Euphemisms in English Language

Abstract

It is known that Thai students study English since they were at least three years old. It takes about fifteen years studying English before graduating from universities. Unfortunately, their English proficiency is still limited. As a teacher of English for several years, the author has found that one of the factors affecting students’ proficiency in English is the lack of English vocabulary. This factor leads to difficulties when reading English printed materials. The words used in English reading materials sometimes do not represent direct meanings because the writer or the speaker wants to avoid others’ embarrassment. These types of words are called euphemisms. Euphemisms are used to replace the words which are impolite. They are considered as the idiomatic expressions that lose their literal meaning and they are used in the sentences to hide the unpleasantness. As a result, Thai students, who are non-native English speakers, sometimes cannot interpret what they have read or even listened. The author, therefore, presents the article on “Euphemisms in English Language” in order to provide the importance of euphemisms in English language and why we, as teachers of English and English learners, have to study them seriously.