浅谈英语委婉语及其社会影响(8)

3.2.1. The euphemism for the office and trade
    For example, “mental hospital or mental health center” is a euphemism for “madhouse”; “mortuary or funeral” is a euphemism of dead house. Some small companies or small enterprises like to use the word “industry”, such as hotel industry, tourist industry, garage industry, women’s beauty industry etc.
3.2.2. The euphemism for occupation
    In order to promote the social status of the occupation, almost every humble occupation has a sweet-sounding name. There are mainly two forms:
1). Compound. That is to choose some sweet-sounding occupational names to make up compound or compound phrases. For example, today we can find many occupations in America and Britain named with “engineer”: sanitary (or sanitation) engineer; building (custodian, dwelling) engineer; automobile engineer; dry cleaning engineer, pipe engineer; heating engineer; packing engineer; sales engineer; housewife→domestic engineer; the person who is in charge of killing mice and cockroaches→exterminating(extermination) engineer. There are some other common titles: automotive repairman→automotive internist; garden worker→landscape architect; prison guard→correctional officer; pest-killer→pest control operator; butcher→meat technologist. Some humble occupations have many euphemistic names at the same time. For example, people often call “hair stylist” “tonsorial artist”, while people call “female hairdresser” “woman surgeon”; “undertaker” also has many expressions: bereavement counselor, grief therapist, funeral director, funeral service practitioner. Besides “engineer” housewife also can be called “household executive”, “homemaker”, even “domestic manager”; “Prostitute” also has many euphemisms, such as pavement princess, working girl, streetwalker, call girl, business girl etc.
2). Derivation. That is to choose some Latin and Greek prefixes whose meanings refer to “a person”, such as “-(o) logist”. “mixologist” is a euphemism for “a bar’s waiter”; dustman for garbologist; female hairdresser for cosmetologist; undertaker for mortician; cobbler for shoetrician; locksmith for locktician. Some special occupational names have adopted two prefixes. For example cosmetologist and cosmetician both refer to “female hairdresser”. Moreover, Latin prefix “-arian” is originally used in religion, but now it is also used in the occupation, such as: bartarian, sanitarian. Another Latin prefix “-ian” is also used popularly, such as custodian (entrance guard or dustman). Some people even want to change the native prefix “-er” to the Latin prefix “-or” because they think the foreign prefix is more elegant and sweet-sounding, such as weldor, wild animal trainor.
3.2.3. The euphemisms for the aged and weight
    The age, especially a woman’s age is regarded as a sensitive privacy. And most of the western people are afraid of getting old, so they call “old people” “senior citizens”. ”old age” and “senility” can easily cause the fear of the old people. Some euphemistic expressions take the place of them, such as “getting on (in years), past one’s prime, feeling one’s age, second childhood, a distinguished gentleman, a grande dame, third age”. The old people become “an elder statesman” or “old age pensioner” or even use initialing “OAP”. They are not “old” but “long-lived”. Old people’s home, of course, is not an ideal place for old men to live in. There are many euphemistic expressions: a home for adults, a nursing home, a rest home, a private hospital, a convalescent hospital. The old people who live there are called euphemistically “a resident”.