This thesis aims at describing the characteristics of euphemic words in Thai, analyzing their denotative and connotative meanings and studying Thai values and word view reflected in these words. All languages including Thai have a certain kind of words called taboo words – words that are forbidden to speak because they are considered to be sacred, vulgar, obscene or unpleasant. These words, which usually refer to superstition, disease, death, sex and excretion, are normally substituted by euphemism, for example / sinˇcaj/ “end-heart” for / ta:j / “dead”, / de`tdo`km′a : j / “pick-flower” for / jiˆaw/ “to urinate”. This thesis focuses on euphemic words that are associated with ll taboo words in Thai : /hˆia/ “water moniter regarded as a creature of ill omen” / ta:j / “dead”, / m′aren/ “cancer”,/ j′et/ “make love”,/ khuaj / “penis”, / hˇi: / “vagina`,/ nom/”breast”, / moˇj/ “hair of sex organ”, / khˆi:/ “to defecate”, /jiˆaw/ “to urinate” and /to`t/ “to break wind”. The study shows that there are four ways of forming a euphemic word in Thai : distortion of a taboo word by abbreviation or phonetic corruption such as / si : e: / or / m′aseˇn/ for / m′aren/ “cancer” ; using a foreign word , as / de′: t/ (from English “dead”) for / ta:j / “dead”; and use of metaphor, as /tuanentuatho : o / “body-silver-body-gold” for /hˆia/ “water moniter regarded as a creature of ill
