Euphemisms: Nineteen Eighty-four and Politically Correct Language Essay

Euphemisms are everywhere in today’s society. They are a daily accessory used in today’s language and are such a normalcy that one does not notice them as strange. For hundreds of years people have used language to persuade people or even nations. With the more advanced society gets so does the language and thus this persuasion gets even more convincing. Many novels show examples of euphemisms. Among those novels includes 1984 by George Orwell. Euphemisms can range from being used in politics to media campaigns to one’s own home. Also, they can be used for multiple purposes such as good or evil. Euphemisms usually distort the truth and mislead although some are motivated by kindness (â€Å"Making Murder Respectable†). â€Å"Euphemisms are coded expressions that we use when whatever we are referring to is considered inappropriate for the circumstances or when we are embarrassed or uncomfortable with the literal version. As one might expect, many euphemisms relate to sex or death† (â€Å"Euphemisms†). There have been multiple arguments that euphemisms help make people more sensitive and politically correct while others say it hinders and clouds the language, diverting people’s true meaning. Euphemisms can either be bad or good but it is important to know when and also where to draw the line in using this language. In Orwell’s novel 1984 euphemisms is so prevalent and the language used in that book is so distorted, at first, from what today’s society uses. Then, as a longer look is taken there are connections made between the language of today and the language that the government in book created. In 1984, there are two languages; Oldspeak and Newspeak. Newspeak is the language that the government wants to be the only source of communication. They have altered Oldspeak into this new language and made it very simple and small. This helps guarantee that people will not b e able to communicate any elaborate ideas that could hurt the government. Along with shortening the language they have eliminated words that have a bad connotation and replaced them with words that sound â€Å"happier† just with rules of usage to imply they are bad (Orwell). This is a prime example of euphemisms are how it can be taken to extremes. Within the book there are specific examples such as The Ministry of Truth, which is a section of the government that makes sure that no truth is actually revealed and is based upon lies (Orwell). All of the euphemisms in the book are used to control people without them being aware what is actually happening. In today’s society euphemisms are used but they do not always have an underlying goal of evil. This language technique is so commonly used that is does not seem strange or manipulative. People who believe euphemisms or politically correct language are good tend think that they provide many virtues. Two of them are that they help reduce the social acceptability of using offensive terms and that they discourage the reflexive use of words that import a negative stereotype, thereby promoting conscious thinking about how to describe others fairly on their merits (O’Neill). Although this seems like a pleasant idea eventually the words chosen to soften the subject will still mean the same thing and eventually become just as offensive. A bully who used to call a kid retarded is still going to hurt his feelings when he calls him differently abled with a harsh tone (O’Neill). Just as calling a woman big boned opposed to fat will still make her upset if seemed to be used in a negative connotation. Not only are euphemisms used in America but also around the world included China, Japan, Egypt and Russia. Oral sex is referred to as â€Å"playing the bamboo flute† in Japanese. A prostitute accosting a client on the streets of Cairo will ask â€Å"Fi hadd bitaghsal hudoumak† which literally means, â€Å"Do you have someone to wash your clothes† (Making Murder Respectable). This proves that euphemisms have been around a long time and are not something new.Orwell did mention that euphemisms can be sneaky and coercive while cloaking a decision’s unpleasant results. This is exampled in news about war when soldiers or just civilians have died and it is referred to as â€Å"collateral damage† (Making Murder Respectable). It has been argued if euphemisms are good or bad but it mostly depends on the extent of use and the situation in which is it veiling. There is no doubt that euphemisms will continue to be used in today’s society and for future generations to come. Works Citied â€Å"Euphemisms.† Euphemisms. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. â€Å"Making Murder Respectable.† The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 17 Dec. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2012. O’Neill, Ben. â€Å"A critique of politically correct language† The Free Library 22 September 2011. 06 November 2012 Orwell, George. 1984: a novel. New York, N.Y.: Published by Signet Classic :, 1977. Print.