7. Hasegawa (2005) states that everyone must be careful when using euphemisms because we do not understand the background of others. What is offensive to one may not be offensive to another, and vice versa. (� 2).
8. �Euphemisms are words we use to soften the reality of what we are
communicating to a given listener or reader. They are a universal feature of language usage; all cultures typically use them to talk about things they find terrifying (e.g., war, sickness, death) because, anthropologically, "to speak a name was to evoke the divinity whose power then had to be confronted" (Neaman & Silver, 1983, pp. 1-2). Similarly, we use euphemisms to express taboos, as we feel, on some instinctual level, that the euphemism keeps us at safe distance
from the taboo itself. Another use of euphemisms is to elevate the status of something (e.g., using educator for teacher, attorney for lawyer); but in general, we use euphemisms to express what is socially difficult to express in direct terms.� (Alkire, 2002, � 3).
9. Teachers use euphemisms to talk about their students. We should be careful in dealing with L2 learners because they will not be able to understand what we are telling them. Example: �Tom is a very popular and social student�. What we mean, � Tom will not stop talking.� (Star, 2004, � 2).
10. Andrews (1998) states that people have the idea that to have a dirty word in your mouth is the same as having the object of that word in your mouth. So to avoid saying a �dirty� word, we turn to euphemisms (pg. 242).
11. Andrews (1998) states that euphemisms create a �roadblock� to clearly understanding the meaning of a word or sentence. They can easily confuse an L2 learner, who has to take the sentence literally because they do not have knowledge of the L2 euphemisms (pg. 246-7).
12. We must ask ourselves why will use euphemisms. Do we use it to be sensitive to another person or to hide something that is not �nice� or �pretty�? Andrews (1998) states that we use euphemisms in both cases. With L2 learners we must use care not to confuse the meaning so much that they mistake what the L2 speaker has said. (pg. 247-248).
13. Hornburger (1976) offers that to help students to understand media
doublespeak that you should do this activity. Provide a group of students with a newspaper article. Have them identify any emotion words or phrases. Then have them rewrite the article minus the emotional words and phrases and then compare the new to the original. This allows students to see exactly how euphemisms and doublespeak affect the meaning of the article. (pg. 119).
14. Another suggested activity is to have students write an article using euphemisms and doublespeak. (Hornburger, 1976, pg. 119).
15. According to Rank (1976) there are 3 major categories to doublespeak : omission, diversion, and confusion. In omission, necessary information is left out. Euphemisms are pooled into this category of doublespeak. Diversion diverts attention from the key issue. Confusion makes a situation so complicated that people do not understand or become disinterested. (pg. 12-13)
16. Rank (1976) states that euphemisms can be �humane� if used to spare
another�s feeling. However, it becomes �inhumane� if it is used to distort the truth. (pg. 13).