EUPHEM: Euphemism

    From The Encyclopedia of Arabic Rhetoric

    التَّلَطُّف
    EUPHEM: Euphemism
    CategoryLinguistic Embellishments
    (‘ilm al-badī‘)
    SubcategoryIndirectness & Ambiguity
      
    Balaghascore.com
    CodeCE-7
      
    BalaghaBase.org
    CodeQ79
      
    OpenAlex
    IDW4415372113
      
    Cite this page
    🔗 DOI10.64393/balagha.Q79
     Download PDF
      
    Taxonomy
    ARDTv0.1.0, v0.1.1

    Definition

    Euphemism (at-talaṭṭuf) is an Arabic rhetorical device where an unpleasant or dispreferred word or phrase is replaced with a less direct or more socially acceptable expression.[1][2][3] It involves using an implicit reference to something unpleasant or embarrassing rather than stating it directly.[2]

    Mechanism

    • Euphemism works by substituting a dispreferred or taboo expression with an alternative that shares the same denotative meaning but differs in its attitudinal or social dimension.[1]
    • The original expression and its euphemistic counterpart share denotative meaning but differ in their attitudinal parameter.[1]

    Recognition

    Euphemism may be present when:

    • A word or phrase replaces a more direct expression while preserving the same basic denotative meaning.
    • The substituted expression reduces embarrassment, softens a taboo reference, or conveys greater politeness.

    The following diagnostic tests aid identification:

    • Test 1: Substitution test — replace the candidate expression with a more direct equivalent. If the meaning is preserved but the social impact is harsher, the original is likely euphemistic.
    • Test 2: Attitudinal contrast test — ask whether the expression reflects deliberate softening of an unpleasant or taboo referent.

    Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects

    • Avoidance of embarrassment and expression of respect toward the addressee.[2]
    • Prevention of loss of face for the speaker or addressee.[1]
    • Expression of negative politeness, by avoiding a face-threatening reference to the addressee.[1]
    • Expression of positive politeness and solidarity with the person or group referred to.[1]
    • Provision of a psychological or ideological frame of reference, as in the case of politically motivated euphemisms.[1]

    Applying the Recognition Framework

    The information on this page can be used to evaluate whether this device is present in a candidate lexical item using the Specific Device Recognition part of the Universal Framework for Identifying Arabic Rhetorical Devices:

    • Use the Definition, Mechanism, and Recognition sections of this page in Step 1.
    • Apply the substitution test in Step 2.
    • Consider contextual indicators in Step 3.
    • Use the Diagnostic Rhetorical Effects section of this page in Step 4.

    Types of Euphemism

    Type 1: Figurative expressions

    Replacement of a direct or offensive term with a figurative expression. Farghal (2011) identifies figurative expressions as the most common device for euphemising in Arabic, particularly in the domains of death, bodily effluvia, and sex.[1]

    Source Example

    إنتَقَلَ زيدٌ إلى الرَّفيق الأعلى.

    Zaid moved to the Supreme Companion.

    Explanation
    It means "Zaid passed away," where the expression al-rafīq al-aʿlā functions as a euphemistic figurative expression for death.[2]
    Source Example

    إنتَقَلَ زيدٌ إلى رحمة الله.

    Zaid moved to the mercy of God.

    Explanation
    It means "Zaid passed away," where moving to "the mercy of God" is a figurative euphemism for death.[2]
    Constructed Example

    غادَرَ الشَّيخُ هذه الدُّنيا وانتَقَلَ إلى جِوارِ رَبِّه.

    The sheikh departed this world and moved to the proximity of his Lord.

    Explanation
    A figurative euphemism for death, where moving to "the proximity of his Lord" replaces the direct māta ("he died").

    Type 2: Antonymic euphemisms

    A euphemism that replaces a negative term with its positive or desirable opposite, reflecting a desired rather than an existing state of affairs.[1]

    Source Example

    مُعافى

    Healthy

    Explanation
    Used to refer to someone who is sick. Similarly, baṣīr ("sighted") is used for someone who is blind, and ʿāʾidūn ("returnees") for refugees.[1]
    Constructed Example

    يَعمَلُ في هذه الشَّركةِ عَدَدٌ من ذَوي الاحتياجاتِ الخاصَّة.

    A number of people with special needs work in this company.

    Explanation
    The phrase dhawū al-iḥtiyājāt al-khāṣṣa ("those with special needs") is an antonymic euphemism that foregrounds what is present — particular needs — rather than naming the disability or impairment directly.

    Type 3: Circumlocutions

    A euphemism that uses a roundabout descriptive phrase to avoid stating something unpleasant or taboo directly.[1]

    Source Example

    لَم يُحالِفهُ الحَظّ.

    Luck did not ally with him.

    Explanation
    This means he failed. The circumlocution avoids the directness of fašila ("he failed").[1]
    Constructed Example

    لَم تُسعِفهُ النَّتائجُ في الامتحان.

    The results did not come to his aid in the exam.

    Explanation
    A circumlocution for rasaba ("he failed"), avoiding the directness of the verb by framing the outcome as a failure of the results to assist him.

    Type 4: Remodeling

    A euphemism formed by intentionally distorting the phonological structure of a taboo word or phrase. Farghal (2011) notes this type belongs essentially to vernacular Arabic.[1]

    Source Example

    يلعن ديكك.

    Damn your rooster!

    Explanation
    This is a remodeled euphemism for yilʿan dīnak ("Damn your religion!"), where dīk ("rooster") replaces dīn ("religion") through phonological distortion.[1]
    Constructed Example

    اِبنُ الأَرض

    Son of the earth

    Explanation
    A phonologically and semantically remodeled euphemism for the common insult ibn al-arḍ displacing a taboo maternal reference through substitution of arḍ ("earth") for the offensive term, softening the expression while retaining recognizable form.

    Type 5: Understatements

    A euphemism that downplays a serious or negative event by choosing a milder word.[1]

    Source Example

    نَكسة

    Setback

    Explanation
    Used in official discourse after the 1967 Arab–Israeli war as a euphemism for hazīma ("defeat").[1]
    Constructed Example

    أَعلَنَت الحُكومةُ عن تَعديلٍ في أَسعارِ الوَقود.

    The government announced an adjustment in fuel prices.

    Explanation
    taʿdīl ("adjustment") understates what would more directly be described as ziyāda ("a rise" or "an increase"), softening the negative impact of the announcement.

    Type 6: Overstatements

    A euphemism realised as a hyperbole or overstatement.[1]

    Source Example

    أُمّ المَعارك

    Mother of all battles

    Explanation
    Used by the former Iraqi regime as a euphemism for ḥarb al-khalīj al-thāniya ("Second Gulf War of 1991").[1]
    Constructed Example

    تَدابيرُ التَّقشُّفِ الاستِثنائيَّة لِحِمايةِ الاقتِصادِ الوَطَني

    Exceptional austerity measures to protect the national economy

    Explanation
    The inflated framing — tadābīr al-taqashshuf al-istithāʾiyya ("exceptional austerity measures") — euphemises what would be described more directly as spending cuts or khafdh al-nafaqāt ("expenditure reductions"), using overstatement to lend the policy a sense of necessity and grandeur.

    Type 7: Borrowing of foreign words

    A euphemism achieved by substituting a native term with a foreign loanword carrying greater social prestige or acceptability.[1]

    Source Example

    مادام

    Madame

    Explanation
    Used in place of native terms for wife because it carries a more positive social attitude.[1]
    Constructed Example

    يَعمَلُ بَعضُ المَسؤولينَ مَعَ سِكرِتيرَة خاصَّة.

    Some officials work with a personal secretary.

    Explanation
    The loanword sikritīra (from French/English secrétaire / secretary) is preferred over native alternatives such as kātiba in contexts where the foreign term carries more neutral or prestigious connotations, softening any potentially charged implications of the role.

    Notes

    • The classical Arabic term for euphemism is at-talaṭṭuf, attested in Akkawi (p. 420) and discussed by Farghal (2011), who notes that the term "fits the term 'euphemism' very well."[1][3] Al-ʿAskarī defined it as a two-directional process — softening an unpleasant expression, but also making a pleasant expression appear objectionable — whereas only the first direction is treated in the other sources and reflects contemporary usage.[1][3]
    • Farghal (2011) notes that explicit treatment of euphemism is sparse in medieval Arabic rhetorical scholarship.[1]
    • Farghal (2011) also discusses euphemizers such as ḥāshāk, which soften the impact of socially objectionable expressions.[1]

    References

    1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Mohammed Farghal, ‘Euphemism’, in Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics Online, ed. Lutz Edzard and Rudolf Erik de Jong (Leiden: Brill, 2011).
    2. ↑ a b c d e Hussein Abdul-Raof, Arabic Rhetoric: A Pragmatic Analysis (Oxford: Routledge, 2006), 251, ISBN 9780415386098. DOI: 10.4324/9780203965399
    3. ↑ a b c Inʿām Fawwāl ʿAkkāwī, Al-Muʿjam al-Mufaṣṣal fī ʿUlūm al-Balāgha: Al-Badīʿ wa-al-Bayān wa-al-Maʿānī (Beirut: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyya, 1996), 420.



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