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+ Breast
+ +
Female +
+ Cloth
+ +
Object +
+ Physical
+ +
Private +
These words are able to replace each other even though having different sense. ‘Bra’ may stand for brassiere and vice versa. It is because they have
identical components such as [BREAST] [FEMALE] [CLOTH] [PHYSICAL] [OBJECT] [PRIVATE]. ‘Bra’ and ‘brassiere’ share the similar entities so that
‘bra’ is synonymous for ’brassiere’ and ‘brassiere’ is synonymous for ‘bra’. Nevertheless bra is categorized as a euphemism with the consideration that it
is more pleasant, implicit and tactful than ‘brassiere’.
For the semantic change, the word ‘bra’ undergoes no semantic change. It is that there is no change in meaning occurring to these words. It is because
‘bra’ is the short form of ‘brassiere’ and still refers to the female cloth whose function is to cover the female breasts. The other proof is ‘bra’ or ‘brassiere’
share semantic components that are similar in number and lexeme. Those 6 components comprise [CLOTH] [PHYICAL] [BREAST] [OBJECT]
[FEMALE] [PRIVATE]. The proof is clearly shown by the componential analysis in which ‘bra’ and ‘brassiere’ fall under the all components in
common. In this typical case, to get the better, polite, pleasant term, and blur the true meaning, the word brassiere is being short.
6. Abbreviation
Data example: 6
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a Guest: Dude That chick ... is a MILF p.22
The utterance derives from American Pie movie. It happens at Stifler’s home. There is a picture of Stifler’s mom on the wall. She is late
30’s but she is still so attractive and beautiful. The guests like Jim and other guys just feel so impressed on her and naughtily give an opinion like
that. MILF is a euphemism term in above utterance. MILF is an
abbreviation for Mom Id Like to Fuck. Mom Id Like to Fuck turns into taboo because the existence of the vulgar term fuck. Fuck is forbidden to
say because of these below reasons: a.
Fuck may refer to have sexual intercourse in which it is completely taboo in connection to sex organ of human being
b. Fuck is also an expression of anger and swearing
c. Fuck associates with the way of treating somebody else unfairly.
The function of using the euphemism word replacing Mom Id Like to Fuck are that to avoid mentioning vulgar and profane expression, to
prevent the listener or the interlocutor from getting hurt, to keep away from attracting other people self-esteem and also to keep the word fuck vague.
The word MILF is a euphemism getting through Abbreviation process. It is a way created from the initial letter of the words in phrase, and
it will be pronounced as strings of letters. Thus MILF becomes euphemism by taking the initial letter of phrase Mom Id like to Fuck.
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To back up the above description, the writer will break down the word MILF in utterance a as follow:
Guest: Dude That chick ... is a MILF
MILF: [EXCLAMATION] In utterance a, the abbreviation MILF is only an exclamation. It is like
the way to express something with no specific meaning. Thus, if the term MILF in sentence a is replaced with the intended reference, it will be:
b Guest: Dude That chick ... is a Mom Id Like to Fuck
Sentence b is acceptable, yet it is not euphemism expression because the meaning is shown clearly. In addition, Mom Id Like to Fuck falls under
components like: Mom Id Like to Fuck: [EXCLAMATION] [SEX] [FUN] [FEMALE]
[WONDER] Having those features, Mom Id Like to Fuck is regarded taboo and vulgar.
The writer then identi fies the semantic component of these words in the hope to get further information.
MILF Mom Id Like to Fuck
+ Exclamation
+ -
Sex +
- Fun
+ -
Female +
- wonder
+ According to above semantic components, the term MILF can be replaced
by Mom Id Like to Fuck. It is evoked by a similar component such as [EXCLAMATION]. Exclamation is the way of expression dealing with
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interjection. In spite of that, the abbreviation MILF is regarded a euphemism due to the success of concealing the truth. It is also shown by the feature
MILF has. There is no bad and sensitive component like [SEX] [WONDER] [FUN] [FEELING] [WOMAN]. Meanwhile, Mom Id Like to Fuck seems
taboo because of the existence of the word fuck. Having above description, fuck goes to sexual activity, copulation or the expression of irritation. In
consideration of that, the word fuck is restricted to mention. For those Meaning relation, these two words actually has no exact
meaning relation. It is supported by the reference of the semantic component. The abbreviation MILF is a kind of exclamation referring to no real meaning
but the expression of anger or surprise like uuuuhhh, wow and so forth.
In sentence Dude That chick ... is MILF, MILF undergoes Semantic broadening. It is because the new meaning of MILF refers to broader field
than the previous one. The proof is the semantic components of both terms. MILF consists of only one feature [EXCLAMATION], while MILF occurs
in above utterance referring to women that like having sex. It is supported by the existence of the features like [FUN] [SEX] [FEELING] [WOMEN] and by
the increasing number of the components of MILF by 5 [+] features. Hence, in this typical case, the new meaning has semantic broadening process.
7. Quasi- omission
