Language is fun if you let it be. I’m coming more and more to the conclusion that rhetoric is not much of a useful tool for anything other than being understood. When trying to understand someone, it’s more important to be able to communicate to them what you think they’re trying to say and have them confirm it. The English language has so many subtleties in order to keep people engaged and save time through precision. Ironically, right now I’m waxing poetic.

The point is I learned a new word this morning and it’s the title of this post.

Dysphemism is the opposite of euphemism and even after hearing a linguist on YouTube pronounce it a billion times, I still struggle to say it. Basically, where a euphemism is a softening of a concept through creative language, a dysphemism is a harshening of a concept. I arrived at looking at this by questioning why “shit” was a swear word. It didn’t seem sacrilegious, so it must of been somewhere else.

Shit is a swear word because the polite, clinical term is “defecate.” The euphemism, or softening would be stool (ha ha, stool softening). Another example could be “passed away,” “died,” and “kicked the bucket.”

Soft – Neutral – Harsh

It’s all about tone, in both speaking and writing. Tone is an undervalued concept and a difficult one. This is mostly because people feel tone differently. When talking to an audience, you’re mostly going for what the majority will understand. When talking to an individual you’re trying to tailor it to them. Regardless, when using dysphemism people will make conclusions about you, either as author or speaker.