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Effects of gender and degree of formality on the use of euphemistic strategies in Iraqi Arabic

Author

Listed:
  • Milad Mohammed Dawood

    (Mustansiriyah University)

  • Sharif Alghazo

    (University of Sharjah
    The University of Jordan)

  • Marwan Jarrah

    (The University of Jordan)

Abstract

Although euphemism has been studied in many Arabic dialects, it has not yet received due attention in Iraqi Arabic (IA). This study investigates the use of euphemistic strategies by IA speakers and the effect of gender and degree of formality on the use of these strategies. In order to achieve these objectives, a discourse completion test (DCT) was developed and distributed to 160 (80 males and 80 females) Iraqi university students. The data were analysed quantitively and qualitatively using strategies adopted from a number of previous frameworks. The findings show that the participants used a variety of euphemistic strategies, with the deletion strategy being the most frequently used when talking about the topic of death, the fuzzy words strategy for the topic of mental illness, and the implication strategy for the topic of obesity. The analysis also revealed that the degree of formality plays a key role in the use of euphemistic strategies in the topic of mental illness and that gender plays an effective role in the use of euphemistic strategies in all three topics.

Suggested Citation

  • Milad Mohammed Dawood & Sharif Alghazo & Marwan Jarrah, 2023. "Effects of gender and degree of formality on the use of euphemistic strategies in Iraqi Arabic," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:10:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-023-01876-8
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-023-01876-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Marwan Jarrah & Sharif Alghazo & Yousef Bader, 2021. "Two Types of Concession: Evidence From Discourse Markers," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(3), pages 21582440211, September.
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