Introduction
What is this all about?

What is a taboo word?  And what can we use instead?

Many Taboo Words
Is there more than one kind? Where did they come from?

New Words
The beginning of new taboo words. 

 Using Taboo Terms
How, when and why taboos are used in everyday language.

 To Sum It Up
What was this site on?

Terms & Explanations

Bibliography

Which words can become euphemisms? A euphemism can basically be any word. The only requirement is that a listener associates it with the taboo term which it replaces or understands the connection between the word and the taboo. New euphemisms indicate new taboo subjects in society. 

Death for example is a topic increasingly avoided in society, which can be seen in euphemisms such as Big D for `death´, to depart this life or to go instead of `to die´ and to come home feet first as a euphemism for someone having been killed. Also, the threat and the helplessness people feel towards the illness cancer have created the euphemism Big C.[1] People do not mention the word but instead indicate what they talk about by mentioning the first letter and have the listener assume the rest. The same goes for metalingual descriptions of the words fuck, shit or nigger, which are commonly referred to as the f word, the s word and the n word.[2] There are the a word (ass or asshole), the b word (bitch), the c word (cunt), the f word (fuck), the n word (nigger) and the s word (shit) which are all commonly used. In the US, the word nigger is so closely associated with the taboo of slavery, the problems of ethnic minorities and it is so socially repugnant that often times newspapers and even persons testifying in courtrooms substitute the term n word rather than say or write the word nigger.

In the 19^th century the wake described the actual act of staying awake over the corpse of a deceased to ensure it would not be molested before the burial. In the 20^th century however, it also relates to the feast that may follow the burial and is still a term closely related to death.[3]

The term unmentionables, a 19^th century expression for `underwear´, is a term expressing that the thing the word represents ( the underwear) would be inappropriate to name explicitly. By referring to its impropriety in a certain dialogue situation the speakers can understand it because from the dialogue context the listener knows that the speaker is talking about underwear. Unspecific terms or terms with more than one meaning could lead to confusion (unmentionables also refers to hemorrhoids),[4] but mostly the context will clearly define the thing. If a vague description has more than one meaning which are close enough to be mixed up, this could cause a communication breakdown. 

It is interesting to watch the etymology of euphemisms to find out more about the society in which they occur. To fall means to die `on military duty´, a term describing the image of the soldier dropping dead onto the battlefield. To be loose means `to be willing to copulate extramaritally´. This euphemism has been used from the 16^th century on and derives from the situation of the loosening up of normal – tighter – moral standards with an individual. Immoral referred to `prostitution´, which was officially judged as immoral.[5]

To demonstrate how often we use euphemisms that have been included into the language, we look at a taboo which, within a certain society, is not as offensive as it used to be though it's still not openly talked about. Such euphemisms have changed from being assigned to a taboo topic to normal words; they can even be adapted into standard speech. The word liquor for example, is a euphemism for a spirituous intoxicant and already appears in 1742 in the spelling of lecker.[6] Here, the euphemistic term, probably preferred for its more elegant tone, has not only survived (which shows that the topic described by the word must still be present), but even found its way into the standard variety. Today it is used as a very common term and can be seen on official documents as well as store signs. The status of spiritous intoxicants in today's society has changed and the taboo became a part of everyday non-euphemistic vocabulary.

The constant expansion of euphemistic vocabulary and the aquaintance with some of the terms reduce their taboo character as the general familiarity with those words grows. Taboo elements created by society change with society or may disappear. It is then that the words can start to go through semantic changes such as extension of meaning and can spread among the majority of speakers. This is evident with the word fuck which is used in various grammatical ways (see above), and as an intensive is often used without causing even the slightest shock in another person, although an impression of impropriety might still be felt.
The invention of new terms and the exploration of just how far one can go with new shocking taboo terms have been tested by the youths of many countries for many decades, each generation going a little further than the one before, or so it seems. At times, the media participated in the proliferation of new euphemistic terms, at times in that of taboo words. In order to show, define and advertise a youth culture which sometimes tries to negate the principles of their parents’ generation, the need for a language of their own has them explore possible new slang terms in their own language as well as even import terms from foreign languages. 

All words undergo constant changes and can be adapted or dropped, some, following a sufficient period of use, even could make their way into English language dictionaries.  Euphemisms generally lose their justification if they are used too frequently in connection with the avoided taboo behind it because they become too closely associated with the idea of the taboo they stand for. Thus many terms have to be replaced after some time to avoid a terminology too close to the taboo. This becomes evident if one looks at the great number of terms used over time for the institution today in standard variety referred to as lavatory, a place set aside for `urination´ and `defecation´. The avoidance of a direct terminology has created an outstanding amount of euphemisms for toilet. Among those are: men or ladies for the lavatories according to each sex, lavabo as a euphemism for `lavatory´, comfort station for `a public lavatory´, potty, lady’s powder room, washroom or bathroom and many more. [7]

At times one term replaces several avoided taboo words at the same time. These words do not necessarily have to have anything in common. To go on one hand means `to become bankrupt´ (from the fact that one has to go to court in that case) but on the other `to urinate or defecate´ (in the sense of to go to the lavatory). Here the grammatical structure of the avoided terms shows why the same terms is used for such different subject matters. The many places one can go to indeed give a number of possible applications for this term, which defines itself through the context in a dialogue situation. The same goes for to do with the meanings `to copulate with, to kill, to cheat, to rob, (as a noun, a do) a battle, to charge with an offence´.[8] Sometimes even words which already had a specific definition also become associated with taboo terms. Bird is a euphemism for a `prostitute´, `imprisonment´ or `vagina´.[9]