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EUPHEMISM INTERPRETATION IN ENGLISH AND UZBEK LANGUAGE
Gulamova Dilobar Imamkulovna
Osiyo Xalqaro Universiteti asistent.
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10559816
Abstract. Throughout our lives, we come across euphemisms several times. When we read
a novel or in the composition of stories and poems, we encounter such words. They are often
considered negative words and are aimed at conveying negative meanings. For this reason, they
are used in order to increase the realization of the situations written in the story or work, to convey
that situation to the reader. Each language has euphemisms that are connected with its culture,
traditions and history. Such words change and are used depending on the ethnic grouping and
formation of the language. Euphemisms are not just formed, they are formed depending on the
social use and history of the language and remain in the word-stock of the language. This article
analyzes the similarities and differences of euphemisms in English and Uzbek languages. Since
the stages of development and cultural aspects of two languages are different, the occurrence and
use of euphemisms in them are also varied.
Key words: euphemisms, ethnic grouping, inoffensive words, context, negative and
embarrassing meaning, slang, metaphor, lexical devices, violent meaning.
ТОЛКОВАНИЕ ЭВФЕМИЗМОВ НА АНГЛИЙСКОМ И УЗБЕКСКОМ
ЯЗЫКАХ
Аннотация. На протяжении жизни мы несколько раз сталкиваемся с
эвфемизмами. Когда мы читаем роман или сочиняем рассказы и стихотворения, мы
встречаем такие слова. Их часто считают негативными словами и они направлены на
передачу негативного значения. По этой причине они используются для того, чтобы
усилить осознание ситуаций, написанных в рассказе или произведении, донести эту
ситуацию до читателя. В каждом языке есть эвфемизмы, связанные с его культурой,
традициями и историей. Такие слова меняются и используются в зависимости от
этнической принадлежности и формирования языка. Эвфемизмы не просто образуются,
они формируются в зависимости от социального использования и истории языка и
остаются в словарном фонде языка. В данной статье анализируются сходства и различия
эвфемизмов в английском и узбекском языках. Поскольку этапы развития и культурные
аспекты двух языков различны, возникновение и употребление в них эвфемизмов также
различны.
Ключевые слова: эвфемизмы, этническая принадлежность, безобидные слова,
контекст, негативное и смущающее значение, сленг, метафора, лексические средства,
насильственное значение.
INTRODUCTION
Any analysis of euphemisms in the English and Uzbek languages is seen to be capable of
yielding new insights at this point in the field's growth, when linguistic concerns like human
lifestyle and living environment are also being studied by academics. The Protestantism that
shaped European culture has undoubtedly given the British people their own national identity.
Islam and Eastern culture have shaped the distinctive national ethnic character of the Uzbek
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people. Both peoples' speech reflects these national and cultural traits, whether it is in the way they
convey their sentiments in tactful language or how they treat their loved ones. Both English and
Uzbek have a large number of euphemisms that are used in place of disagreeable or scary words
and phrases. Death-related beliefs arouse unpleasant feelings in both cultures.
A euphemism is a neutral term or phrase that is used in lieu of one that is considered
offensive or conveys an unpleasant idea
. While some euphemisms utilize bland, inoffensive
language for topics that the user wants to minimize, others are meant to be humorous. Euphemisms
can be used to politely discuss subjects that some people find taboo, such as death, sex, disability,
or excrement. They can also be used to cover up swearing.
These two civilizations' populations are sympathetic to the suffering of others. They also
make an effort to appear kind and pleasant, sometimes even use the proper euphemisms. The
conduct of the English and Uzbek peoples is similar, despite their distinct cultures. Both cultures
inherently value behaviors like being polite to avoid confrontation, sharing a positive mood with
someone, getting his attention, and demonstrating interest in him. Although there are significant
differences between Uzbek and English norms, lifestyles, life stereotypes, and aspirations, their
use of tactful, soft words and phrases, or euphemisms, in certain contexts generalizes these
differences.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Studies comparing and analyzing the euphemisms in Uzbek and English are few. A brutal
word that frequently appears while comparing bilingual euphemisms is "not found." In the study
of such concepts, not even the most expert dictionary or linguist with extensive language study
can arrive at a precise definition. Comparable euphemisms are studied without consideration for
the context in which they were written, including time and location. The task at hand is determining
the semantically comparable forms of euphemisms. Given that Uzbek and English are classified
as agglutinative and analytic languages, their euphemism structures differ, particularly with regard
to their semantic systems. The idea of the internal form of euphemism is crucial to comprehending
the semantic characteristics of euphemisms.
Euphemism is derived from the Greek term euphemia, which means "words of good
omen"; it is a composite word made up of the words eû, which means "good, well," and phḗmē,
which means "prophetic speech; rumour, talk."
The term "eupheme" refers to the positive,
uplifting, and affirming spirit of the Greek women. The ancient Greeks used the term "euphemism"
themselves, meaning "to keep a holy silence" or "speaking well by not speaking at all."
Though not quite the same, this idea moves euphemism toward the edge of taboo. Then,
the definition of such quiet was dropped. The issues surrounding euphemic lexicon and how it
relates to other linguistic occurrences have been extensively studied in the twentieth and twenty-
first centuries. For example: G. Paul, R.O.Shor, B.A. Larin, L.P. Krysin
, A.S.Kurkiev, E.P.
Senichkina and others. A. Reformatsky
believes that euphemistic units used instead of taboos are
1
Webster's Online Dictionary
. Archived from the original on 28 July 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2014.
2
"Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, φήμη".
www.perseus.tufts.edu
. Retrieved 27
May 2023.
3
Krysin L.P. Euphemisms in modern Russian speech. Russian Studies - Berlin, No. 1. 1994.
4
Reformatsky A. A. Introduction to Linguistics.-M.: Education, 1967.
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associated with ethnic development. According to him, euphemisms are employed to conceal
names and superstition is the root reason of taboos. He categorizes the euphemism phenomenon
into the subsequent groups:
1) at the request of military diplomacy, renaming nations, cities, businesses, military units,
and some legal organizations with symbols like (X (eks));
2
)
acronyms, symbols, and Latin phrases (such
as tuberculosis
, which must be stated) must
be used in place of disease names when speaking about illnesses that are harmful from an ethical
standpoint;
3) euphemisms that thieves use to conceal spoken words and phrases (abduction-purchase).
METHODOLOGY
Since the article is focused on the analysis of euphemisms in two languages, comparative
analysis has been used as a method. Euphemisms from two languages were taken and their
translations have been compared. In addition, contextual analysis has been also used, and the
meaning of euphemisms in the works have been discussed.
RESULTS
The usage of euphemisms varies depending on the situation and goal. Euphemisms are
sometimes used to avoid discussing topics that may be seen negatively or as humiliating, such as
death, sex, or div processes that are excreted. They might be made maliciously and cynically,
with the objective of misleading and confusing, or they could be made for good, harmless reasons.
A euphemism is, in essence, a term or expression that is used instead of another that is
banned or seen more rude. Euphemisms enable individuals to discuss challenging ideas without
coming across as impolite or unpleasant. Writers can invent euphemisms at any moment; there are
hundreds of potential ones. Here are some typical euphemisms:
1.
A bun in the oven: pregnant (homilador, ikki qat)
2.
No longer with us: dead (o`lgan, vafot etgan)
3.
Let go: fired (ishdan bo`shagan)
4.
Plastered: drunk (ichib olgan)
A euphemism is a term or expression that is meant to subtly convey anything offensive,
rude, or unwelcome. Both in everyday conversation and writing, euphemisms are frequently
employed to the point that listeners may not even realize they are being used. People use a variety
of euphemisms, for instance, when expressing the urge to use the restroom:
1.
Go to the restroom
2.
Use the powder room
3.
Visit the little girls' or little boys' room
4.
Go number 1 or number 2
In Uzbek language they can be translated like that:
5.
Go to the restroom-hojatga chiqmoq
6.
Use the powder room-bo`yanish xonasidan foydalanmoq
7.
Visit the little girls' or little boys' room-qizlar yoki yigitlar xonasiga bormoq
8.
Go number 1 or number 2-birinchi yoki ikkinchi xonaga bormoq
A lot of traditional euphemisms are abstract in nature. By using a euphemism—which isn't
quite a lie, but still doesn't correctly represent the situation—instead of conveying harsh or rude
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truths, abstraction enables authors to avoid writing about uncomfortable or insensitive realities. It
is an abstraction to say that a lady is "in a family way" rather than pregnant. The drama The History
Boys by Alan Bennett serves as a literary example of this type of euphemistic interchange:
Dakin: Anydiv else, I'd say we could have a drink... Is that a euphemism? It is, isn't it?
Have a drink. Saying 'a drink' when you mean something else. Only a euphemism is a nice way
of saying something nasty. Whereas a drink is a nice way of saying something nice.
Irwin: I think that's a euphemism, too
In this conversation,
“have a drink”
is utilized as a stand-in for discussing having sex. The
debate also clarifies that euphemisms are not limited to being used to describe negative things,
unlike the misconception that many people have when they first hear the word.
Another famous example of abstraction can be found in
The Great Gatsby
by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, when Nick Carraway describes where he lives:
I lived at West Egg, the – well, the less fashionable of the two,
Nick is outlining how West Egg and East Egg vary from one another. He is saying that
whereas East Egg has more established and even wealthier people, West Egg is home to the newly
wealthy. He discusses money using the term "fashionable." In Uzbek language there are no such
euphemisms describing where wealthy people live according to their wealth. “East Egg” can be
translated as “eski boylar mahallasi” and “West egg” is “yangi boylar mahallasi”.
Euphemism is the expression of a word with a more pleasant expression as a derivative
meaning of a taboo word. For example, the word
“chayon”
was taboo, its use was prohibited. This
is a lexical phenomenon. Its meaning was expressed in the word “eshak”.
In the Uzbek language the followings can be used with negative meanings:
9.
yo’q qilmoq, gumdon qilmoq - to destroy
;
10.
adoi tamom qilmoq - to end
;
11.
bedarak ketmoq - to get lost;
12.
boshini yemoq - to eat head
;
13.
dunyodan yo’q qilmoq - to repel
;
14.
jonni jannatga (jahannamga) jo’natmoq - to send one's soul to heaven (hell);
15.
jonini olmoq - to take his life;
16.
ko’mmoq - to bury;
17.
mangu uyquga jo’natmoq - to send to eternal sleep;
18.
narigi dunyoga jo’natmoq - to send to the afterlife.
19.
Vafot etmoq-to pass away, kick the bucket, buy the farm
The following euphemisms have almost same meaning in Uzbek language. They are
euphemisms for money and career:
•
Bringing home the bacon-uyga non keltirmoq;
•
Letting someone go-
•
In between jobs-ishsiz bo`lmoq
•
Breadwinner-oila boquvchisi
•
Living comfortably-muammosiz yashash
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One of the numerous expressions in the English language that depends on regional or
cultural knowledge is euphemism. Idioms, vernacular, slang, and colloquialisms are examples of
comparable figures of speech.
Slang is
a language in which particular regional or cultural groups understand a term or
phrase that has developed from another word. Slang phrases like "bougie," which is reduced from
bourgeoise, and "hangry," which is a combination of hungry and furious, were also included to the
dictionary in 2018.
Colloquialism
is the use of conversational language in writing. Including slang, vernacular,
and euphemisms in your writing will make it more colloquial, even if the word
colloquial
is, itself,
not very colloquial.
Idioms
are expressions that acquire a connotation that deviates from their accurate
translation. Among idioms are euphemisms. But not all English idioms are euphemisms;
sometimes we use them to express ideas that are not meant to be sensitive to a particular
circumstance. "At the drop of a hat" is an example of an idiom that is not a euphemism. When
someone says it, English speakers see it as an instant task start rather than a surrender to gravity.
It's not a euphemism because it doesn't have to deal with a delicate or taboo issue.
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded that there are several reasons why individuals use euphemisms in
regular conversation, authors may also employ them in their work for a variety of reasons. These
explanations may consist of the following:
20.
Etymologies are courteous
21.
Euphemisms give writing color.
22.
Euphemisms may lead to confusion.
23.
There may be an emotional charge to euphemisms.
Euphemisms may and need to be the focus of research in cultural studies as well as
philology and linguistics, as an increasing number of people in our day and age exhibit hostile
conduct. Because it's difficult to envision someone in the future who disregards the demands of
tact, civility, consideration for others, decency, standards of behavior, and etiquette. To avoid
making matters worse, using euphemisms should still be done with restraint and solid foreign
language proficiency.
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