EUPHEMISMS AS A MECHANISM OF LINGUISTIC MANIPULATION IN MARGARET ATWOOD'S «THE HANDMAID'S TALE» AND KAZUO ISHIGURO'S «NEVER LET ME GO»

Abstract

The article examines euphemization as a mechanism of linguistic manipulation in dystopian fiction, based on Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. The study is grounded in cognitive linguistics, semantics, and stylistics, as well as in theoretical approaches to the relationship between language, thought, and social control (Sapir, Pinker, Allan & Burridge). Euphemism is reconsidered not merely as a politeness strategy, but as a tool of conceptual framing that influences perception, evaluation, and moral judgment.
The paper reviews contemporary research on dystopian discourse, where language is understood as a means of ideological control, identity suppression, and, at the same time, a potential space of resistance. It identifies a research gap: while large-scale linguistic systems of control (such as Newspeak or institutional discourse) have been extensively studied, euphemisms have rarely been analyzed as an independent mechanism of manipulation.
The analysis distinguishes four types of euphemisms: religious-ideological, bureaucratic, medical, and deindividualizing. It is demonstrated that in Atwood’s novel euphemisms function primarily through sacralization and institutional legitimation of violence, whereas in Ishiguro’s text they operate through medicalization and internalization, normalizing exploitation and suppressing ethical response. In both cases, euphemization contributes to moral neutralization, emotional distancing, and the production of compliant subjects.
The study concludes that euphemisms are a powerful instrument of cognitive and ideological control, operating through reframing and reinterpretation of reality. Further research may expand the corpus and deepen the analysis of linguistic manipulation strategies in dystopian and non-dystopian discourse.