Doublespeak

William Lutz, professor of English at Rutgers University, talked about his book Double-Speak: The Use of Language to Deceive You. A unique analysis of American English, examples of double-speak are “human kinetics” in place of “physical education,” and “pavement deficiencies” instead of “potholes.” Double-speak is consciously used to manipulate. Lutz pointed out that his mission is not to eradicate double-speak, but to eliminate double-speak from the discourse of important issues where it is most dangerous. He stated that double-speak is most prevalent in government, followed closely by the advertising industry. close