they avoid information that they don't want to talk about)
tired and emotional = (British English) drunk
person with a visual impairment = a person who has trouble seeing (blind)
(hard of hearing = someone with problems hearing, but not totally deaf)
substance abuser = drug addict
downsizing = laying off many employees, especially in order to save money
Where can I wash my hands? = Where is the bathroom?
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dysphemism: an intentionally rude or insulting word for something that could be discussed in a more polite way ("shitter" instead of "bathroom")
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pass away, rest in peace, late (e.g. "my late wife" = "my dead wife")
departed (especially in a funeral)

"She's expecting." = she's pregnant, she's going to have a baby
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euphemism treadmill: when people have negative ideas about the thing you're talking about, and those negative ideas attach to new euphemisms after a few years

cripple -> handicapped -> disabled -> differently-abled
					special needs (especially mental)
					people with disabilities

negro -> colored -> Black -> African-American (-> Black)
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slur: a bigoted word used against a certain group of people (usually by race, but it can also be physical or mental ability, sexuality, religion, or other things)