EUPHEMISATION OF DYSPHEMISMS AND DISFEMISATION OF EUPHEMISMS

Abstract

The article studies a phenomena of euphemism and dysphemia from the position of semantic inversion between them. Traditionally, dysphemisms and euphemisms have been considered as opposite phenomena, going back to the concept of taboo. Euphemisms are defined as a resource designed to hide or soften taboo vocabulary, and dysphemism, in turn, is used to enhance the negative semantic load of taboo units. However, as language in general and these phenomena in particular developed, they have long gone beyond the above-mentioned functions, to the point that they began to be used for directly opposite purposes. The author analyzes cases of using Spanish euphemisms for dysphemistic purposes and Spanish dysphemisms that perform a euphemistic function. The material for the study is fiction by Spanish and Latin American authors. The cases of euphemism and dysphemia identified in the literary text make it possible to systematize and describe the purposes of using euphemisms and dysphemisms.