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In language, both dysphemism (from the Greek “dys” δυς = non and “pheme\'” φήμη = speech) and cacophemism (in Greek “cacos” κακός = bad) refer to the usage of an intentionally harsh word or expression instead of a polite one; they are rough opposites of euphemism. “Dysphemism” may be either offensive or merely humorously deprecating, while “cacophemism” is usually deliberately offensive. (More recently, the linguist Kate Burridge has coined the term "orthophemism," to refer to a neutral name or expression.) Dysphemism is related to "blasphemy," but is less focused in scope, and therefore not directly synonymous.
Examples of dysphemism include “dead tree edition” for the paper version of an online magazine, or the American military personnel’s use of “shit on a shingle” for their common breakfast of creamed chipped beef on toast.
Many of the same subjects can be dysphemized as euphemized, such as sex and death—a respected dead person may be said to have passed away, a disrespected one to have become worm food or, less negatively, to have kicked the bucket. Oddly, some humorous expressions can be either euphemistic or dysphemic, depending on context, because terms which can be dysphemic can also be affectionate. For example, pushing up daisies can be taken as either softer or harsher than “died.”
Look up dysphemism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
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Similar to the concept of the euphemism treadmill, a complementary “dysphemism treadmill” exists, but is more rarely observed. In these cases, notions of profanity, obscenity and other words once called “offensive” are later described as “objectionable,” then “questionable,” and in some cases, they reach near or outright acceptability.
One modern example is the word “sucks.” “That sucks” began as American slang for “that is very unpleasant,” and is a shortened version for “Oral sex/Fellatio" or just "that sucks cock". It developed over the late-20th century from being an extremely vulgar phrase to lower-class, nearly mainstream slang. (The origin of the intransitive usage, “sucks,” is disputed and may derive from more innocuous slang. See the archived discussions of The American Dialect Society [1]. The same may be said of the use of “screw,” often used as slang for sexual intercourse (and a euphemism for "fuck"), in such usages as “to screw up” (to make a major mistake).)
Sometimes a term will go from being a euphemism to being a dysphemism and then go back to being a euphemism. “Queer” and “gay,” for example, both started as euphemisms for “homosexual,” and then got on the euphemism treadmill and became insults—but are now a preference amongst the fringe of the gay community itself[citation needed]. This is often the aim of intentional reappropriation campaigns. http://clubs.myams.org/equip/index.asp?page=resources&sub=faq.
An especially active euphemism-dysphemism cycle has been turning for the race terms "black", "nigger", and "colored"; the remaining euphemisms "of color" and those referring to African origin have not yet turned into dysphemisms. The word "nigger", slang for "Negro" which in turn comes from the Spanish for "black", is particularly interesting. Because of its deeply-rooted association with white supremacy and racial hatred, the use of the word is taboo among mainstream culture today, but it has spawned the slang term "nigga", which is now commonly used by some blacks as self-deprecating slang to refer to others of the same skin color.
Many further examples can be found in a \'profanisaurus\' published by \'Viz\' magazine - http://www.viz.co.uk/profanisaurus/profan_front_index.php
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia
