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Are there languages with no euphemisms?
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I feel that euphemisms are a function of how society views certain aspects of life and feels that they should not be talked about directly. So are there languages with no euphemisms?
semantics sociolinguistics
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
add a comment |
I feel that euphemisms are a function of how society views certain aspects of life and feels that they should not be talked about directly. So are there languages with no euphemisms?
semantics sociolinguistics
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
add a comment |
I feel that euphemisms are a function of how society views certain aspects of life and feels that they should not be talked about directly. So are there languages with no euphemisms?
semantics sociolinguistics
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
I feel that euphemisms are a function of how society views certain aspects of life and feels that they should not be talked about directly. So are there languages with no euphemisms?
semantics sociolinguistics
semantics sociolinguistics
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
asked 1 hour ago
Ishan UpadhyayIshan Upadhyay
212
212
add a comment |
add a comment |
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
It's hard to answer a question with a definite negative, since that leaves the possibility open for someone to come along later and say, "I know an example which disproves your position".
But I think that naturally occurring human languages are all going to have euphemisms, since humans seem to like that.
The only languages I know which do not have euphemisms are ones which are designed to be unambiguous. They include Lojban and SQL.
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
add a comment |
Their presence across all known world languages constitutes a linguistic universal according to research from Allan and Burridge (1991)
Refer to this article here. And to this paper, here
As @Wilson interestingly points out, it's not easy to say, "There exists one", also because, where do you draw a line and say this particular saying is not a Euphemism for something slightly more taboo. Since there is no scale, no definite measure. All languages will mostly have some sort of euphemism construction.
Unless they are artificial languages or very specific dialects (like in a precision field like surgery), where you have to be totally clear about the point you are making and slight confusion can make a lot of deprecation.
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
add a comment |
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2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
It's hard to answer a question with a definite negative, since that leaves the possibility open for someone to come along later and say, "I know an example which disproves your position".
But I think that naturally occurring human languages are all going to have euphemisms, since humans seem to like that.
The only languages I know which do not have euphemisms are ones which are designed to be unambiguous. They include Lojban and SQL.
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
add a comment |
It's hard to answer a question with a definite negative, since that leaves the possibility open for someone to come along later and say, "I know an example which disproves your position".
But I think that naturally occurring human languages are all going to have euphemisms, since humans seem to like that.
The only languages I know which do not have euphemisms are ones which are designed to be unambiguous. They include Lojban and SQL.
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
add a comment |
It's hard to answer a question with a definite negative, since that leaves the possibility open for someone to come along later and say, "I know an example which disproves your position".
But I think that naturally occurring human languages are all going to have euphemisms, since humans seem to like that.
The only languages I know which do not have euphemisms are ones which are designed to be unambiguous. They include Lojban and SQL.
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
It's hard to answer a question with a definite negative, since that leaves the possibility open for someone to come along later and say, "I know an example which disproves your position".
But I think that naturally occurring human languages are all going to have euphemisms, since humans seem to like that.
The only languages I know which do not have euphemisms are ones which are designed to be unambiguous. They include Lojban and SQL.
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
answered 1 hour ago
WilsonWilson
1,816520
1,816520
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
add a comment |
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
1
1
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
"Little Johnny Lobjan never uses euphemisms," said the teacher. "He's so... so... unambiguous." :)
– Luke Sawczak
26 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
Of course a euphemism is kind of an ambiguity, right? As in, is she actually powdering her nose or has she really gone for a slash like everyone believes?
– Wilson
24 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
I suppose that's true, though it's an interesting ambiguity, not so much between propositions as between discourse acts; you could say it's a social rather than a linguistic structure that introduces the ambiguity. In any case, my comment above was just for a laugh, turning "unambiguous" itself into a euphemism :)
– Luke Sawczak
20 mins ago
add a comment |
Their presence across all known world languages constitutes a linguistic universal according to research from Allan and Burridge (1991)
Refer to this article here. And to this paper, here
As @Wilson interestingly points out, it's not easy to say, "There exists one", also because, where do you draw a line and say this particular saying is not a Euphemism for something slightly more taboo. Since there is no scale, no definite measure. All languages will mostly have some sort of euphemism construction.
Unless they are artificial languages or very specific dialects (like in a precision field like surgery), where you have to be totally clear about the point you are making and slight confusion can make a lot of deprecation.
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
add a comment |
Their presence across all known world languages constitutes a linguistic universal according to research from Allan and Burridge (1991)
Refer to this article here. And to this paper, here
As @Wilson interestingly points out, it's not easy to say, "There exists one", also because, where do you draw a line and say this particular saying is not a Euphemism for something slightly more taboo. Since there is no scale, no definite measure. All languages will mostly have some sort of euphemism construction.
Unless they are artificial languages or very specific dialects (like in a precision field like surgery), where you have to be totally clear about the point you are making and slight confusion can make a lot of deprecation.
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
add a comment |
Their presence across all known world languages constitutes a linguistic universal according to research from Allan and Burridge (1991)
Refer to this article here. And to this paper, here
As @Wilson interestingly points out, it's not easy to say, "There exists one", also because, where do you draw a line and say this particular saying is not a Euphemism for something slightly more taboo. Since there is no scale, no definite measure. All languages will mostly have some sort of euphemism construction.
Unless they are artificial languages or very specific dialects (like in a precision field like surgery), where you have to be totally clear about the point you are making and slight confusion can make a lot of deprecation.
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
Their presence across all known world languages constitutes a linguistic universal according to research from Allan and Burridge (1991)
Refer to this article here. And to this paper, here
As @Wilson interestingly points out, it's not easy to say, "There exists one", also because, where do you draw a line and say this particular saying is not a Euphemism for something slightly more taboo. Since there is no scale, no definite measure. All languages will mostly have some sort of euphemism construction.
Unless they are artificial languages or very specific dialects (like in a precision field like surgery), where you have to be totally clear about the point you are making and slight confusion can make a lot of deprecation.
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
answered 25 mins ago
WiccanKarnakWiccanKarnak
8201422
8201422
add a comment |
add a comment |
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