Doublespeak

In the essay, “The World of Doublespeak” by William Lutz, Lutz introduces the readers to a language called doublespeak. According to Lutz doublespeak is, “the language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant appear attractive or at least seem tolerable” (Lutz, 337). The language of doublespeak is intended to deceive the truth and to miscommunicate. Lutz describes to the readers four types of doublespeak, which include, euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook and inflated language. According to Lutz, there are many dangers with doublespeak. Many problems, since this language is used by politicians, government and businesses to mislead people. Double speak alters people’s perception of reality. It holds back from the knowledge people need to know to advance in society and culture. Doublespeak is really bad news because the audiences will not think it is bad news since they used the language where bad seems good. The first type of doublespeak Lutz mentions is euphemism, which is described as a phrase used to avoid a harsh reality. This type of doublespeak is considered dangerous because it avoids the true reality. An example Lutz states is, “when you express your condolences that someone has ‘passed away’…

In “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell laments that the English language has deteriorated over time. He is particularly frustrated with the misleading and abusive language used by the politicians, especially in the context of the wars and economic issues that were prevalent in the 1940s. In “The World of Doublespeak,” William Lutz elaborates on the same idea, but terms it “doublespeak.” He describes four different types of “doublespeak” and how they are being used to misinform…

language simply shifts back into the palm of the government. However, those in power need not to attempt to force the control of language, because we as a society have already allowed it to happen. Sun Tzu’s Art of War establishes that one of the key principles of military strategy is “all warfare is based on deception”, attacking the enemy when they believe themselves to have a grasp of the situation. And that principle is clearly evident here. The fact that many do not perceive the distorted…

For the doublespeak group project, four groups comprised of randomly placed students had to work together to create a presentation and quiz about their particular type of doublespeak. The point of the project was to give the class an opportunity to learn and teach the class in order to comprehend the four types of doublespeak. My group had jargon. We all collaborated in and out of class to work on both the quiz and the PowerPoint presentation, and in my opinion did an excellent job. Everyone…

The Danger of Doublespeak In William Lutz “The World of Doublespeak” he explains what doublespeak is and how it effects us. It abridges the first chapter of his book Doublespeak: From Revenue Enhancement to Terminal Living (1898). Lutz states that “It is language that conceals or prevents thought; rather than extending thought, doublespeak limits it” (310). In other words Lutz says that it misleads or deceives and doesn’t tell the whole story, but doublespeak is not always bad. Many people use…

My Journal for Life under the Doublespeak Office Each essay for this week’s journal had a great quality to them. The essay by William Lutz, Life under the Chief Doublespeak Office, purpose is to explain what doublespeak is. The author, William Lutz also gives examples of doublespeak. As the author, William Lutz, stated in the essay, Life under the Chief Doublespeak Office, in paragraph one, ‘The meaning of Doublespeak is language that only pretends to say something; it’s language that hides,…

Word of Doublespeak" by William Lutz we can tell that they focus on the meaning of doublespeak. Lutz’s view on doublespeak is seen as a harmless and careless use of words. However, Orwell thoughts are different he criticizes on the features of bad written English in modern prose. Therefore, resulting in bad writing habits which are spread by imitation, and that writers need to rid themselves of these habits by thinking more carefully about the words they use and their meaning. Orwell notices…

The most frequently used words used in today's advertising are “New and Improved” according to author William Lutz. Lutz is a retired English professor who wrote this excerpt from his book Doublespeak.His primary purpose in this text is to uncover and unfold secret details of the rhetorical strategies of advertisers that often conceal the true product or embellish its effectiveness. Professor Lutz’s article “With these words I can sell you anything” describes many of the advertisement business…

The art of language-Doublespeak As we all know that language is a kind of art, you can use different ways to express same meaning. For example, if you go to someone’s funeral, when you want to comfort the dead guy’s relatives, you can’t say, “die”, instead, you should say, “pass away”, these two words contains the same meaning but the second one is not as sensitive as the previous one, this is the power of words. Different expressions give listener different feelings. What people said…

Throughout history language has been used as a medium of communication for people. Over time the English Language is constantly evolving and with that comes the decay of the language itself. This decline causes people’s lives and reality to be altered. The English Language is experiencing this decline due to censorship, doublespeak, and carelessness with words in general. Censorship is one of the leading causes of the decline of the English Language. Censorship is caused by over sensitivity to…