The Analysis of Euphemism in the Persian Language: A Discursive Approach

The present paper aims to analyze the euphemistic mechanisms in the Persian language based on Crespo Fernandez''s discursive approach. From this perspective¡ euphemism can be viewed as a twofold phenomenon: first¡ as a process which acts on taboo concepts traditionally analyzed as such in the investigation of linguistic interdiction¡ as indicated before (death¡ sex¡ etc.); second¡ as a set of discursive tactics which intend to model that verbal behavior which does not conform to expectations and conventions of politeness. Under this point of view¡ euphemism responds fundamentally to a social interdiction which has as its prime aim to maintain interpersonal ties. After analyzing the behaviors of the Persian data¡ the euphemistic mechanisms consist of lexical substitution and euphemistic discursive strategies like Mitigating Apology Expressions¡ Pseudo-Imperative Expressions¡ Hedging Model Verbs¡ Impersonalization¡ and Mitigating Devices.