Euphemization in English Political Discourse: A Functional-Communicative Approach

This article addresses the contemporary issue of euphemization within English-language political discourse as a means to achieve authorial intentions and shape public opinion. The relevance is underscored by the increasing significance of politics in everyday life. The aim of this study is to analyze euphemisms in political discourse from a functional-communicative perspective. One key objective is to identify their predominant functions. The data for analysis are drawn from online versions of leading English-language newspapers (“Reuters”, “The Guardian”, “The Washington Post”, “The New York Times”) over the past five years. Special attention is given to defining euphemism, its relationship with concepts such as linguistic appropriateness, social roles, and political correctness. Comparative analyses of various approaches to defining and classifying euphemisms are presented. An original adaptation of a functional classification of euphemisms tailored to the specifics of English-language political discourse is proposed, encompassing image-building, tolerance-promoting, protective, and concealing euphemisms. It has been demonstrated that masking and protective euphemisms dominate, while the primary communicative strategies involve manipulating public opinion and legitimizing certain actions. The novelty of this research lies in identifying trends toward using emotionally charged terms instead of neutral euphemisms.

euphemism, political discourse, speech influence, linguistic appropriateness, political correctness