Euphemisms

Abstract

This paper analyzes euphemisms - embellished expressions - excerpted from the Croatian public communication discourse. The introductory chapters provide an overview of the definitions of euphemisms, from rhetorical to cognitive-linguistic ones. The central part of the paper analyses the functions of euphemisms in Croatian public communication, the ways and mechanisms of creating euphemisms in the Croatian language and the semantic areas in which euphemisms are more significantly represented. The research started from the hypothesis that euphemisms have deviated from their original purpose - to beautify the expression and save one’s own or someone else’s face - and that euphemisms are increasingly used in public communication to manipulate the interlocutor. To test the hypothesis, research was conducted using a bottom-up methodological approach that involved selecting materials from the corpus by “manually” browsing and following news and announcements in the electronic media, classifying euphemisms by types, functions, semantic areas and ways of formation, and concluding their use in Croatian public communication space.