SEMANTIC FIELDS AND THEMATIC GROUPS OF EUPHEMISMS IN ENGLISH

Abstract

Abstract. This study examines the semantic organization and thematic distribution of euphemisms in contemporary English from a linguocultural perspective. Euphemistic expressions are deeply embedded in social norms, cultural taboos, and communicative strategies of politeness, mitigation, and ideological framing. Drawing upon domain-based classification models proposed by scholars such as Keith Allan and Kate Burridge, as well as corpus examples from modern English media, institutional discourse, and everyday communication, this paper systematizes English euphemisms into six major semantic fields: death and dying; illness, disability and the body; sex, gender and bodily functions; social status, occupation and economic life; politics, war and institutional power; religion, morality and evaluation. The findings demonstrate that euphemistic nomination functions not merely as lexical substitution but as a culturally determined mechanism for regulating social sensitivity, preserving face, and reshaping reality through language. The study contributes to euphemism research by offering a structured semantic model that highlights the interaction between language, culture, and communicative pragmatics.