Type of Doublespeak, Article Review Example

William Lutz is a professor of English at Rutgers University in Camden, New Jersey and a member of the Pennsylvania Bar. Lutz is the author of several books including Doublespeak: From Revenue Enhancement to Terminal Living, The Cambridge Thesaurus of American English, and The New Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone’s Saying Anymore. He was also the head of the Committee on Public Doublespeak for fifteen years as well as the editor of the Quarterly Review of Doublespeak for fourteen years (Harper Collins Publishers).

Mr. Lutz is a global authority on plain language and has addressed the issue in several of his books. Doublespeak is a language which intends to mislead the audience by masking the real meaning. Lutz’ articles on language have appeared in many widely-read publications such as The London Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Atlanta Constitution, The Baltimore Sun, USA Today, Esquire, Business and Society Review, and Public Relations Quarterly. He has also worked with numerous corporations including AAL Capital Management Corporation, Addison Design of New York, Bell Atlantic, Alumax Inc., The Dreyfus Corporation, Herman Miller Inc., Ragan Communications of Chicago, Charles Schwab & Co., Securities Industry Association, U.S. Postal Service, and Whirlpool Corporation (Plain Language Network). In the article How to Spot Doublespeak, Lutz offers practical suggestions to spot intentionally misleading communication.

According to Lutz, there are at least four types of doublespeak including euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook or bureaucratese, and inflated language. Euphemism is the use of a positive word or phrase to hide an unpleasant reality. But the intention behind euphemism may also be a noble one if it is for the wellbeing of the listener/s. Thus, euphemism is doublespeak only when the intention is to mislead and not a noble one. An example is China’s use of the term ‘internet police’ to refer to free speech censorship.

Jargon is the use of a specialized language to impress the audience and make simple ideas appear as complex ones. Jargon becomes doublespeak when the intent is to mislead the general public who may not be familiar with the meanings usually association with a jargon. An example may be for the CFO to say the company has high debt-to-equity ratio when explaining the capital structure of the company. High debt-to-equity ratio essentially means that the company is mostly financed by debt and has high default risk as compared to a company with low debt levels.

Gobbledygook is an attempt to express a simple idea in length sentences, often containing unnecessary words and details as well as jargons, in order to confuse the listener. An example would be former Republican Presidential Candidate, Herman Cain’s answer to a question about President Obama’s response to Libya, “I’m not criticizing him. I’m just saying I don’t think enough was done relative to assessing the situation before everything, you know, exploded. That’s what I’m saying. I’m a much more deliberate problem — decision maker, there’s a point that I keep coming back to. Some people want to say well as president, you’re supposed to know everything.” (Trinko). Similarly, Inflated language is an attempt at exaggeration in order to leave impression or influence others. It’s aim is to give a better impression of what the reality may be. Sometimes the intent is also to make the subject feel important and valued as is often the case in the corporate sector. For example, workers at Zappos are not called employees but team members.

References

Harper Collins Publishers. William D. Lutz. 5 April 2012 <http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/6089/William_D_Lutz/index.aspx?authorID=6089>.

Plain Language Network. William Lutz. 5 April 2012 <http://www.plainlanguagenetwork.org/conferences/2002/doublspk/profile.htm>.

Trinko, Katrina. Cain’s Confusing Libya Answer. 14 November 2011. 5 April 2012 <http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/283187/cains-confusing-libya-answer-katrina-trinko>.