Номинация людей, имеющих серьезные проблемы со здоровьем, в современном русском языке

Рассматриваются слова и словосочетания, используемые для обозначения лиц, имеющих серьезные проблемы со здоровьем. Выделяются две группы эвфемизмов: общие и дифференцированные. Составлен список лексических единиц, затронутых процессом табуизации, и соответствующих им дифференцированных эвфемизмов («аутист» - «человек с аутизмом» и т.д.). Введен термин «эксолизм», которым предлагается обозначать особую группу эвфемизмов - слова и словосочетания, имеющие выраженную положительную окраску. Авторы заявляют об отсутствии конфликта интересов.

The aim of the article is to classify Russian euphemisms that are used to refer to people who have serious health problems. The material of the study is official documents, scientific papers, journalistic texts and fragments of television programs containing these euphemisms and the word “invalid” [disabled person] they replace. The methods of source analysis, classification, and identifying synonymous series are applied. The introduction considers the status of the noun “invalid” in contemporary Russian. The authors establish that it is still the most common word for denoting people with serious illnesses. At the same time, there is a decrease in the popularity of this lexeme and a more active use of euphemisms. In the article the euphemisms are divided into two groups: general (used instead of the noun “invalid”: “chelovek s invalidnost'yu” [a person with a disability], “litso s ogranichennymi vozmozhnostyami zdorov'ya” [a person with health limitations, a physically/mentally challenged person], etc.) and differentiated (considering situational, sex, age and other characteristics or emphasizing the presence of certain diseases: “uchashchiysya s osobymi potrebnostyami” [a student with special needs], “rebenok s invalidnost'yu” [a child with a disability], “chelovek s autizmom” [a person with autism]). Then the study presents the word-formation model which proposes to use the prefix “para-” when creating narrowly focused euphemisms (by analogy with the word “paraolimpiets” [a paralympian]: “paradizayner” [paradesigner], “paramenedzher” [paramanager], “parayurist” (“paralawyer], etc. The authors of the article conclude that such nouns can cause a negative reaction: the Russian language already has words in which this prefix indicates a relatively low qualification (“paraprofessional” [a paraprofessional], “paratekhnik” [a paratechnician]) or a dubious status (“parapsikholog” [a parapsychologist], “parafizik” [a paraphysicist]). The authors list taboos/semi-taboos and corresponding differentiated euphemisms (“autist” [an autist] - “chelovek s autizmom” [a person with autism], “kolyasochnik” [a wheelchair user] - “chelovek na kolyaske” [a person in a wheelchair]). Many euphemistic constructions associated with specific health limitations are recognized not only as more respectful, but also as more accurate. Besides, the term “eksolizm” is introduced (from the Greek εξωραΐζω with the meaning “to decorate, to embellish”), which is proposed to denote a special group of euphemisms - words and phrases with a strongly pronounced positive connotation (“solnechnye deti” [sunny children], “deti-angely” [children-angels]). The authors declare no conflicts of interests.