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Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
РАЗДЕЛ IV. ЯЗЫКИ НАРОДОВ ЗАРУБЕЖНЫХ СТРАН SECTION IV. LANGUAGES OF PEOPLES AND NATIONS OF THE WORLD
УДК 81'42
DOI: 10.18413/2313-8912-2016-4-4-54-65
Samia Azieb
Prof. Mahmoud Qudah
SOFT-BOILED SPEECH: A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF EUPHEMISMS IN ALGERIAN AND JORDANIAN ARABIC
University of Jordan Princess Sumaya University for Technology
Abstract. The present contrastive study is geared mainly towards probing into the euphemistic language that Algerian and Jordanian Arabic speakers resort to when certain tabooed topics and concepts are brought to the fore. Intriguingly, such an analysis was done in the light of Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory. To this end, the data were elicited by dint of two questionnaires which were prepared by first collecting the needed euphemisms from the native speakers of the two dialects under scrutiny. The first one was handed to a randomly chosen sample of 100 Algerian BA students of English at the University of Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia, Jijel. The second one, however, was given to a randomly chosen sample of 100 Jordanian BA students of English at the University of Jordan. The findings indicate that euphemism is both a linguistic as well as a cultural phenomenon. Accordingly, despite highlighting some similarities between the two cultures under scrutiny in the use of euphemistic terms and expressions, one to one correspondence does not exist. Therefore, taking cognizance of euphemisms in different cultures is a sine qua non for facilitating intercultural communication.
Key words: Algerian Arabic, Euphemism, Intercultural Communication, Jordanian Arabic, Politeness Theory.
1. Introduction
For the sake of politeness or pleasantness, broaching some topics or referring to certain concepts necessitates making recourse to some safeguards that are embedded differently in different languages and language varieties. Euphemisms- courteous ways of referring to tabooed terms and topics- could be those safeguards when sensitive topics are brought into prominence. For example, to describe children of low intelligence, people use «a bit slow for his age», «Less able» or «under achiever», etc. If someone has died, he is thought of as having «passed away», and those who are handicapped or disabled are named politely as «differently-abled». A «homeless person» is euphemized by «on the streets» while abortion is euphemistically referred to as «pregnancy termination». These mild expressions are found in all cultures and they are «a universal feature of language usage» (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p.216). That is, they exist in every language and no human communication is without euphemisms. However, a particular utterance which is polite in one culture might be impolite in another culture. Therefore, taking cognizance of euphemisms in different cultures is a sine qua non for facilitating intercultural communication.
As a matter of fact, euphemistic words and expressions embody human being's desire to extricate themselves from barbarism and to become civilized creatures. Hence, it should be noted that they are inextricably linked to politeness. Particularly, their use is in conformity with Brown and Levinson's Politeness Theory. The latter revolves around the notion of face which they succinctly defined as «the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself.. .Thus, face is something that is emotionally invested, and that can be lost, maintained, or enhanced, and must be constantly attended to in interaction» (Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 61). They considerer face as a coin with two interrelated sides viz: positive face and negative face. The former entails «the positive consistent self-image or 'personality' (crucially including the desire that this self-image be appreciated and approved of) claimed by interactants» while the latter incorporates «the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction-i.e. to freedom of action and freedom from imposition»( Brown & Levinson, 1987, p. 61).
Therefore, the main premise of the Politeness Theory is that speakers try to avoid threatening the face of those they address by dint of various forms of indirectness, an instance of which is the so-called
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
«euphemisms». Following this line of reasoning, Allan and Burridge (1991: 14) assert that «a euphemism is used as an alternative to a dispreferred expression, in order to avoid possible loss of face: either one's own face, or through giving offence, that of the audience, or of some third party». The gist is that the interlocutors resort to using euphemistic expressions either to minimize threat to the addressee's face or to minimize threat to their own face.
Axiomatically, defining the concept of euphemism has gained the attention of different researchers since time immemorial. , As a result, a plethora of definitions have been provided for it. In a nutshell, the word euphemism originated in the Greek language. Accordingly, the Online Etymology Dictionary defines a euphemism as «1650s, from Greek euphemismos »use of a favorable word in place of an inauspicious one,» from euphemizein »speak with fair words, use words of good omen,» from eu-»good, well» (see eu-) + pheme »speaking,» from phanai »speak». In this regard, McArthur (1992, p. 387) states that a euphemism in rhetoric is «the use of a mild, comforting, or evasive expression that takes the place of one that is taboo, negative, offensive, or too direct: Gosh God, terminate kill, sleep with have sex with, pass water, relieve oneself urinate». In a similar vein, there are other definitions of euphemism which are also based in one way or another on the notion of indirectness: ''a mild or roundabout word or expression used instead of a more direct word or expression to make one's language delicate and inoffensive even to a squeamish person'' (Willis & Klammer, 1981,p.192-193). Also, Al-Qarni and Rabab'ah (2012, p.730) maintain that euphemism is a universal phenomenon which could be succinctly elucidated as «a polite or indirect way of saying a tabooed term». Following the same line of reasoning, Rawson (1981, p.1) asserts that euphemisms are «mild, agreeable, or roundabout words used in place of coarse, painful, or offensive ones. The term comes from the Greek eu, meaning «well» or «sounding good,» and pheme, «speech»«.
As is clear, euphemisms are worthy of the controversy that their study has engendered. Therefore, for the sake of efficiency in handling the matter at hand, the present research work raises the following overarching questions:
1. What euphemisms do Algerian and Jordanian Arabic speakers use to refer to each of the following topics: Death, sickness, and cancer, and to certain places, jobs, and terms of address?
2. What are the main similarities and differences between Algerian and Jordanian Arabic speakers in the use of euphemisms?
3. Do the differences in using these euphemisms result from having two different cultures?
2. Literature Review
Following the emergence of contrastive analysis under the leadership of Robert Lado, researchers in the field of contrastive linguistics have hastened to compare languages with regard to their sound systems, grammatical structures, writing systems, cultures and vocabulary systems. Apparently, Arab researchers are no exception. Accordingly, Arabic-English contrastive studies started to dominate the scene of contrastive linguistics in the late 1950's of the twentieth century. This was in conformity with developments in contrastive analysis studies in Europe and the U.S.A. During their first phase, Arabic-English contrastive studies were characterized by their «pedagogic orientation and decontextualization of linguistic data» (Mukattach 2001: 116). However, they had a brand new direction which was unavoidable due to the dominant developments in linguistic theory at the time. Thus, they changed from having a pedagogic orientation to joining the realm of theoretical contrastive studies. However, having a myriad of contrastive studies which contrast the lexis of two varieties of the same language, and thus two cultures, is still something to be desired.
Qi (2010) attempted a contrastive analysis of the cultural differences in Chinese and English Euphemisms by means of the relevant linguistic theories. Thus, he concluded that euphemism is a linguistic, and particularly a cultural phenomenon and its development is the outcome of various socio-psychological factors. Importantly, the researcher maintained that such a study would surely shed light on the English teaching in China in the sense that in the teaching of English vocabulary, it is necessary for teachers to draw students' attention to the understanding and use of those words and expressions with strong cultural connotations; teachers may as well make a bilingual comparison and contrast of such words and expressions, especially those which are not bad in the dictionaries but are to be avoided in the eyes of the British and Americans.
In another seminal study, Al-Azzeh (2010) gave special emphasis to the use of euphemisms by Jordanian speakers of Arabic. In this regard, she investigated meticulously the most common euphemisms Jordanian Arabic speakers use to refer to tabooed words, topics and concepts in their daily communication. In doing so, she examined the effect of social variables such as, the dialectal variety, gender and age on the use of euphemism in the
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
Jordanian society in the light of the Politeness Principle and Context Theory.
Following similar lines of inquiry, Qanbar (2011) conducted a sociolinguistic study of the linguistic taboos in the Yemeni society and the strategies used by the Yemeni speakers to avoid the use of these words through different types of replacement of taboo words with more acceptable words such as euphemisms. Such a practice is conditioned by the cultural and religious norms of the society. It also offers an explanation as to why certain words are considered taboos in the society and why certain taboo words are accompanied by particular conventionally-fixed words. Intriguingly, this study used the politeness approach proposed by Brown and Levinson (1978, 1987) as the theoretical framework for the analysis of linguistic taboos in the Yemeni society.
Al-Qarni and Rabab'ah (2012) probed into the similarities and the differences between euphemism strategies that are used in Saudi Arabic and English and the way they are linked to cultural and religious beliefs and values. The researchers concluded that the strategies of euphemism found in the Saudi responses are 'part-for-whole', 'overstatement', 'understatement', 'deletion', 'metaphor', 'general-for-specific', and 'learned words and jargons'. The British participants, however, employed 'understatement', 'deletion', 'learned words and jargons', 'metaphors', and 'general-for specific'. Thus, Saudi Arabic was found to have more ways of expressing euphemisms. Another significant finding was that the Saudis and the British resort to taboos when handling death and lying, but hardly ever for bodily functions.
Importantly, Gomaa and Shi (2012) geared their study towards the investigation of the euphemistic language of death in Egyptian Arabic and Chinese. They found out that euphemisms are universal since they exist in every language and no human communication is without euphemisms. Both Egyptian and Chinese native speakers regard the topic of death as a taboo. Therefore, they handle it with care. Though Egyptian Arabic and Chinese employ euphemistic expressions to avoid mentioning the topic of death, Chinese has a large number of death euphemisms as compared with the Egyptian Arabic ones. The results also showed that death euphemisms are structurally and basically employed in both Egyptian Arabic and Chinese in metonymy as a linguistic device and a figure of speech. Moreover, they employed conceptual metaphor to substitute the taboo topic of death.
In a more recent study, Ghounane (2014) shed light on the dark side of Algerian culture in relation to language use via investigating linguistic taboos and euphemistic usage. The researcher showed that
the attitudes of Algerian speakers are linked to certain socio-cultural and psychological factors including the social norms of the society, the social upbringing of its individuals and the social environment in which they get in contact in addition to their identity construction and other parameters. It was also found that Algerian people have developed a rich vocabulary which includes euphemistic substitutions. These substitutions are the results of societal, psychological and cultural pressures.
3. Methodology
The primary informants of the data are the first and the second authors who are native speakers of Algerian Arabic and Jordanian Arabic respectively. However, this was also supplemented by consulting several other native- speaker respondents who gave a hand by providing more examples of euphemisms so as to help in the preparation of the two questionnaires. Accordingly, the first questionnaire was administered to a randomly chosen sample of 100 Algerian BA students of English at the University of Mohammed Seddik Ben Yahia, Jijel. The second one, however, was given to a randomly chosen sample of 100 Jordanian BA students of English at the University of Jordan. Intriguingly, the differences in euphemistic language use that relate to some variables including gender were overlooked in the present study.
4.Results and Discussion
The findings of the study are presented and discussed in three sub-sections viz: (1) The Analysis of Algerian Arabic Data, (2) The Analysis of Jordanian Arabic Data, and (3) Contrasting Algerian and Jordanian Arabic Data.
4.1. The Analysis of Algerian Arabic Data
4.1.1. Algerian Arabic Euphemisms for Death, Sickness, and Cancer
Frequency tables and percentages were established to see the extent to which each euphemism was used by Algerians to refer to the following taboo topics: death, sickness, and cancer respectively. Tables 1, 2, and 3 are a case in point.
Table 1
Frequencies and Percentages of Death Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
6 6%
jAe dike 3 3%
19 19%
11 11%
AJe ^ ^AAJ 40 40%
^JJ 4jb ¡¿л 21 21%
Total 100 100%
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
As it is plainly displayed in table 1, the Algerian euphemized expression for death with the highest percentage was ^j (40%). This was
followed by ijij with a percentage equals to
21%. In addition, 19% of the respondents admitted that they used ^J However, the percentage representing the use of ^ f^l was 11%. Lower percentages were occupied by ^ »W ^ and j>*® with the values 6% and 3% respectively.
Table 2
Frequencies and Percentages of Sickness Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Dealing with the topic of sickness seems to have classified the euphemisms used by Algerian respondents according to their frequency of use from the highest to the lowest as follows: ^j^U (29%), ^ ^ (28%),^uj- (10%), (8%), with ^ jU5
and having the same percentage (7%), (6%), jt~(3%), and (2%).
Table 3
Frequencies and Percentages of Cancer Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
According to the responses obtained in table 3, a great percentage of the respondents (30%) used (jl^jLUji to refer to cancer. The euphemism
UliU ^ija had the second percentage 20%.
The third position was recorded for <^j*»ll:
18%. Lower frequencies, however, were recorded for ^j^ll and g^l ^j^il with frequencies
of 15 , 10 and 7 respectively.
4.1.2. Algerian Arabic Euphemisms for Jobs, Places and Terms of Address
The second question in the present research work is devoted to the euphemisms that were used to refer to some concepts such as certain places, jobs, and ways of naming and addressing in Algerian
Arabic. Tables from 4 through 15 show the results of each concept and the distribution of their frequencies and percentages according to the number of participants for each concept.
Table 4
Frequencies and Percentages of Cemetery Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
A considerable number of respondents (66) reported using the euphemism ^W^l. The second position was represented by the term '¿j^ll; 25. Apparently, the least used term by Algerians was discovered to be jw*ll; 9.
Table 5
Frequencies and Percentages of Prison Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Table 5 indicates that almost have of the informants (45%) made recourse to the euphemism The euphemized expression jjj-ll had the second rank with a percentage of 32%. Less frequencies of use were recorded for 11%,
j^-ll 8%, and jSj^ 4%.
Table 6
Frequencies and Percentages of the Place of Memorial Ceremony Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
The findings in table 6 are an indication that oj^ll jjllj^ jic. £jji was the most frequently used euphemistic expression among Algerian speakers: %57. A quarter of them (%25) used lj*J jlJ whereas only %18 used l>l ojj.
Table 7
Frequencies and Percentages of Garbage Man Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
1 " n и l jJ 15 15%
AilkiJl J^lc 40 40%
1 45 45%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
29 29%
10 10%
ÙJC 3 3%
ù-J*" 7 7%
8 8%
ùLlè 2 2%
^Jj ^ L>£ 6 6%
AJU ^i 28 28%
^ljifi 7 7%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
8 8%
i^j^ji 45 45%
32 32%
js j* 4 4%
A^JAjj 11 11%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
10 10%
30 30%
7 7%
^jxJl 15 15%
mi ll^jJ ^^j^Jl 18 18%
Л1 Ijlilc ^jxJl 20 20%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
lj*J ^jj 18 %18
l>l jb 25 %25
57 %57
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
'¿jj^^Jl 25 25%
ôiJ^Jl 9 9%
AjL^ll 66 66%
Total 100 100%
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
According to table 7, ^¿Aiil ranked first 45%, followed by the terms Ailkill J*lc 40%, and 15%.
Table 8
Frequencies and Percentages of Woman Naming Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
öjd 42 42%
fbU 16 16%
9 9%
ЯШ1 6 6%
20 20%
'Али Л1 5 5%
Total 100 100%
According to the responses obtained, the euphemism ®j*»1 occupied the first position by being represented with a percentage of 42%. The second highest position was represented by f :20%. Closer to the latter in percentage was fl^ll: 16%.
Finally, Aiji^l (9%), ALUll (6%), and ¿^"H (5%).
Table 9
Frequencies and Percentages of Step Wife Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
18 18%
vm j 31 31%
4jjllJl jJ 51 51%
Total 100 100%
Table 9 discloses the following. Half of the respondents: 51 tended to use the term Autill jJ, 31 referred to the step wife as l^jl-K and only 18 employ
Table 10
Frequencies and Percentages of Barren Woman Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
33 33%
¿jj ^Sjj u 11 11%
19 19%
¿jj ^iaüci^ 7 7%
30 30%
Total 100 100%
Table 10 shows that the euphemisms used to refer to a barren woman in the Algerian context could be classified according to the frequency of their employment from the most frequently used to the less frequently used as follows: jV 1* : 33 , ^jljJ: 30, <jj JUl* : 19, <jj ^l^jj I* : 11, and <jj ^l^lLcl*: 7.
Table 11
Frequencies and Percentages of Mother-in-Law Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
¿jj^c 28 28%
¿Hi 11 11%
¿LlC 8 8%
(JjL^ 30 30%
2JV 23 23%
Total 100 100%
With regard to mother-in-law euphemisms, table 11 shows that ranked at the top of the list: 30 %. In the second position was : 28%. Following
these was Aty 23%. At the other end of the spectrum were 11% and 8%.
Table 12
Frequencies and Percentages of Step-mother Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
Lib ^ij^ 73 73%
¿aii 17 17%
¿LlC 10 10%
Total 100 100%
In statistical terms, table 12 manifests that more than half of the respondents (73) preferred using the euphemism ^j* when referring to their stepmothers. However, the use of <11^ and was restricted to the frequencies of 17 and 10 respectively.
Table 13
Frequencies and Percentages of Poor Person Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
49 49%
4JU. ла ^JC 13 13%
Jljlj 21 21%
JdJSJl 5 5%
VV АJ^C j jjlS fjj 3 3%
6 6%
JMi 3 3%
Total 100 100%
Table 13 shows that almost half of the informants: 49% referred to a poor person with the euphemism ^j^icl*. On the other hand, 21% used <1ljlj, 13% used ^ ^ Jc, 6% used 5% used JM, and only a percentage of 3% was reported for both W '¿j^cj fj and Ji^li.
4.2. The Analysis of Jordanian Arabic Data
4.2.1. Jordanian Arabic Euphemisms for Death, Sickness, and Cancer
The following four tables manifest the frequencies and percentages of the euphemisms which Jordanians use to refer to the following topics: death, sickness, and cancer respectively. Consider tables 14, 15, and 16:
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
Table 14
Frequencies and Percentages of Death Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
Л1 Jj J£"l 23 23%
AiijLi] iii Л1 11 11%
öjsc ^ILcl 1 1%
Aiicbj iii Л1 7 7%
^jj jlj^ Jj J^l 5 5%
À «.LLJl 31 31%
2 2%
20 20%
Total 100 100%
Under the banner of table 14, it is plainly shown that the euphemism ^ el^ll ranked first with a percentage of no less than 31%. The other percentages according to the ranking of euphemisms in the above table were: 23%., 11%, 1%, 7%, 5%, 2%, and 20%.
Table 15
Frequencies and Percentages of Sickness Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
ÙJC 18 18%
^Cjii^ 5 5%
14 14%
Ajil^j 7 7%
JjJc 5 5%
20 20%
ùl^j^ 31 31%
Total 100 100%
The findings in Table (15) show that the term jl^j* had the highest frequency of 31. Next, the euphemized expression had a frequency of 20
.The third frequency was recorded for the euphemism jlj^ with a value of 18. The euphemism Jj^ had the lowest frequency of 5 among the Jordanian Arabic speakers.
Table 16
Frequencies and Percentages of Cancer Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
^jJl 31 31%
JLUJl 12 12%
Jt^c ^^j^ 14 14%
'¿^c AiklL 4 4%
^SjiSj Jll ^jJl 22 22%
öj"
ц д 1л 17 17%
Total 100 100%
Table (16) shows that the term ^I^a had
the highest frequency of 31among Jordanian Arabic speakers. The euphemism ^Hl ^j-llhad the
second position with a frequency of 22.The third euphemism j l^ ^ll had the frequency of 17,
whereas the euphemisms JW*ll <^j-ll,
and had the lowest frequencies.
4.2.2. Jordanian Arabic Euphemisms for Jobs, Places, and Terms of Address
Question two set light on the euphemisms that were used to refer to some concepts such as certain places, jobs, and ways of naming and addressing in Jordanian Arabic. Tables from 17 through 26 show the results of each concept and the distribution of their frequencies and percentages according to the choice of the respondents.
Table 17
Frequencies and Percentages of Cemetery Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
ôi^l 34 34%
frlj^^ill 18 18%
Ajjill 21 21%
9 9%
Ajlj^Jl 13 13%
A joiioll 5 5%
Total 100 100%
Table 17 shows that o^l was the term that was opted for by a considerable percentage of the informants: 34% while the term Àjïiuiill was chosen by only 5% of them. Accordingly, it is the least used term in the provided list.
Table 18
Frequencies and Percentages of Prison Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
27 27%
jb 14 14%
j JjAlill 22 22%
4iiJU jb 37 37%
Total 100 100%
Responses in Table (18) show that the term jl^ had the highest frequency of 37. The euphemism Aj^^^Vl had the second position with a frequency of 27. The euphemism ^^^Vl j jauii jSj^ had the third position with a frequency of 22, whereas the euphemism ^^^Vl jb had the lowest frequency of all euphemisms and terms referring to prison.
Table 19
Frequencies and Percentages of the Place of Memorial Ceremony Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
lj*Jl Сш 22 22%
j^Vl cjj 31 31%
ЯЛлЛ 18 18%
ôjjj? "'l CjJ 15 15%
fjUl 12 12%
AjlA^Jl 2 2%
Total 100 100%
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
Table 19 indicates that the place of memorial ceremony was best represented in Jordanian Arabic by the euphemism lj*1l ^¿j with a percentage of 22%, whereas ajiaji proved to be the least used euphemism in the available list.
Table 20
Frequencies and Percentages of Garbage man Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
^^jji J^le 10 10%
AilkjJl J^lc 54 54%
AjUVl J^U 21 21%
4_plll J^lc 15 15%
Total 100 100%
According to table 20,Ailkill J*lc ranked first : 54%, followed by Al*Vl 21% , M*Sl cUc 15% and oM J*1c : 15%.
Table 21
Frequencies and Percentages of Woman Naming Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
öj^ 24 24%
18 18%
AjJj 10 10%
Ajale 1 1%
AcU^Jl 3 3%
javi 13 13%
JVjVl fi 14 14%
AJ^l 17 17%
Total 100 100%
Table 23 shows that the euphemisms used by Jordanians to refer to a barren woman could be ranked according to the frequency of their employment in the following order^Vjl ', l* :52, M Ulkci l*: 33, jlc : 10, and A^Sc : 5.
Table 24
Frequencies and Percentages of Mother-in-Law Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
¿Lt 40 40%
¿aii 12 12%
32 32%
Jjii 16 16%
Total 100 100%
Table (24) shows that the euphemism had the highest frequency: 40. Next came the euphemism ^j* with a percentage of 32%. The euphemism occupied the third position: 16%. Last but not least, the euphemism was represented by a frequency of 12.
Table 25
Frequencies and Percentages of Step-mother Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
72 72%
AJLkJl 28 28%
Total 100 100%
Table 21 shows that the terms »j*, A*j^, and were used more than their counterparts.
Table 22
Frequencies and Percentages of Step Wife Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
It is noticed in Table (22) that the euphemism had the highest frequency of use: 51. The second position was occupied by the euphemism with a frequency of 20.The euphemism Aij^llhad the third frequency of 18. The euphemism l^iSjij had the lowest frequency of 18.
Table 23
Frequencies and Percentages of Barren Woman Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
From table 25, it could be stated that the users of the euphemistic expression m'^i ^j* outnumbered those of the term Al^ll, with the values 72 and 28 respectively.
Table 26
Frequencies and Percentages of Poor Person Euphemisms in Jordanian Arabic
Results in Table (26) show that the euphemism ^ mi? Jc was reported to be the most frequently used among Jordanians: 29%. One rank below it was ^ Jc ^ : 22%. The term jj" occupied the third position with a frequency of 17%. Below it in rank were the euphemisms AcU?, jj^* and ^^jj JiS with their percentages following the same order: 14%, 10%, and 8%.
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
..Vjl lnVn 1л 52 52%
UlLei U Л1 33 33%
jSle 10 10%
a^j^c 5 5%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
IgJ^Jj^ 20 20%
IjJLa j 11 11%
ajj±ji 18 18%
t^Jii 51 51%
Total 100 100%
Euphemism Frequency Percentage
Л1 i_iL Je 29 29%
4JU. ла Je 22 22%
jjlnlin 17 17%
JjJa Aajj 8 8%
^Л^л AiJ 10 10%
lU^i acixa 14 14%
Total 100 100%
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
4.3. Contrasting Algerian and Jordanian Spoken Arabic Data
4.3.1. Similarities between Algerian and Jordanian Euphemisms
The analysis of the data that the researchers had at their disposal revealed the following similarities between the euphemisms pertaining to Algerian and Jordanian Arabic:
1. Both Algerian and Jordanian native speakers regard certain topics and concepts like death, sickness, cancer, certain places, jobs, and ways of naming and address as taboos. Thus, they handle them with care by dint of making recourse to the use of euphemistic expressions.
2. Algerian and Jordanian Arabic speakers prefer to be polite and indirect, that's why they both try to avoid threatening the face of those they address by means of various «euphemisms»
3. There is a tendency on the part of both Algerians and Jordanians to use the same two euphemisms viz: »j^e ^Ikel and ^ f^M to refer to the topic of death.
4. In a similar vein, Algerians and Jordanians have been attested to have one common denominator: the use of to refer to sickness, and ^l^,
1* <ll to refer to cancer, though with differing degrees.
5. As far as euphemisms of some places are concerned, both Jordanian and Algerian spoken Arabic have at their disposal the following: AjUJl and oij^ll to refer to the cemetery, and lj*ll to name the place of memorial ceremony.
6. In a similar vein, Ai1kill J*1c is used in both societies to refer euphemistically to the garbage man.
7. Woman naming euphemisms have also revealed similarities in: J^j^l f',®j* , AJjill.
8. Both Algerians and Jordanians use '. \;Vl' 1* j^jl, U1L&I 1* M to refer to a barren woman, and
to address a mother-in-law ,and ^lU ^ Jc to soften the impact of referring to a poor person.
4.3.2 Differences between Algerian and Jordanian Euphemisms
Despite the aforementioned similarities between Algerian and Jordanian Spoken Arabic in using euphemisms, it should be noted that some differences between them were attested.
1. Though some euphemistic expressions are shared between the two dialects under scrutiny, they tend to be pronounced in different ways due to the differences in their phonemic inventories.
2. Moreover, in some cases, one of the two varieties of Arabic tends to outnumber the other one in terms of the euphemisms it supplies to refer to certain taboos. For instance, Jordanians use more euphemisms than Algerians when «the cemetery» is brought to the fore.
3. In addition, there are instances in which Jordanians are more indirect and polite in the euphemisms they use like in the case of «step wife». On the other hand, there are situations in which Algerians are less direct, as in the case of a barren women.
Conclusion
Immersion in the present research work for a considerable amount of time has disclosed that despite the existence of similarities between Algerian and Jordanian euphemisms when referring to the taboo topics and concepts of death, sickness, cancer, certain places, jobs, and terms of address, they tend to differ in many respects. Axiomatically, such differences could be attributed to the fact that «euphemism» is not only a linguistic phenomenon, but a cultural one as well. Hopefully, this study, which can capture neither the breadth nor the depth of this linguistic and cultural phenomenon, will pave the road for subsequent studies about a highly important topic like the one in hand. Therefore, as a compensation for some of the deficiencies and limitations of the present research work, it is strongly recommended that its frontiers could be pushed back by virtue of conducting it with a larger sample. To this end, the questionnaires are to be administered to a higher number of Algerian and Jordanian respondents. In doing so, the researcher may say with confidence that the sample is representative of the whole population. It is also recommended to inquire into more areas where the use of euphemisms in both societies is required by taking into account the extent to which age and gender might affect the choice of euphemistic expressions both in the Algerian and Jordanian society.
References
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2. Allan, K., & Burridge, K. (1991). Euphemism and dysphemism: Language used as a shield and weapon. New York: Oxford University Press.
3. Al-Qarni, M., & Rabab'ah, G. (2012). Euphemism in Saudi Arabic and British English. Journal of Pragmatics, 44, 730-743.
4. Brown, P., & Levinson, S.C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
5. Ghounane, N. (2014). A sociolinguistic view of linguistic taboos and euphemistic strategies in the Algerian Society: Attitudes and beliefs in Tlemcen speech community, International Journal of Research in Applied, Natural and Social Sciences, 2(3), 73-88.
6. Gomaa, A. Y., & Shi, Y. (2012). Softboiled speech: A contrastive analysis of death euphemisms in Egyptian Arabic and Chinese, Global Journal of Human Social Science, 12 (8).
Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
7. Klammer, E., &Willis, H. (1981). A brief handbook of English. New York :Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
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13. Rawson, H. (1981). A dictionary of euphemisms and other doubletalk. New York: Crown
APPENDICES Appendix I: Questionnaire of Euphemisms in Algerian Arabic
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Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
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Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
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Samia Azieb, Mahmoud Qudah Soft-boiled Speech: a Contrastive Analysis of Euphemisms in Algerian and Jordanian Arabic // Вопросы теоретической и прикладной лингвистики. -
Т.2, №4,2016.
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Samia Azieb
University of Jordan Prof. Mahmoud Qudah
Princess Sumaya University for Technology
