Abstract

This paper examines how very personal linguistic choices are actually products of societal mores and pressures. How people use euphemism to talk about sex is a direct reflection of these social concerns. In order to examine this sentiment in a diachronic methodology, examples of sexual euphemism are extracted from three British novels that span 180 years: Emma, by Jane Austen, Lady Chatterly's Lover, by D. H. Lawrence, and Well Groomed, by Fiona Walker.

Due to the nature of both pragmatics and euphemism, it is first necessary to put these euphemisms into their historical contexts before any real conclusions may be drawn. This requires consideration of the culture and expectations surrounding each novel and encompasses research from the fields of sociology, history and philosophy. Only once the cultural conditions have been established is it possible to begin extracting and examining the euphemisms. This data (over 250 sexual euphemisms from the three works) provides the basis for the discussion.

In studying euphemism formation, an existing model (Warren, 1992) is examined and the rules and categories suggested by this model are tested against euphemisms from the novels. It will be seen that improvements are required of the model in order for it to account for all examples. A modified version of this model is proposed to encompass all of these euphemisms, as well as other examples from notable sources.