LINGUISTIC CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDICAL EUPHEMISMS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

This paper examines the linguistic characteristics of euphemisms in the English medical discourse. The aim of research is to study peculiarities of the functions of English euphemisms in medical discourse. As the material for this research we used English-language texts of articles belonging to institutional, scientific and popular scientific medical discourse. We systematized examples of the use of euphemisms by thematic groups based on the classification developed in the work of E. N. Malygina. The paper discusses that the main purpose of euphemia is to follow social norms and rules of speech etiquette. However, it is worth noting the dual nature of euphemisms. On the one hand, euphemisms allow avoiding artificial barriers between the doctor and the patient, which may occur due to the lack of knowledge of medical terms by the latte. In addition, euphemisms are appropriate during examinations, diagnosis messages and in other situations in order to ensure the psychological comfort of the patient and his family, to relieve partially the stress experienced by patients and to mask the meaning of the message in certain situations. On the other hand, on some occasions doctors use euphemisms in order to hide the real situation. Researchers do not encourage the use of euphemisms in communication between doctors and patients since their excessive use during medical consultations entails misunderstanding and can prevent the establishment of a trustful partnership dialogue.