US President Trump tries to strong-arm Congress on Obamacare, Germany is seen to bully other countries in the EU: doublespeak is alive and well in political discourse. If these examples are aggressive in their tone, recent language used concerning Brexit seeks to package its pending negotiations into a more palatable form – the narrative now is of Britain’s marriage with the EU turning into divorce talks. Such a commonplace metaphor makes the whole process seem more manageable.
Here are some common examples of doublespeak
(the obscure term is listed first, followed by a clear, standard meaning):
fake news vs propaganda
anger room vs space for smashing objects
adult drinks vs alcoholic beverages
adult entertainment vs pornography
enhanced interrogation vs torture
correctional facility vs jail
creative accounting vs cheating
incident vs attack
new and improved vs somewhat better
differing of minds vs disagreement
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *