The New Doublespeak: No One Knows What Anyone's Saying Anymore

by William Lutz

Book Overview

Doublespeak is language that is evasive, deceptive or misleading. Examples: Lies told by politicians are "strategic misrepresentations"; sewage sludge is "regulated organic nutrients" that don't stink... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060928395
• ISBN13: 9780060928391
• Release Date: April 1997
• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Servicing the Linguistic Target--a Guide to Enlightenment

In Society of the Spectacle, Guy Debord delved into the myriad of ways that modern society has been spectacularized through the mind-numbing assault by PR firms, advertisers and the media, in reiterating a culture where capitalism is presented as the only possible means of human existence. The spectacle that results from a culture where 24 hour coverage of even the most insignificant of events, such as, Madonna's wedding, Lady Di's death, or the OJ trial--all interspersed with an endless onslaught of Nike ads, sitcom drivel--works explicitly to confuse and sedate the public (consumers)--insulating them from the unpleasant realities of war, famine and environmental destruction. Thus, the image becomes the preferred tool of domination and the medium of modern propaganda. In the same way, William Lutz seeks to expose the ways in which language is manipulated and transformed from units of meaning into a complex code of evasion and linguistic subterfuge. Contrary to what some say language and its meaning is never dependent upon neutrality, it is, instead, always the subjective, creation of the speaker/author. De Saussure pointed out that language is indeed an arbitrary creation, the meaning of which is dependent on little more than the whims of its speakers. As Lutz points out it is precisely in the realm of meaning that understanding the jargon of doublespeak becomes vital.For example, the word "downsizing" is employed day in day out on the news to express what would be more appropriately described as the firing or laying off of employees. Or, to employ current doublespeak we could choose to call this same act: eliminating redundancies in the human resources area or destaffing., Then again, we could also say that the employees were derecruited, deselected, dis-employed, outplaced, non-retained or idled indefinitely. The point of this little exercise is to illustrate the often complex ways that language is becoming increasingly jargon-laden and obscured for the express purpose of concealing and obfuscating its meaning, and thus, managing our reactions to it, be that from our government, corporations, health care providers or media outlets. In Orwell's 1984 the vital role of language in a free society is explicitly investigated and as history as shown the manipulation of language and meaning is a basic tool of modern war. Whether called propaganda or the manufacture of consent, the effect of the resulting manipulation of public sentiment is primarily the same. Perhaps, as a result of these views you may consider William Lutz a bit hypervigilant, in need of enrollment to a labor reform camp for ideological re-education. On the Contrary, when, as Lutz illustrates, words no longer are used to express meaning, but are used merely as devices to conceal and obscure meaning we must question the underlying reasons for this practice.For example, consider the difference between a "freedom fighter" and a "terrorist". What is the difference? It seems that the onl

If you can overlook the political bias, it's excellent.

Mr. Lutz's book is brimming with references and an extensive bibliography. His research, notably the psychology, is thorough, and he expresses his ideas in the unadorned English he advocates. Orwell and Huxley would be proud! He could trim some chapters, however. In citing example after example of doublespeak, he tends to belabor the point; fewer examples and more references would suffice for those who wish to seek additional examples. His discussion centers around politics, where doublespeak abounds. His political examples, while proving his point, come almost exclusively from the Reagan and Bush administrations. It is not until the last third of the book that he mentions any of the Clinton administration's, or the Democratic National Committee's doublespeak, which we have been bombarded with over the past six years. If you can overlook Lutz's politically liberal bias, which becomes evident often, this book is a must-read, especially the chapter on how to fight doublespeak.

An excellent book that should be required college reading.

This text clearly defines how "doublespeak" is used in mass media and it should be a required text book for all communication and journalism majors. You will never watch the evening news again without listening for the doublespeak, nor will you be able to read a newspaper without noticicing how much is written while so little is said. I, too, checked this book out of the library and now I'm buying a copy for my reference library.

This book is an outstanding treatment of the subject.

William Lutz's book should be required reading in every class that is used to meet the college undergraduate critical thinking requirement. He formalizes a means of detecting and dealing with "double-speak;" and double-speak, unfortunately, is a part of eveyday life in this country. An excellent book, after reading a copy from the college library, I am buying a copy for my home library.