Doublespeak

Not to be confused with double talk.

Doublespeak is language that deliberately disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak may take the form of euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs), making the truth less unpleasant, without denying its nature. It may also be deployed as intentional ambiguity, or reversal of meaning (for example, naming a state of war "peace"). In such cases, doublespeak disguises the nature of the truth, producing a communication bypass.

See also

• Aesopian language
• Business speak
• Cognitive dissonance
• Double bind
• Double entendre
• Doublethink
• Nineteen Eighty-Four
• Obscurantism
• Polite fiction
• Unknown unknown

Notes

References

• Baar, James. (2004). Spinspeak II: The Dictionary of Language Pollution. ISBN #1-4184-2742-X
• Lutz, William. (1987). Doublespeak: From "Revenue Enhancement" to "Terminal Living": How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Language to Deceive You. New York: Harper & Row.

External links

• Business Doublespeak A short essay by William Lutz
• Booknotes interview with William Lutz on Doublespeak: The Use of Language to Deceive You, December 31, 1989.
• DoubleSpeak Homepage by Michele Damron (1998)
• National Council of Teachers of English Doublespeak Award established in 1974

This linguistics article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Euphemisms Forms of English Propaganda techniques using words Linguistics stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР? Dual Dressed to Kill (1980 film) Look at other dictionaries: doublespeak — 1957, from DOUBLE (Cf. double) + SPEAK (Cf. speak), coined on model of DOUBLETHINK (Cf. doublethink) in Orwell s “Nineteen Eighty Four” (the language in that book was NEWSPEAK (Cf. Newspeak)) …   Etymology dictionary doublespeak — ► NOUN ▪ deliberately ambiguous or obscure language. ORIGIN coined by George Orwell (see DOUBLETHINK(Cf. ↑doublethink)) …   English terms dictionary doublespeak — [dub′əlspēk΄] n. [coined with DOUBLE THINK] obscure or ambiguous language, esp. if meant to deceive …   English World dictionary doublespeak — [[t]dʌ̱b(ə)lspiːk[/t]] N UNCOUNT (disapproval) If you refer to what someone says as doublespeak, you are criticizing them for presenting things in a way that is intended to hide the truth or give people the wrong idea. ...the doublespeak so… …   English dictionary doublespeak — noun Any language deliberately constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often by employing euphemism or ambiguity. Typically used by governments or large institutions. The report was riddled with so much corporate doublespeak that… …   Wiktionary Doublespeak Award — The Doublespeak Award is an ironic tribute to public speakers who have perpetuated language that is grossly deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing, or self centered. It has been issued by the National Council of Teachers of English since 1974 …   Wikipedia doublespeak — noun Date: 1952 language used to deceive usually through concealment or misrepresentation of truth; also gobbledygook • doublespeaker noun …   New Collegiate Dictionary doublespeak — doublespeaker, n. /dub euhl speek /, n. evasive, ambiguous language that is intended to deceive or confuse. [1950 55; DOUBLE + SPEAK, by analogy with DOUBLETHINK] * * * …   Universalium doublespeak — doub|le|speak [ˈdʌbəlˌspi:k] n [U] BrE speech that is complicated and can have more than one meaning, sometimes used deliberately to deceive or confuse people = ↑double talk …   Dictionary of contemporary English doublespeak — dou|ble|speak [ dʌblspik ] noun uncount DOUBLE TALK …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”