Euphemistic Headlines in Economic News Articles of German Newspaper ‘Die Tageszeitung’

Abstract

Analysis of Euphemized Headlines on Economic Issues from the German Electronic Publication ‘Die Tageszeitung’. The study examines articles from the period 2022 to 2023, as this timeframe coincided with heightened attention from German media towards events related to the energy crisis and economic problems. The relevance of this research lies in the fact that economic issues often give rise to the emergence of new euphemisms and euphemistic expressions. Based on criteria such as denotation of undesired referents and improvement of referent characterization, euphemized article headlines were identified. A total of 44 euphemistic expressions were selected using a comprehensive sampling method. The authors provide detailed commentary on each expression from the perspective of hedging techniques. A classification of euphemistic expressions in German-language journalistic discourse is proposed, encompassing five thematic groups: povertywealth, strikes, work, price increases, and inflation. It is noted that the group of headlines addressing inflation and price increases (particularly in relation to gas and electricity) is most susceptible to euphemization. The authors conclude that German journalists employ various euphemistic techniques in their headlines, including loanwords, compound words, wordplay, and others.

Keywords

• headline
• euphemism
• euphemistic replacement
• connotation
• journalistic discourse