3. Metonymy-based euphemisms in war-related speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama
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Ivana Moritz
Abstract
In the last two decades, the USA has taken part in conflicts that have not always been supported by the public. Two recent presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama had to deliver war-related speeches, and have been in positions to euphemize different topics for different reasons. A particular contextual situation is occasionally a trigger for the creation of new euphemisms as well as new taboo topics, so the presidents make use of euphemisms to avoid addressing certain topics and to achieve their rhetorical and political goals. The paper attempts to show that euphemistic expressions are not merely rhetorical figures, that they have cognitive grounding. Euphemistic expressions were extracted from transcripts of war related speeches, grouped according to concepts euphemized, and further subdivided according to cognitive mechanisms underlying their formation - conceptual metaphor and metonymy. Metonymy-grounded euphemistic expressions were analyzed more thoroughly, their number outreaching the number of metaphor-grounded euphemistic expressions. The analysis also included looking into the choice of the preferred metonymic vehicle for particular examples, following Radden and Kovecses’ (1999) principles for selecting metonymic vehicles. Furthermore, the paper draws inferences regarding most frequently euphemized topics in the speeches, and also attempts to determine the aims of euphemism usage in presidential war-related speeches.
Abstract
In the last two decades, the USA has taken part in conflicts that have not always been supported by the public. Two recent presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama had to deliver war-related speeches, and have been in positions to euphemize different topics for different reasons. A particular contextual situation is occasionally a trigger for the creation of new euphemisms as well as new taboo topics, so the presidents make use of euphemisms to avoid addressing certain topics and to achieve their rhetorical and political goals. The paper attempts to show that euphemistic expressions are not merely rhetorical figures, that they have cognitive grounding. Euphemistic expressions were extracted from transcripts of war related speeches, grouped according to concepts euphemized, and further subdivided according to cognitive mechanisms underlying their formation - conceptual metaphor and metonymy. Metonymy-grounded euphemistic expressions were analyzed more thoroughly, their number outreaching the number of metaphor-grounded euphemistic expressions. The analysis also included looking into the choice of the preferred metonymic vehicle for particular examples, following Radden and Kovecses’ (1999) principles for selecting metonymic vehicles. Furthermore, the paper draws inferences regarding most frequently euphemized topics in the speeches, and also attempts to determine the aims of euphemism usage in presidential war-related speeches.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Table of contents IX
- List of contributing Authors XI
- Introduction 1
- 1. Lexicon, discourse and cognition: terminological delimitations in the conceptualizations of linguistic taboo 13
-
Part I: Construal
- 2. The axiological and communicative potential of homosexual-related metaphors 35
- 3. Metonymy-based euphemisms in war-related speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama 55
- 4. Ambiguity and vagueness as cognitive tools for euphemistic and politically correct speech 79
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Part II: Cultural Conceptualization
- 5. Old age revolution in Australian English: Rethinking a taboo concept 99
- 6. Taboo subjects as insult intensifiers in Egyptian Arabic 117
- 7. Emotion concepts in context: Figurative conceptualizations of hayâ ‘self-restraint’ in Persian 141
- 8. A Cognitive Linguistics approach to menstruation as a taboo in Gĩkũyũ 161
- 9. The socio-cognitive aspects of taboo in two cultures: A case study on Polish and British English 179
- 10. The influence of conceptual differences on processing taboo metaphors in the foreign language 201
-
Part III: Cognitive Sociolinguistics
- 11. Why do the Dutch swear with diseases? 225
- 12. Calling things by their name: Exploring the social meanings in the preference for sexual (in)direct construals 245
- 13. The perception of the expression of taboos: a sociolinguistic study 269
-
Part IV: Interdisciplinary Approaches
- 14. Scrupulosity, sexual ruminations and cleaning in Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder 293
- 15. Swearing as emotion acts 311
- Index 329
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Foreword V
- Table of contents IX
- List of contributing Authors XI
- Introduction 1
- 1. Lexicon, discourse and cognition: terminological delimitations in the conceptualizations of linguistic taboo 13
-
Part I: Construal
- 2. The axiological and communicative potential of homosexual-related metaphors 35
- 3. Metonymy-based euphemisms in war-related speeches by George W. Bush and Barack Obama 55
- 4. Ambiguity and vagueness as cognitive tools for euphemistic and politically correct speech 79
-
Part II: Cultural Conceptualization
- 5. Old age revolution in Australian English: Rethinking a taboo concept 99
- 6. Taboo subjects as insult intensifiers in Egyptian Arabic 117
- 7. Emotion concepts in context: Figurative conceptualizations of hayâ ‘self-restraint’ in Persian 141
- 8. A Cognitive Linguistics approach to menstruation as a taboo in Gĩkũyũ 161
- 9. The socio-cognitive aspects of taboo in two cultures: A case study on Polish and British English 179
- 10. The influence of conceptual differences on processing taboo metaphors in the foreign language 201
-
Part III: Cognitive Sociolinguistics
- 11. Why do the Dutch swear with diseases? 225
- 12. Calling things by their name: Exploring the social meanings in the preference for sexual (in)direct construals 245
- 13. The perception of the expression of taboos: a sociolinguistic study 269
-
Part IV: Interdisciplinary Approaches
- 14. Scrupulosity, sexual ruminations and cleaning in Obsessive – Compulsive Disorder 293
- 15. Swearing as emotion acts 311
- Index 329
