Euphemisms in Animated Films

Euphemisms in Animated Films

GORČEVIĆ, Admir

Key words: Euphemisms, animated films, morphology, entertainment, language ABSTRACT The subject of this research is based on the study of one of the most prominent morphological word-formation processes in the English language in animated films – the use of euphemisms. The need for the study comes from hypotheses that the language of animated films is different to some extent from other language genres and styles, and that cartoons abound with euphemisms and dysphemisms. The way characters communicate and use language demands harmony and an accurate balance of language elements - formal, informal, colloquial, jargon, vulgar speech, etc. - for animated films are a special type of entertaining program that has educational character and the targeted audience is the youngest. They are quite unaware of a constant change of their language, and they sometimes adopt and assimilate very strange words taken over from their favourite TV programs. These words eventually find the way to the contemporary dictionaries and thesauruses. The change within the language is the result of morphological rule-governed creativity and thus it lends itself to the study from this linguistic aspect. The main goal of this work is to spot, identify, classify, explore and explain morpho-semantic changes and processes that characterize the English language as it is used in animated films. This paper presents an analysis of the sample of euphemisms taken from animated films. The analysis points to the differences in style and genre of the language of animated films.

Article
PeerReviewed

IBU Publishing

2013-05-03

1711