Euphemisms, Dysphemisms, Orthophemisms and Experiential Context: A Holistic View on the Linguistic Problem

The article is devoted to the problem of political (in)correctness in its linguistic correlates, namely euphemisms, dysphemisms and orthophemisms (named by the umbrella term "x-phemisms"). The authors aim to illuminate the experiential nature of x-phemisms as a particular pattern of situated bodily behavior. The novelty value of the research is the adoption of holistic approach to the phenomenon under investigation based on the methodology of enactivism and neo-constructivism. An attempt is made at establishing, describing and explaining the relationship between x-phemisms as action in language and the experiential context that stipulates this action. It is hypothesized that x-phemisms are conditioned by nonlinear relational interactions between one and one's medium as a way of knowing and learning one's somatic properties. The principle of non-duality and holistic consideration of epistemo-logical problems underlies the methodology of the research. Phenomena and the specificity of their functioning are explained through reconstructing the processes of their co-emergence along the experiential context of the environment in which a person functions as an experi-encer. The hypothesis is proved by the results of the analysis and synthesis of x-phemisms in different experiential contexts made observable in feature films. The American TV show Desperate Housewives served as a source of data for the investigation. The paper analyzes a number of situational contexts in which communicators behaved in a nonlinear way in / through language to construct a positive relation through dysphemistic reference and a negative one through euphemisms. In an effort to effectively organize the experiential flow through x-phemisms, a subject changes his / her attitude towards the object of attention based upon the context in which the subject's doings occur. As the experiential context takes surprise relational turns, the semantic (or rather, relational) status of x-phemisms switches from eu- to dys-phemisms, and vice versa. The authors conclude that x-phemisms are part of human cognitive experience constructed in the uninterrupted flow of reflective and emotionally valued ordering of raw sensory material. It is the reason why a traditional view of political correctness as a choice of more polite words above offensive ones does not illuminate the role of x-phemisms in the circular experiential dynamics when polite words may turn offensive and vice versa.

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