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Doublespeak (sometimes double talk) is language constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often resulting in a communication bypass. Doublespeak may take the form of bald euphemisms (e.g., "downsizing" for layoffs) or deliberate ambiguity. Doublespeak is a disparaging label for any euphemistic term perceived to be uttered in bad faith.^[1] Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... In linguistics, meaning is the content carried by the words or signs exchanged by people when communicating through language. ... In communications and linguistics, bypassing is misunderstanding that develops when the recipient of a message infers a different meaning from that intended by the source. ... A euphemism is the substitution of an agreeable or less offensive expression in place of one that may offend or suggest something unpleasant to the listener; or in the case of doublespeak, to make it less troublesome for the speaker. ... Downsizing is a euphemism referring to layoffs initiated by a company in order to cut labor costs by reducing the size of the company. ... Layoff is the termination of employment of an employee or (more commonly) a group of employees for business reasons, such as the decision that certain positions are no longer necessary. ... For the term in existentialism, see Bad faith (existentialism). ...

History

See also: Sapir–Whorf hypothesis

The term doublespeak was coined in the early 1950s. It is often incorrectly attributed to George Orwell and his 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The term does not appear in that novel, although Orwell did coin newspeak, oldspeak, and doublethink, and his novel made fashionable composite nouns with speak as the second element, which were previously unknown in English. Doublespeak may be considered, in Orwell's lexicography, as the vocabulary of Newspeak, words "deliberately constructed for political purposes: words, that is to say, which not only had in every case a political implication, but were intended to impose a desirable mental attitude upon the person using them." In linguistics, the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis (SWH) (also known as the linguistic relativity hypothesis) postulates a systematic relationship between the grammatical categories of the language a person speaks and how that person both understands the world and behaves in it. ... The 1950s decade refers to the years 1950 to 1959 inclusive. ... George Orwell is the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903[1][2] – 21 January 1950) who was an English writer and journalist well-noted as a novelist, critic, and commentator on politics and culture. ... Year 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A dystopia (or alternatively cacotopia) is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time, when the conditions of life are extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. ... This article is about the Orwell novel. ... Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwells novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. ... Doublethink is an integral concept in George Orwells dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, and is the act of holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously, fervently believing both. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The pursuit of lexicography is divided into two related disciplines: Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. ...

Notes

See Also

Double entendre A double entendre is a figure of speech similar to the pun, in which a spoken phrase can be understood in either of two ways. ...

References

• 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.

William Lutz is an American linguist specialising in doublespeak and the use of plain language. ... Harper & Row is an imprint of HarperCollins. ...

External links

Look up Doublespeak in
Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Doublespeak from SourceWatch
• Business Doublespeak A short essay by William Lutz
• National Council of Teachers of English Doublespeak Award established in 1974
• DoubleSpeak Homepage by Michele Damron (1998)

Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 151 languages. ... SourceWatchs logo features a magnifying glass through which its name can be seen. ...