Euphemism
Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray
There is no ethnic cleansing in Bahrain.
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, on whether there’s genocide being committed in his country
A euphemism is a delicate, indirect, inoffensive, or vague word or phrase that takes the place of one that is unpleasant, blunt, offensive, or graphic.
Euphemisms create emotional distance and thus provide a level of comfort and ease when discussing a topic that is sensitive, difficult, or disturbing. In some situations, they are used to prevent inappropriately stirring people’s emotions - also known as being politically correct - by expressing an idea or description in neutral terms, such as referring to illegal aliens as “undocumented workers” or persons with disabilities as “handicapable” or “differently abled.” In other instances, euphemisms are intentionally used to sway people’s opinions or emotions to a particular side, as in the example of politicians’ referring to the anti-abortion position as “pro-life,” torture techniques as “enhanced interrogation,” or the non-combatants civilians who die during armed conflict as “collateral damage.” At times they are also used to conceal a person’s role in or responsibility for a bad deed, as George Carlin (1990) pointed out later in his standup routine: “The CIA doesn’t kill anybody anymore; they neutralize people or they depopulate the area.The government doesn’t lie; it engages in disinformation. The Pentagon actually measures nuclear radiation in something they call sunshine units.”
Euphemisms are fallacious because they are intentionally used to conceal the truth and obscure any real meaning; they are soft language used to mask or downplay warranted emotional force. They work in a similar way to how Novocain numbs the mouth before dental procedures. In this way, euphemisms take the lifeblood out of life.
When you refer to the poor as those with “a negative cash-flow position” or your friend who got fired as someone “whose workplace management wanted to curtail redundancies in its human resources,” you feel less sad or stressed about the situation. Worse yet, you think less critically about why the poor are poor or get poorer and why your friend was fired from her job: euphemisms numb us from asking the necessary deeper questions or critically assessing situations or actions to form a reaction, and they prevent us from assigning responsibility for actions or results. In fact, with constant use of euphemisms, you feel nothing at all. They make something bad seem pretty good, the awful are rendered lovely, the unnatural becomes almost natural, and the negatives feel rather positive. In this way, the greatest harm that euphemisms do is enable people to avoid reality.Being ambiguous or vague in meaning brands euphemisms as a type of weasel word. We see these used frequently in politics, corporate business, and advertising media, but they are quite common in everyday language. Weasel words appear to say something truthful or meaningful, but really they conceal truth and meaning, and thus protect the speaker or advocate from counter-attacks or legal redress. If a product says that it “combats wrinkles” and that “Dermatology experts agree skin appears more smooth,” then said product commits the fallacy of weasel wording because (1) “combat” seems to indicate that it fights, but it’s not clear how much so, and that choice of word means the product doesn’t conquer the wrinkles (so what exactly does it do and what degree should I expect?) and, (2) how many and which dermatology experts agreed, what does agreement really mean, and what is meant by skin “appears” more smooth? It’s very hard to argue with or sue a company that makes persuasive claims that are at the same time not very specific.
The key signs that weasel words and phrases are being employed include numerically vague statements (e.g., some experts say, many doctors agree); use of the passive voice instead of directly referencing an authority (e.g., it is said that this cream is a miracle); and heavy use of adverbs (e.g., maybe, probably, often).
Weasel words attract people and their money or attention rather than invite them to think deeply or critically about something. In the beauty industry, they play on the insecurities women have about their weight, aging, and sexual attractiveness: claims about “defying age,” “erasing wrinkles,” and “perfecting the skin” mixed with images of women who272 Kimberly Baltzer-Jaray
are heavily photoshopped convey the idea that this product works beauty miracles, but it does not encourage women to read the fine print, question the science behind the claims, or talk to the test subjects and experts who were part of the research.
Sometimes we use soft language to sound professional, civilized, or to tread lightly around the emotions of others, and while that can be appropriate, we must be sure that we are not fudging the truth. Sometimes you have to “say it like it is” and be unpopular. Using honest, direct language and making sure the neutrality deployed is accurate is the best way to avoid euphemisms and weasel wording. It’s correct to keep the racist language in Huckleberry Finn since removing it would alter its authenticity and historical context; we need to be confronted sometimes with an ugly past to grow. However, it’s not right to say to a parent “your son got a D on his exam because he is minimally exceptional at math.” Just say it: he sucks at math (he needs to hear it at some point from someone).
Reference
Carlin, George. 1990. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1TWZ6u0YLk (accessed
October 22, 2017).