The use of foreign loanwords in their euphemistic function in contemporary Spanish

Authors

  • Anna B. Chirkun Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

Keywords:

foreign loanword, euphemisation, euphemistic function, lexical distancing, stylistic neutralisation, evaluative semantics, discursive context, contemporary Spanish

Abstract

This article examines foreign loanwords in modern Spanish that function as euphemisms in socially and evaluatively sensitive semantic areas. The results of a semantic-stylistic and pragmatic analysis of borrowed lexemes used to name realities related to sexuality and prostitution, professions and social status, economics and business communication, physicality and physiology, culture, leisure and consumption, as well as marginality and deviant behaviour are presented. It has been established that foreign borrowings are systematically used as a means of lexical distancing and stylistic neutralisation, contributing to a reduction in evaluative explicitness and a reinterpretation of socially sensitive concepts. It has been shown that the euphemistic potential of borrowed units is dynamic in nature and may weaken as they become integrated into the language system. This study clarifies the role of foreign borrowings in the formation of socially acceptable ways of linguistic representation of reality in contemporary Spanish discourse and is significant for lexicological and lexicographical practice.

Author Biography

  • Anna B. Chirkun, Belarusian State University, 4 Niezaliezhnasci Avenue, Minsk 220030, Belarus

    PhD (philology), docent; associate professor at the department of romance and germanic languages of international professional activity, faculty of international relations

References

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Published

2026-08-27

Issue

No. 2 (2026): Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philology

Section

Linguistics

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How to Cite

[1]
Chirkun, A.B. 2026. The use of foreign loanwords in their euphemistic function in contemporary Spanish. Journal of the Belarusian State University. Philology. 2 (Aug. 2026), 71–79. DOI:https://doi.org/10.33581/2521-6775-2026-2-%p.