Euphemization features of current french political articles headlines

Abstract

The article deals with the analyses of the headline linguistic constructions of French political articles, including euphemisms, presented in such modern mass media in France and Belgium as «Le Monde», «Le Monde diplomatique», «L'OBS», «L'Express», «La Libre», «Marianne», «L'Opinion». Currently, journalists consider euphemizing to be a common feature of the headlines of the articles concerning political issues. This technique effects readers’ emotions smoothly. Implementation of euphemisms in French articles of journalistic genre helps avoid mentioning unpleasant or even shocking reality. The enhancement technique is used in the case a lexeme of positive meaning replaces a negative phenomenon or fact. The examples, given in this article, highlight the manipulative nature of euphemisms, which is specific for the French political press style. Recipients should be informed about political issues, but occasionally the authorities and the media provide them with facts in a specific manner not to cause strong, sometimes premature confusion and discontent.