PRAGMATIC FUNCTIONS OF EUPHEMISMS IN SPANISH COMMUNICATIVE INTERACTION

Abstract

Euphemisms constitute a central pragmatic resource in Spanish communicative interaction, allowing speakers to modulate the face-threatening potential of messages related to taboo, delicate or socially sensitive topics. This work examines the main pragmatic functions that euphemistic expressions perform in everyday Spanish discourse: mitigation of negative face threats, preservation of positive face, expression of (im)politeness, emotional self-protection, interpersonal solidarity building, and indirect negotiation of power relations. Special attention is paid to the domains most frequently euphemized in Spanish-speaking cultures (death, illness, aging, bodily functions, sexuality, economic hardship and professional failure). The analysis shows that Spanish euphemistic strategies tend to combine high degrees of indirectness with frequent recourse to positive religious framing, affectionate diminutives, understatement, and expressions of collective empathy. These features reflect a linguocultural tendency towards high-context communication, emotional containment and the prioritization of relational harmony, even at the cost of precision and explicitness.