Curious Corner

Have you ever heard ‘doublespeak’ in your life, I am almost hundred percent sure that you must have. Just let me explain what ‘doublespeak’ means. It means deliberately using euphemistic, ambiguous, or obscure language to disguise, distort, or even reverse the meaning of words. So as to hide the truth or make reality more acceptable to people, especially the masses. It is ubiquitous in our society from politics to economics, it’s everywhere.

Blurring the Truth

It may appear as an euphemism like ‘downsizing’ – meaning:  mass layoffs or firings, ‘collateral damage’ – meaning: civilian deaths or injuries, and this one is used quite often in geopolitics ‘regime change’ – meaning: overthrowing a legitimate government. And one of my all-time personal favourite ‘colonization’ – its meaning can really vary depending upon which hemisphere of earth you are on but there are many who would like to use the word – genocide and enslavement. In this case the purpose is to make the real truth more acceptable particularly to the masses by using not so direct and clear words. It is like covering the truth with a fuzzy pane of glass, you could still see what’s on the other side but not very clearly. This may appear harmless but be cautious because it has the power to distort reality itself. And then you lose the ability to use your greatest faculty i.e. – your mind itself.

Distorting the Truth

In other cases it may try to outright hide, disguise or mislead people away from the truth that lies in front of them, by intentionally bringing ambiguity or even inverting the meaning of the words. Consider the term “flexible working hours” which is quite often used in corporations nowadays. Although the terms may suggest a positive work-life balance, however in reality it may mean working outside of traditional working hours. This is how ambiguity hides the truth. Consider another example – “peacekeeping mission” which is often used to describe military interventions or conflict and more often than not involves active combat. This is how the complete inversion of the meaning is achieved. It is like putting a mirror in front of the glass, now you can only see what they want you to see, not the real truth.

It’s Everywhere

The term ‘doublespeak’ owes its origin to the works of one of my favourite authors George Orwell, in particular to his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four(1984). However this trick is nothing new and has been a part of our social discourse for as long as society existed. It can be noticed everywhere from political propaganda to commercial advertisement. Politicians use it to avoid accountability while advertisers use it to hide their commercial interests. Everybody uses it to cover their tail and advance their own agenda. This is the beauty of ‘doublespeak’.

One area where you might often hear this kind of language is geopolitics. It is filled with deliberate attempts by politicians and bureaucrats trying to hide the truth and downplay the real situation. Russia declared ‘war’ on Ukraine a whole 2-years after starting the ‘Special Military Operation’ against Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Israel has been conducting ‘Security Operations’ in Gaza since 27 October 2023– Why this terminology? I leave that part to you. And I will also leave with this wonderful quote by George Orwell from one of the dystopian classics Nineteen Eighty-Four(1984).