:Certaintly the Nazi's were nationalists, but I think (and many would agree) that their calling themselves socialists was doublespeak. Nazi policies as actually implemented were on the whole favourable to German industrialists, and most of the semi-socialist policies of their earlier years were quitely dropped upon assuming power. -- SJK |
:Certaintly the Nazi's were nationalists, but I think (and many would agree) that their calling themselves socialists was doublespeak. Nazi policies as actually implemented were on the whole favourable to German industrialists, and most of the semi-socialist policies of their earlier years were quitely dropped upon assuming power. -- SJK I disagree with the 'intelligence' examples: *intelligence: spies or secrets *human intelligence: spies Intelligence in this context means 'important information' as in military intelligence: information of importance to the military (usually about enemies or threats). (The use of military intelligence as an example of an oxymoron is a pretty good joke, implying that the military is stupid, but it bears on another meaning of 'intelligence'. Also, human intelligence is not the spies themselves, but the information they gather. I propose using 'intelligence agents' as more accurate doublespeak for spies and omitting 'human intelligence'. Ed Poor |
I believe the point of doublespeak is that a phrase can have two meanings which contradict one another, saving the speaker from the need of meaning anything specific or reconciling internal contradictions. - Tim
I'm deleting this again, because I fail to see how it qualifies. Yes, it serves an agenda, and might qualify as a propaganda term, but it is compeltely accurate and descriptive, not deceptive or evasive in any way. If you want to put it back, convince me here that it deserves to be called "doublespeak". Doublespeak terms evade the realities rather than accentuating them. --LDC
Perhaps my definition of doublespeak is too broad, and there should be a category called [propaganda term]? or something. I'd appreciate if instead of just deleting taxpayer, you put it where you think it belongs. And should the burden of proof be on me ("If you want to put it back, convince me...") or on you?
I'm asserting that taxpayer for citizen is as much doublespeak as terrorist for armed rebel. If one isn't doublespeak, neither should the other. Conversely, if terrorist is doublespeak, then so is taxpayer. --TheCunctator
The word taxpayer means someone who pays taxes, and when used in a discussion of government revenues does not have the drastic implications listed above, which only come in when one starts using the term interchangeably with citizen - the military is there to protect the taxpayers and such. Even then it isn't doublespeak, and neither is terrorist, nor the majority of the entries on the current list.
> http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Euphemism
> http://www.wikipedia.com/wiki/Doublespeak
I looked at both. The "Euphemism" article seems unobjectionable, but it's so terse as to be little more than a dictionary definition. The examples given in the "Doublespeak" article seem mostly inconsistent with the definition you give of the term, because most of them are not of words used "contrary" to their true meaning. For example, "secret" does not contradict "classified," nor does "wet work" contradict "assassination." Most of your list is a bunch of bureaucratic euphemisms, nothing more.
Also, the Department of Defense (assuming you mean the one in the US) was formed by a merger of the pre-existing War Department and Navy Department (I believe those to be the correct names). I don't deny that the DOD is there to wage war (and therefore affords perhaps the one indisputable example of doublespeak in your entire list), but your history is a bit off.
I'm using the definition of doublespeak exactly as in this page, http://www.newspeakdictionary.com/ns-same.html (which I found only now...it wasn't an inspiration). --TheCunctator
Intelligence in this context means 'important information' as in military intelligence: information of importance to the military (usually about enemies or threats). (The use of military intelligence as an example of an oxymoron is a pretty good joke, implying that the military is stupid, but it bears on another meaning of 'intelligence'.
Also, human intelligence is not the spies themselves, but the information they gather.
I propose using 'intelligence agents' as more accurate doublespeak for spies and omitting 'human intelligence'. Ed Poor