Doublespeak

Doublespeak is the language of non-responsibility, carefully constructed to appear to communicate when it fact it doesn’t. In this lively and eye-opening expose, originally published in 1989, linguist William Lutz identifies the four most common types of doublespeak—euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook or “bureaucratese,” and inflated language—showing how each is used in business, advertising, medicine, government, and the military. In this seminal book, Lutz articulates that the goal of doublespeak is “to distort reality and corrupt thought.” Featuring a new introduction by Lutz, Doublespeak is the first title in Ig’s new “Rebel Reads” series.

William Lutz is an American linguist who specializes in the use of plain language and the avoidance of doublespeak (deceptive language). He wrote a famous essay “The World of Doublespeak” on this subject as well as the book Doublespeak, which described the four different types of doublespeak (euphemism, jargon, gobbledygook, and inflated language) and the social dangers of doublespeak.