Today
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Conclude discussion on
Language and power
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Doublespeak
Propaganda
Course evaluations
Language and power
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Language can also be used as a tool by
those in power (e.g., politicians, media,
advertising) to achieve various ends
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Doublespeak
Propaganda
Doublespeak
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Language deliberately constructed to
disguise or distort actual meaning
4 kinds:
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Euphemism
Jargon
Gobbledygook
Inflated language
Doublespeak
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Euphemism
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Words used/designed to avoid unpleasantness
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Substitutes for taboo words
“dearly departed” (dead)
Euphemism only becomes ‘doublespeak’ when
used to downplay, distract, or deceive
Euphemism
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Politicians
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‘economically disadvantaged’ (poor)
‘physical persuasion’ (torture)
‘preemptive counterattack’ (first strike)
‘eliminate w/ extreme prejudice’ (assassinate)
Advertising
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‘preowned’ (used)
‘genuine imitation leather’ (fake)
Doublespeak
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Jargon
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Specialized language of a profession or
group
Becomes doublespeak when it is used to
confuse, to make complex, or to impress
Jargon
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Politics:
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Airline lawyers’ use of legal term “involuntary
conversion” to refer to fatal crash
Advertising:
“Hypo-allergenic, noncomedogenic
exfoliating microbeads replenish your skin’s
natural peptides and amino acids…”
Doublespeak
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Gobbledygook (or ‘bureaucratese’)
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Overwhelm the audience with words
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Politics
“The message is that there are known knowns; there
are things we know that we know. There are known
unknowns; that is to say there things that we now know
we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns –
there are things we do not know we don’t know. And
each year we discover a few more of those unknown
unknowns.” -- Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq5mQLArjmo
Doublespeak
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Inflated language
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Designed to make the ordinary extraordinary
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‘hexiform rotatable surface compression units’
(steel nuts)
Automotive internists (mechanics), administrative
assistants (secretaries)
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Watch ‘The Persuaders: Give us what we
want’
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/view/
Propaganda
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A means of persuasion, often designed to
influence rather than inform
Often presented in a way to evoke a
strong emotion
Common techniques of
propaganda
Argumentum ad nauseam: use of repetition to
assert fact/truth
 “See, in my line of work you got to keep
repeating things over and over and over
again for the truth to sink in, to kind of
catapult the propaganda.” -- George W.
Bush, N.Y., 5/24/2005
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/blbushism-propaganda.htm
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e.g., talking points
http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=115760&title=talking-points
Transfer: guilt/glory by association
 e.g., Bill O’Reilly, associates Paul
Krugman (NYTimes columnist) w/ Fidel
Castro, compares Media Matters
(liberal website) to Ku Klux Klan
http://mediamatters.org/items/200408080001
Bandwagon: “everyone else is doing it”
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Advertising: “Duracell: Trusted everywhere”;
“Sony. Ask anyone.”
False analogy: use of faulty logic to make unfair
comparison
“Being lectured by the president on fiscal
responsibility is a little bit like Tony Soprano talking
to me about law and order in this country.” – John
Kerry, 10/13/2004
False dilemma: either/or, black/white
“Every nation in every region now has a decision to
make. Either you are with us, or you are with the
terrorists.” – G.W. Bush, 9/20/2001
Beg the question: assuming the point you’re trying
to prove
 “No one is going to question my commitment
to the defense of our nation.” -- John Kerry
 FOX news: “Fair and balanced”
Name-calling: negative labeling
 “The most crooked, lying group I've ever
seen.‘” -- John F. Kerry on Republicans
 Republicans on Kerry: ‘flip-flopper’
Glittering generalities: ‘virtue words’
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e.g., Freedom, justice, democracy, honor
“You can't put democracy and freedom back into a
box.” – G. W. Bush
“The world today has a strong democratic core
shaped by American ingenuity, sacrifice, and spirit.” –
John Kerry
Plain Folks appeal: ‘I’m just like you’
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“This president has created an economy that feeds
the special interests, the powerful and the corporate
power, and he has not helped the average American
worker advance their cause. I will.” – John Kerry
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Language is a powerful tool that can be
used …
…to communicate or confuse
…to inform or deceive
…to highlight or downplay
…to include or alienate
…to persuade or deter