Ways of euphemizing Russian profanity in the communicative space of the Internet
https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2025-11-1-221-231
Abstract
The modern Russian communicative situation is influenced by several trends, including jargonization and democratization of norms, which have influenced, among other things, a degree of loosening the taboo on obscene and profane in speech. One of the striking and unique phenomena of modern communication is virtual communication. Virtual communication, characterized by expressiveness and anonymity, manifests considerable popularity of the use of profanity and obscene expressions: these, due to the written nature of their embodiment, require new ways of veiling their unprintable form. Because of this, paragraphemic, phonographic and errative methods of euphemizing obscenities are beginning to be used in online communication. The article considers such new ways of euphemizing Russian obscene vocabulary in the communicative space of the Internet. The material for the article came from contexts obtained by the method of continuous sampling from texts of Internet communication: posts and comments on forums, Live Journal, social networks, and others. Our analysis demonstrates not only the variety of ways of paragraphemic and phonographic euphemization of the obscene on the Web, but also the creativity and adaptability of language phenomena to the needs of society, as well as the close connection between the expressiveness of obscene vocabulary and the discursive features of the Internet itself.
About the Author
M. S. Dobrova
F. Palacky University
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Mariia Sergeevna Dobrova, PhD, Mgr. et Mgr. Associate Professor, Department of Slavic Studies
779 00, Olomouc, Křížkovského, 511/8
References
1. Baranov, A. N., & Dobrovol’skii, D. O. (2015). Evfemizatsiia vo frazeologii [Euphemization in phraseology]. In L. L. Fedorova (Ed.). Khvala i khula v iazyke i kommunikatsii: sbornik statei (pp. 187–196). Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi gumanitarnyi universitet. (In Russian).
2. Dobrova, M. (2019). Russkie frazeologizmy v internet-diskurse: funktsional’nyi aspekt [Russian phraseological units in internet discourse: functional aspect]. Univerzita Palackeho v Olomouci. (In Russian).
3. Dobrova, M. S. (2021). Frazeologicheskie disfemizmy i evfemizmy v russkoiazychnom internet-diskurse [Phraseological dysphemisms and euphemisms in Russian-language Internet discourse]. Rossica Olomucensia, 60(2), 33–46. (In Russian).
4. Ermakova, A. V. (2001). Russkii mat kak fenomen kul’tury [Russian profanity as a cultural phenomenon]. Vysshee obrazovanie v Rossii, 2001(3), 104–112. (In Russian).
5. Golev, N. D. (2005). Obstsennaia leksika v igrovom aspekte (na materiale russkogo lingvisticheskogo fol’klora) [The obscene lexicon in the game dimension (on the material of Russian linguistic folklore]. In N. D. Golev (Ed.). Iurislingvistika-6: Invektivnoe i manipuliativnoe funktsionirovanie iazyka: Mezhvuzovskii sbornik nauchnykh statei (pp. 185–223). Izd-vo Alt. un-ta. (In Russian).
6. Guseinov, G. (2005). Berloga vebloga. Vvedenie v erraticheskuiu semantiku [The den of a weblog. Introduction to erratic semantics]. Speakrus.ru. http://www.speakrus.ru/gg/microprosa_erratica-1.htm. (In Russian).
7. Iakovenko, I. G. (2000). Nenormativnyi anekdot kak modeliruiushchaia sistema [Nonnormative anecdote as a modelling system]. Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2000(3, no. 43), 335–346. (In Russian).
8. Maksimova, N. V., & Vysotskaia, I. V. (2023). Obstsennaia rech’ v sovremennoi kommunikativnoi situatsii [Obscene speech in the modern communication]. Kommunikativnye issledovaniia, 10(2), 239–252. https://doi.org/10.24147/2413-6182.2023.10(2).239-252. (In Russian).
9. Mikhailin, V. Iu. (2000). Russkii mat kak muzhskoi obstsennyi kod: problema proiskhozhdeniia i evoliutsiia statusa [Russian profanity as a masculine obscene code: the problem of origin and evolution of status]. Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2000(3, no. 43), 347–393. (In Russian).
10. Mokienko, V. M. (1994). Russkaia brannaia leksika: tsenzurnoe i netsenzurnoe [Russian profanity lexicon: censorship and non-censorship]. Russistik, 1994(1–2), 50–73. (In Russian).
11. Sergienko, N. V. (2018). Fono-graficheskie evfemizmy v sovremennom angliiskom iazyke [Phono-graphic euphemisms in modern English]. Mir nauki, kul’tury, obrazovaniia, 2008(6, no. 73), 669–671. (In Russian).
12. Shulgina, K.V. (2020). Sposoby i problemy fiksatsii nenormativnoi leksiki v protokole doprosa [Issues and ways of recording obscenities in transcript of interrogation]. Iurislingvistika, 17 (no. 28), 8–11. https://doi.org/10.14258/leglin(2020)1702. (In Russian).
13. Slyshkin, G. G. (1999). Lingvokul’turnye kontsepty pretsedentnykh tekstov [Linguocultural concepts of precedent texts] (Cand. Sci. (Philology) Diss., Volgograd State Pedagogical University). (In Russian).
14. Uspenskij, B. A. (1996). Mifologicheskii aspekt russkoi ekspressivnoi frazeologii [Mythological aspect of Russian expressive phraseology]. In N. Bogomolov (Ed.). Anti-mir russkoi kul’tury: Iazyk. Fol’klor. Literatura: Sbornik statei (pp. 9–107). Nauchno-izdatel’skii tsentr “Ladomir”. (In Russian).
15. Zhel’vis, V. I. (1997). Pole brani: Skvernoslovie kak sotsial’naia problema [The field of profanity: Swearing as a social problem]. Nauchno-izdatel’skii tsentr “Ladomir”. (In Russian).
Review
For citations:
Dobrova M.S. Ways of euphemizing Russian profanity in the communicative space of the Internet. Shagi / Steps. 2025;11(1):221-231. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.22394/2412-9410-2025-11-1-221-231
Views:
104
Email this article 