TYPES AND FORMS OF EUPHEMISMS

USED IN MINANGKABAUNESE

Rusdi Noor Rosa

FBS UNIVERSITAS NEGERI

PADANG

KIMLI 2014

Rationale Human is eager to please

The expressions that needs euphemizing in one culture may not need to be euphemized in another culture.

Source of data: Palanta series entitled “Jawi Naiak Innova”

written in Minangkabaunese language

taking palanta (traditional coffee shop) as the setting.

Sitting in palanta reflects the traditional Minangkabunese activities in which they share ideas, provide suggestions, mantain the traditional culture, and sometimes criticize the government policy.

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Euphemism

Eu Pheme

Speaking with

good words

Defining

Euphemism

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Some basic ideas to the

emergence of euphemisms

to avoid taboo words (early use of euphemisms)

to substitute an offensive or unpleasant word for a more pleasant one (Leech, 1981; Enright, 1985)

to provide an alternative to a dispreferred expression and to keep mutual cooperation in a conversation (Allan and Burridge, 1991)

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Universal Euphemisms

Death

Sensitive Body

Organs

Sexual Terms

Name of

God

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Euphemism as a culturally

related term

is closely related to culture, tradition, mentality, social community

serves as a bridge connecting language with folklore

reflects cultural characteristics (euphemisms are mirrors of culture)

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Euphemisms and Culture

culture influences the way people choose the

expressions in their communication

the expressions that need euphemizing in

one culture may not need to be euphemized

in another culture

a certain familiarity with the cultural

background of euphemisms is essential to

the decoding of euphemisms

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Euphemisms

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Positive Negative

stylistic euphemisms

exaggerating euphemisms

traditional euphemisms

narrowing euphemism

making the items

more important

than they really are

closely connected

with taboos

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Forms of Euphemisms

phonetic lexical grammatical rethorical

Abbreviation

Reduplication

Distortion of

pronunciation

Loan words

Substitutions

Vague words

Stories from

religious works

Negations

Ellipsis

Periphrasis

Metaphors

Positive Euphemisms

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Yo, lah! Kok lah batambah jo nan labiah gadang masuak

yes if after add (passive) by who more big enter

ka Muaro dalam duo atau tigo hari ko.

into muaro in two or three day this

„Sure! If there are more people coming into Muaro in the next two

or three days.‟

The euphemism used in this sentence is the word Muaro which is

a name of a place in Padang in which a local prison is located.

This word is used to euphemize the word prison which sounds

unpleasant as it is a place for arresting people who committed a

crime. By using the word Muaro, the expression „coming into

Muaro‟ sounds more pleasant because it is common activities

done by people such as coming into schools, offices, etc.

Other words in Minangkabaunese used to euphemize the word

prison includes kandang situmbin, hotel prodeo, bajarajak basi

and tansi.

Positive Euphemisms

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Nagari awak banyak tukang teori.

country we (poss.) many handyman theory.

„In our country there are many theorists.‟

The word theorist that should mean a person whose job is

creating as well as developing theories based on their research

projects, in this sentence, means a person who likes telling many

things without any single evidence. By using this word, the

unpleasant meaning can be minimized, and the word sounds

more pleasant.

Negative Euphemisms

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Ratusan manusia kailangan angok dibueknyo.

thousands people lose breath make (passive)

„Thousands of people lose their breath because of it.‟

The expression kailangan angok (lose their breath) is used to

euphemize the word “death”. This word is taboo since death is

the unexpected event when a person leaves the world forever.

In Minangkabaunese, other words used to euphemize death

include maningga, bakapeh muncuang, and lah pai.

Negative Euphemisms

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Bini kalau sadang datang bulan, ijan digauli jo.

wife if while come moon not get along with too

„If your wife is in her menstrual period, don‟t get along with her.‟

The activity of getting along with is a usual activity done by

people as social creatures. However, in this sentence, the

expression getting along with is used to euphemize the sexual

activity of husband and wife which is taboo to be delivered

literally. Therefore, in Minangkabaunese, this word is always

euphemized.

Other expressions in Palanta column used to euphemize this

activity are bacampua baua antaro laki-laki jo padusi, sosoh, and

bagalintin pintin.

Negative Euphemisms

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A name of a certain animal is also euphemized in

Minangkabaunese. Look at the following sentence.

Awak ambiak se contoh inyiak balang.

we take only example old people striped.

„Let‟s take a striped old people as an example.‟

The expression inyiak balang literally translated as „striped old

people‟ means a „tiger‟. It is a carnivorous animal which is wild

and frightens not only other animals but also human. Many of

this animal are found in the area of Minangkabaunese, so saying

its name is considered taboo. This is an interesting phenomena

since it is one of the proves that there is a relationship between

ecology and linguistics.

Phonetic Device

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Kasudahannyo basuo bagalintin pintin dek patugeh.

finally meet squeeze by officer

„Finally, the officers found them squeezing.‟

The word bagalintin pintin is formed through reduplication of the

first set of sounds

... harusnyo indak banyak lo cik minyaknyo.

should not much too shit oil

„... They should not have too many illogical reasons.‟

The word cik is formed by eliminating the sounds /ir/ situated in

the middle of the word cirik meaning “shit” in English

Lexical Device

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Urang sasek bawo tu mah Lin!

people mistake bring that lin

„That‟s people who brought it mistakenly, Lin!‟

The word sasek bawo is a compound word that substitutes the

meaning of stealing. In fact, that person has already stolen Lin‟s

sandal, however, this expression is replaced by the expression

“brought it mistakenly‟.

Other lexical devices include name of certain places, and loan

words.

Rethorical device Antah kok ado lo tungkek nan mambao rabah.

or if present also stick which bring collapse

„Or if there is a stick collapsing.‟

The word tungkek (stick) in the sentence does not mean a „real‟

stick. It is a metaphorical expression referring to a person or a

leader that he himself gives bad influence to a group of society he

is leading.

Another use of rethorical device is by using periphrasis through

which topics and terms that are too touchy to be dealt with

openly may be alluded to. For example, the expression aksi

damai sambia basalam is a euphemism of “giving a bribe to the

police officer for not being ticketted” which sounds too vulgar and

too offense.

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Grammatical Device

Samakin banyak urang nan masuak.

more many people that enter

„More and more people come.‟

This sentence eliminates some of its elements. The elements

deleted are the word ka (into) and panjaro (prison). In daily

speech, Minangkabaunese people intentionally omit some

offensive words and expressions, and hide some vulgar and

impolite descriptions to achieve the desired effect.

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Forms of Euphemisms

phonetic lexical grammatical rethorical

Reduplication

Blending

Distortion of

pronunciation

Proper noun

Loan words

Substitutions

Ellipsis

Metaphorical

expression

Periphrasis

Types of Euphemisms

Positive Negative

Name of place

Replacing bad

attitudes with

names of

occupations

Death

Sensitive body

organs

Sexual activities

Certain animal

Findings

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