Euphemisms of Birth and Marriage as Units of Linguacultural Concepts in Old English

Abstract

The article describes the semantic features of Old English euphemisms for birth and marriage. For the first time, euphemisms denoting sexual relations, pregnancy, and childbirth were described and analyzed based on lexicographic and thesaurus sources of the Old English period. The conceptualization of these taboo phenomena in the Anglo-Saxon period depended on a variety of historical and cultural factors. The concepts of birth and marriage in Old English culture were analyzed based on their stereotypical core and cognitive structure. Euphemistic lexemes were systematized in accordance with their onomasiological features, with contextual uses drawn from the explanatory dictionary of Anglo-Saxon concepts. Metonymic and metaphorical shifts proved to be the most popular euphemization mechanisms, with metonymy being the most productive word-formation method. From a semasiological perspective, these euphemisms are characterized by descriptiveness. A significant predominance of euphemisms for marriage demonstrated a quantitative asymmetry. The research also revealed a gender aspect in the formation of euphemistic lexemes, as well as certain shortcomings in the structure of modern Old English lexicographic sources.