PC vs. euphemism

[William Ryan]

Alina - I don't think this is specifically Russian, and in any case it 
is the kind of thing which is determined by context and register. The 
examples given suggest formal media reports or obituaries, which is a 
special context. Reticence by omission is not quite the same as 
euphemism. In obituaries in the 'quality' British newspapers  (e.g.The 
Times, Telegraph, Guardian, Independent) reticence about cause of death 
was once normal and is still quite common, especially if suicide, AIDS 
or HIV is concerned, while in ordinary conversation this is far less the 
case - probably the same is true elsewhere. As for rak not being uttered 
this is surely not so - Solzhenitsyn's Rakovyi korpus has been around 
now for exactly 40 years.
For lighter information on the socially appropriate euphemisms for death 
in Russian see chapter 2 of Il'f and Petrov's Dvenadtsat' stul'ev where 
they are hilariously listed.

Will Ryan


Alina Israeli wrote:
> Speaking of euphemisms, it is a long standing tradition in Russian to 
> avoid naming the cause of death in case of a natural death: dolgaja 
> prodolzhitel'naja bolezn' is usually cancer. Neozhidanno or 
> skoropostizhno skonchalsja usually a heart attack, and so on. Although 
> in recent years the information seeps through, unlike let's say even 
> twenty years ago when the word "rak" was not to be uttered (although 
> even then on occasion deducable).
>

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