EUFEMISME DALAM KETERANGAN PERS PEMERINTAH REPUBLIK FEDERAL JERMAN TEMA CORONA-PANDEMIE

Abstract

The very fast spread of the contagious disease COVID-19 and the increasing number of confirmed positive
numbers and mortality rates make it a very sensitive issue and a world concern. Therefore, the delivery of
information related to Corona-Pandemie receives special attention to the public. Thus, the use of
euphemisms in conveying this information by the authorities, in this case the Government of the Federal
Republic of Germany or political actors, is often used to control public opinion and maintain their political
image in dealing with the issue. Based on this background, this study attempts to classify how the form and
function of euphemisms are used by the German‟s Government press conference regarding corona
pandemic which was delivered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel on March 11 and 16 2020. This
study aims to determine the form and function of using euphemisms, especially in public communication
conducted by Angela Merkel. This research is a qualitative research using descriptive methods and is based
on a combination of Schröder's (1999) and Luchtenberg in Schröder's (1999) euphemism theory. The
results of this study indicate that there are 23 euphemisms manifested in 5 forms of euphemism realization
in Angela Merkel's official statement, namely: (1) vage oder mehrdeutige Ausdrücke; (2) Ausslasungen;
(3) Hinzufügen von Wörtern; (4) Verralgemeinerungen; and (5) Leerformeln. Reaslization of euphemisms
is mostly found to have a function to disguise (verschleiernd) or describe something so that it sounds better
than it really is. The use of the verschleiernd function in the realization of the euphemism is manifested as
a form of prudence in speaking.