Language is a unique tool that is used not just for communication, but in order to understand and, most important, form our thoughts. It reflects our understanding of reality, influences and shapes our attitude to people, events and ideas. Language can distort perception and influence behavior, hence it can be a tool that is used both for good intentions and for evil deeds.
Doublespeak is a language that makes good out of bad, positive out of negative, and unpleasant begins to seem pleasant or at least tolerable and, most importantly, created deliberately to hide the true meaning. The given language is mainly used by government institutions, the military, and corporations. One of the important functions of “doublespeak", writes W. Lutz, – is “to hide the reality, to veil what is actually Happening”.
W. Lutz describes the four categories of doublespeak:
- Euphemisms - positive words or phrases used to avoid unpleasant reality. However, a euphemism can also be a tactful word or phrase that avoids directly references to harsh reality. It could be an expression used to avoid offending someone or to avoid directly affecting them with a topic that is a social or cultural taboo.
- Jargon - words that make the simple seem complicated, the ordinary perfect, the obvious insightful. In this context the jargon is not simply used to express an idea but to impress. With this kind of "doublespeak," the process of "smelling" becomes "organoleptic analysis", "glass" becomes "fused silicate", "conservative economic policies" become "distributionally conservative notices”
- Gobbledygook - example of a language that creates a false idea of the depth of the speech. Gobbledygook is formed by stringing words in order to impress the audience and with only one rule applied: the more words and the longer the sentence, the better. Sometimes "gobbledygook” may seem vivid expressions, but upon a careful analysis of the statement, it becomes clear that the speech is deprived of every sense.
- Inflated language, which was specifically created to make everyday things more impressive; to give importance to people, situations; to make the simple seem complicated. Often this kind of "doublespeak” is easy to recognize, and it is usually funny.
For example:- “car mechanics” become “automotive internists”
- “elevator operators” - “vertical transportation corps”,
- “used cars” - “pre-owned” or “experienced” cars
- and black-and-white TVs are described as “having non-multicolor capability”.
It would be appropriate to note such a concept as politically correct euphemisms, the main function of which is a mitigation function. Politically correct euphemisms are formed mainly for moral and ethical reasons and are closely related to the installation of overcoming various types of discrimination. In some cases, politically correct euphemisms also have the function of masking the negative concept, veiling the essence of the denoted.
When using “doublespeak”, research is always successful, weapons never fail, and expensive items are always very intricate and, indeed, worthy of their high price.
- Were you aware of doublespeak?
- Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
- Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
Source:
Lutz W. Doublespeak: From Revenue Enhancement to Terminal Living: How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Language to Deceive You
Doublespeak and Real WorldExamples of Doublespeak
Examples of Doublespeak[2]
The Dangers of Doublespeak
Comments
Yes i was aware as i watch a little bit of political debates so there one needs to be especially aware and consious of what is said.
Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
I believe that it depends of a speaker intentions but by definition it is supposed to be bad so unfortunatelly I would say that yes, it's unavoidably negative.
Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
I said that I was aware of it and in debates I believe i would find a lot of examples but right now I'm unable to think about any of them by head.
2. Not necessarily, it highly depends on the content and intentions of speaker or label.
If somebody tries to use it as a tool to make people not realize something it is definitely a negative option, however, if somebody tries to use it to stress things that may seem to be on the second plan as well as properly presenting the rest of a content or simply, make it more impressing, I see nothing negative in it.
3. Well I can't tell any right now, as I simply do not remember them. Just as you mentioned in the article it is mainly used in political speeches. It is as easy as turning on tv and see just any speech or interview. These are very easy to spot.
The double meaning of words can be negative, but also positive. People focus on these bad things and can't understand why :(
A good example of such a word is "pitcher" in Polish language
I am aware that many speeches have a double meaning. In the media, almost every
article or programme usually has a double meaning, especially those about politics
or the world. In addition, as in the article, food often has ingredients that look
healthy in their names, but are not. This is an increasingly common problem, as
pseudo-healthy food is becoming more and more common.
Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
In my opinion, the double meaning may be, but it doesn't have to be negative. In informal relations with people it certainly adds variety and more fun.
Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
I meet words of double meaning every day in the situations I described in the first question.
2. Therea are cases when one could use doublespeak just to tell something in a softer way and that's fine. Every part of language is useful in some situations. I wouldn't say it's unavoidably negative but probably mostly used with bad intentions in mind. It's a tool like everything else and tool doesn't harm anyone, but people do.
3. The first example that comes to my mind is a funny situation I had when I saw one of my household goods is not made in China but in CRL. Little did I know..😅
2. No, definitely not. Doublespeak makes the language more appropriate in certain situations. Sometimes you just can’t name things directly, for example while publishing articles that cannot offend anyone. Sometimes, for example while writing instructions, or tutorials you just have to use inflated language to ensure that your text is understandable by absolutely everyone interested. I think that doublespeak has more advantages than disadvantages.
3. Yes, I’ll give you a one funny example. In the company I work at, there is a position called “coffee lady”. Those people don’t even make coffee. We could name them “kitchen cleaner”, but that would sound quite offensive 😊
Yes, I was aware, but I didn't know it has its own term in English. When I think about it, I always understood it as a verbal manipulation. Manipulation can be good or bad, but its main purpose is to change or misrepresent determination. To change our point of view on something.
2. Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
It is manipulation and in my opinion it is unavoidably negative for receiver. But of course in some cases, when intentions are good, it is understandable and justified.
3. Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
I know, there are many of them in Polish language, but the most annoying is doublespeak on "healthy" food, which is very often misleading and cheating.
2. Yes, in my opinion for a person who is being 'doublespeaked', it's negative. People deserve the truth and while making choices should fully aware of all known consequences of it.
3. Of course, i think they can be found everywhere - in television, public speeches, in commercials. Sometimes even when we talk to someone else, e.g. he is trying to share his mind in a more polite way than he really thinks.
2. As a rule, yes, but there are exceptions. While you need to talk about serious things it might be useful to use milder words to describe it. It’s wrong while you use it to mislead someone on purpose.
3. Yes, I know two that are really funny to me. One is “a sandwich artist” referring to people who work in Subway (and that is very often in Subway’s job ads) and the second is “a flat surface maintainer” which will mean a cleaner or a genitor.
2. I haven't encountered a situation where doublespeak was used in a good context rather than a negative one. I think doublespeak is to be discovered and further understood when enough time is devoted to it. Of course, no one wants to read the ingredients of each product and additionally study it in every respect, but all you have to do is take a look and something will always catch your eye. Then you can start asking questions.
3. Unfortunately, nothing comes to my mind except the pitchers mentioned above. Maybe I will cite here an example of a zebra, in Polish it may mean an animal - a zebra, but also a pedestrian crossing. I don't know who would like to use it in the context of doublespeak, but that's all I can think of right now.
2. It's depend on a speaker's goal, for instance George Orwell used doublespeak in order to put a message to other people. He used allegory in his books in order to show problems resulting from Russian Revolition. In my opinion he used this tool in a good cause. When it comes to doublespeak in advertising I think that it is use to avoid drawbacks of product.
3. Personally I used doublespeak on interviev because it showed me in a better light. Moreover in PRL it was common to call clean leady a "operator powierzchni płaskich". This doublespeak was used to avoid discrimination and aimed at boosting their morale.
I would say yes, but if we consider for example negotiators with criminals, terrorist etc. I say no. Yes, I heard while watching politicians on the tv, but I can’t say right away, I have to search in the internet for them.
I knew about some language manipulations but I didn't know that it is such complex problem!
2. Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
It is language which makes the bad seem good so in my opinion it can be dangerous and I can't think of any situation doublespeak may be positive.
3. Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
Well, I think we all hear that quite often thanks to the wisdom of our politics! :)
2. No, not necessary. People need to care about their self-esteem and that’s difficult when you’re working as an elevator operator, for example. In this case, even something insignificant like calling them “vertical transportation corps” could brighten their day and raise their self-esteem.
3. Yes, they’re around us, just turn over a box of cereal you eat everyday but we’re so used to them it is more difficult to spot them now.
2. No, I don't think so. Almost everything can have the bright side or positive impact on our life. As you wrote, Doublespeak has ability to change our perception to certain things, so I do belive that when used wisely and with good intentions, we are able to support others and lift them up.
3. Yes, I've already mentioned the politics and marketing. From my life - "Lie" it's "alternative truth" and in "The Master and Margarita" was something like "second freshness" - something is rotten
2. Theoretically, it's kind of lying or avoiding truth. So it is a negative action. Yet, even lies can be sometimes good. Hence I guess if we apply, that the end justifies the means, then no, doublespeak isn't unavoidably negative. Sometimes it may be necessary to do something good or important.
3. Straight off I can't think about any which weren't mentioned in other comments yet.
2. Not always, it depends on the speaker's intention.
3. Probably not. The only thing that comes to my mind is China as PRC and North Korea as DPRK.
2. It can be used to turn negative words to less negative if you don't want to be harsh on someone so, no it is not unavoidably negative.
3. You just need to read labels on any product you buy, most of them are full of doublespeak words.
2. In my opinion the answer is: no, doublespeak don’t have to be always perceived negatively. Sometimes it can make someone feel better/special/important and at the same time it doesn’t have direct influence on your private life; like in the examples mentioned in the text - “automotive internists” instead of “car mechanics”. Due to this I think we shouldn’t demonize doublespeak that much.
3. I’ve heard many of them. There are some examples: correctional facility (a prison), job seeker (a person who can't find work/ unemployed), substance abuse (drug problem), over the top (crazy), ill-advised (stupid/bad), plump (fat).
2. It doesn't necessarily need to be negative, although I cannot come up with a positive usage right now :)
3. I think I have already answered to that question in point 1. but yes, there are a lot of examples of doublespeak in every-day life.
In my opinion doesn't have to be something bad, but it requires a certain amount of awerness to regognize it and as long as you don't believe everything you're told.
2. No, I don't think so. It is easier to imagine using such language for bad purposes because it helps the bad to seem good. I think all depends on the context. Sometimes we just do not want to offend someone, say something directly, and that's why we use such a "trick". I think every one of us has done this at least once in our lives. But scammers can also use it for their own purposes, and after reading this article, I was convinced how easy it is to do.
3. Of course, I have faced this in my life. I can't give examples, just because I don't remember.
I cannot say that I knew about the existence of the term doublespeak, but the phenomenon, described above, is known to me, mostly in politics (I often watch politicians speeches)
Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
In my opinion, yes, because the use of doublespeak is usually caused by the fact that people want to gently tell something about the horrible things they have done themselves. Maybe it's because I haven't met any speeches about something good that belittle the success
Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
As I wrote above, I have encountered examples of such speeches, but unfortunately it is difficult to recall any specific example. I usually find this when politicians report on their work in government and do not want to say that things are not going well. They just start talking nonsense.
Very interesting definition of lie - "alternative truth". I think i already know when and how will use it in my everyday life.
Thanks for your examples!
By the way thanks for your examples, most of them I already met in my life but "substance abuse" is something new for me. It so simple, and so misleading.
I want to believe of usefulness and good intentions of doublespeak but like you i can't find any really good uses of doublespeak in social media and politics.
It can be written one more article about "business language" and it wouldn't be enough to cover all doublespeak in official documents.
Thanks about your example. I never heard of this phrase and, to be honest, I never would have understood what it means if you hadn't told its meaning.
2. I think not. But it's easier to find applications for negative purposes... For positive purposes we can use, for example, to build a joke, or in a conversation with a loved one (To preserve his feelings. I do it myself).
yes but didnt know that it is called like that.
Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
I dont think so. It can enhance the speech for egzample.
Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
It's hard to recall the egzamples but i think i did in the past.
2. In my opinion doublespeak is unavoidably negative and Its aim is to manipulate people. producers take the advantage of consumers' ignorance which I think is fooling people. the same applies to speeches of people from the political world or television.
3.I found many doublespeak words in my life such as sucrose - sugar, untruth - a lie, Lost - killed, reducing costs - cutting your salary.
I knew about doublespeak. This is a term generally known in Poland as synonyms or homonyms. I learned about it in lesson Language Polish in primary school. However, I didn't know it was called doublespeak in English. It is currently marketing leverage. Very often it is also used in many cabarets and stand-ups.
2. Is doublespeak unavoidably negative?
Of course, this is not negative. It's just part of the speech. I think this is a very good use of language in word games. I am glad that marketing uses word games so often. Of course, it happens that someone abuses synonyms and homonyms to deliberately mislead consumers. I find this a bit unfair.
3. Have you found doublespeak words or phrases in your life? If yes, tell us some of them.
The French often use the term for girls "petit cochon" which literally means a little pig. For them, it is not a vulgar term. It means a young girl. However, the person who accurately translates it may feel offended.