浅谈英语委婉语和伊拉克战争(1)(5)
2015-06-05 02:33
导读：The Vietnam War, officially known as the Vietnam Police Action was more than an accident. It is more accurately classified a Limited War (an American expression for an Overt Military Confrontation or
The Vietnam War, officially known as the Vietnam Police Action was more than an accident. It is more accurately classified a Limited War (an American expression for an Overt Military Confrontation or Overt Military Conflict; that is, a war). During the war, the wanton killing of Vietnamese was sometimes called wasting the enemy or pacification by American soldiers. The saturation bombing is known as ordnance delivering. “This reminds the treatment of prisoners in Nazi Germany during World War II---the concentration camp is called strategic village. Some carried papers with return unwanted; others were assigned special treatment. Both meant death. When losses are on one’s own side, the natural tendency is to soften the blow. The term light casualties is common for loss of lives in combat. When deaths or injuries are caused by one’s own action, the need for tactful language is even greater, such as the “accidental delivery of ordnance for the shelling of American troops by Americans”. [16]
In the Gulf War (1991), Americans created many “dressed-up” expressions:
For the aim of humanitarian intervention (war), we (Americans) pacified (attacked) the area. By using the air option (air strike), air support (bombing) and one-way mission (suicidal attack), we softened up the resistance (bombed and blasted) and finally the enemy’s defense neutralized (crushed), although we also made collateral damage (civilian casualties) when we were engaged in hostilities and in combat (both meant war).
The American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright made a greater tactful language. She referred the continuous bombing as NATO’s operations. What’s more, when three Chinese journalists were innocently killed, White House officials explained that it was not a deliberate bombing but a mistake bombing. Their efforts have raised euphemism to new heights.
After the 9.11, America had the Anti-terrorism War on Afghanistan. They used the “collateral damage” for “the deaths of innocent people in conflict”, “smart bombing” for “bombing”. “Clean bomb/war” gives the false impression that the war is aimed at actual and exact targets instead of civilians. “Surgical strikes” conveys the idea that it is a necessary military action to remove an evil. And then in 2003, they attacked a target of opportunity in Iraq (a target of the Iraqi leadership).
（转载自http://zw.NSEAC.com科教作文网） The example above all illustrate one purpose of the politics and war euphemism, that is slanting language to minimize defeats, destruction, to disguise the violence of war and to distort the facts. So how about the euphemism in the Iraq War?5. Euphemism in the Iraq War
As the motivation of the Iraq War has been questioned by people all over the world, euphemism naturally becomes a great tool to disguise and diminish the embarrassment. Analyzing the euphemisms used by American government, media, military and Saddam Hussein administration will greatly help us to be aware of the current political reality.
It is well known that the Iraq War has been planned for quite a long time by America, who has put forward a rational reason, so called “a potential threat to American security and world’s peace”, although it shows no evidence of an Iraqi nuclear weapons program. Therefore, President George W. Bush made a speech on Iraqi Threat in Cincinnati:
