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Doublespeak

Sep 25, 2024, 4 min read

Doublespeak is the language that pretends to communicate but really doesn’t. It is language that makes the bad seem good, the negative appear positive, the unpleasant appear attractive or at least tolerable. Doublespeak is language that avoids or shifts responsibility, language that is at variance with its real or purported meaning. It is language that conceals or prevents thought; rather than extending thought, doublespeak limits it.

  • There must be incongruity between what is said (or unsaid) and what really is. Be as indirect, vague and obscure as possible. Avoid responsibility.

  • Ask who is saying what to whom, under what circumstances, with what intent, and with what results.

  • Doublespeak is not just limited in the political real, it can be found everywhere. It is not accidental, but rather used intentionally to mislead.

  • Closely related is doublethink - the ability to hold two opposing thoughts at the same time and believe both of them.

Kinds of Doublespeak

  • Euphemism - an inoffensive or positive word or phrase to avoid an undesirable reality with the intent of diverting attention from said reality.

  • Jargon - the specialized language of a trade, profession or similar group with the intent to give an air of profundity, authority and prestige to speakers and their subject matter. This becomes even more apparent when the audience is not in the group that uses the jargon.

  • Gobbledygook / Bureaucratese - a matter of piling on words with the intent to overwhelm the audience with words. Bigger words and longer sentences are better.

  • Inflated Language - language designed to make the ordinary seem extraordinary; to give an air of importance to something that would not normally be considered important.

  • Quantifying something augments doublespeak and makes it sound more realistic.

  • Advertising provides great examples for doublespeak
  • It doesn’t matter whether people believe what they see. What is important is that they absorb what they see and hear. What is seen in media becomes the norm against which everything else in society is measured.
  • Advertisers use weasel words to better sell products.
WordActual MeaningWeasel’s meaning
HelpTo aid or assistTo conquer, stop, eliminate, solve, heal or cure.
VirtuallyIn essence, in effect but not in factUsed to make a specific and definite promise
NewA product is new if there has been a material change to the product.What constitutes a (novel) material change is defined by the manufacturer.
ImprovedMade betterChanged or different from before (even if the change is trivial)
Acts / WorksDoes somethingDoes something meaningful based on how it is qualified. For example, acts fast.
LikeSimilar toUsed to misdirect. It gets the audience to ignore the product and concentrate on the claim the advertiser is making about it.
Up toBounded to an upper limit. It could be ideal but more often is not.An ideal situation
Can beThe item may perform somethingThe item will perform something
Unfinished wordsFor example, “up to twice as long”. It exploits the audience’s ability to finish the sentence, usually manipulated so that the audience finishes it as the advertisers intended
  • Any word that has no objective meaning is also a weasel word.
  • Every word in an ad is there for a reason. Your job is to figure out exactly what each word is doing — what they really mean and not what the advertiser wants you to think it means.

The Dangers

  • Doublespeak is arguably an infohazard

  • It corrupts the perception of reality, and thinking. It breeds cynicism, suspicion and hostility.

  • It destroys the function of language as a tool for Communication.

  • If we really believe that we understand such language and that such language communicates and promotes clear thought, then we become closer to doublethink.

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