102: Discovering Doublespeak! (Part One) - The Euphemism

With a focus on the misleading and manipulative language of the military, I discuss the first form of doublespeak: the euphemism.

Defining attributes of doublespeak:
-misleads
-distorts reality
-pretends to communicate
-avoids or shifts responsibility
-makes the negative appear positive
-creates a false verbal map of the world
-limits, conceals, corrupts, and prevents thought
-makes the unpleasant appear attractive or tolerable
-creates incongruity between reality and what is said or not said
(William Lutz, Doublespeak)

Look Closer:

The Doublespeak Dictionary by Leslie Starr O’Hara
http://www.thedoublespeakdictionary.com/

Doublespeak: From Revenue Enhancement to Terminal Living : How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Language to Deceive You, by William Lutz
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2151216.Doublespeak

Government by Euphemism, by Sheldon Richman
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0407a.asp

Rendition: a dangerous euphemism
http://www.theage.com.au/news/Editorial/Rendition-a-dangerous-euphemism…

Propaganda, American-style by Noam Chomsky
http://www.zpub.com/un/chomsky.html