double talk
talking in a deliberately vague manner
TRANSLATION
double talk = mehrdeutiges Gerede, ambivalente Sprache --- GOOGLE INDEX double talk: approximately 830,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
Louisiana Voters Just Can't Trust McCain's DOUBLE TALK
(U.S. Newswire)
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Nongovernment organizations criticised the ADB for engaging in DOUBLE TALK, saying the Manila-based financial lender continues to fund coal-fired power plants in Asia even as it emphasises its support for clean energy.
(BusinessWorld Online)
(U.S. Newswire)
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Nongovernment organizations criticised the ADB for engaging in DOUBLE TALK, saying the Manila-based financial lender continues to fund coal-fired power plants in Asia even as it emphasises its support for clean energy.
(BusinessWorld Online)
Did you
know?
double talk
noun phrase
- language that has no real meaning or has more than one meaning and is intended to hide the truth
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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WORD ORIGIN
Double talk, also referred to as doublespeak, is a way of saying something without really saying what you want to say. Sound confusing? Well, that's the idea. Double talk has been around nearly as long as spoken language itself. It seems the modern world of 24-hours news and instant access to information from anywhere in the world has made it worse though.
William Lutz, a professor of English at Rutgers University and author of the book, The New Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone's Saying Anymore, provides humorous insight. In his essay "Life under the Chief Doublespeak Officer," he gives several brilliant examples of double talk:
Doublespeak comes in many forms, from the popular buzzwords that everyone uses but no one really understands - "glocalization," "competitive dynamics," "re-equitizing" and "empowerment" - to language that tries to hide meaning: "re-engineering," "synergy," "adjustment," "restructure" and "force management program."
These days, a travel agent may be called a "travel counselor," "vacation specialist," "destination counselor" or "reservation specialist." As part of their merger, Chase Manhattan Bank and Chemical Bank decided that the position of "Relationship Manager" would be divided between executives of both banks. What is a "Relationship Manager"? Once upon a time this person was called a salesman.
With doublespeak, banks don't have "bad loans" or "bad debts"; they have "nonperforming assets" or "nonperforming credits" which are "rolled over" or "rescheduled." Corporations never lose money; they just experience "negative cash flow," "deficit enhancement," "net profit revenue deficiencies," or "negative contributions to profits."
No one gets fired these days, and no one gets laid off. During these days of "cost rationalization," companies fire or lay off workers many different ways. They make "workforce adjustments," "headcount reductions," "census reductions," or institute a program of "negative employee retention."
One company denied it was laying off 500 people at its headquarters. "We don't characterize it as a layoff," said the corporate doublespeaker (sometimes called a spin doctor). "We're managing our staff resources. Sometimes you manage them up, and sometimes you manage them down."
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SYNONYMS
doublespeak, gibberish, mumbo jumbo, prattle, hot air, twaddle
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PRACTICE OWAD IN A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"In politics and management you often get double talk rather than straight answers."
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QUICK, Before you go… TEST YOUR MEMORY !
Next day reviews boost memory by 70%
What was yesterday's OWAD?
Versuchskanninchen; Meerschweinchen = G _ _ _ _ _ P _ _
“Did you know that some medical researchers volunteer to be G _ _ _ _ _ P _ _ S in the first human trials of a new drug?”
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G U I N E A P I G
noun phrase
- language that has no real meaning or has more than one meaning and is intended to hide the truth
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
WORD ORIGIN
Double talk, also referred to as doublespeak, is a way of saying something without really saying what you want to say. Sound confusing? Well, that's the idea. Double talk has been around nearly as long as spoken language itself. It seems the modern world of 24-hours news and instant access to information from anywhere in the world has made it worse though.
William Lutz, a professor of English at Rutgers University and author of the book, The New Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone's Saying Anymore, provides humorous insight. In his essay "Life under the Chief Doublespeak Officer," he gives several brilliant examples of double talk:
Doublespeak comes in many forms, from the popular buzzwords that everyone uses but no one really understands - "glocalization," "competitive dynamics," "re-equitizing" and "empowerment" - to language that tries to hide meaning: "re-engineering," "synergy," "adjustment," "restructure" and "force management program."
These days, a travel agent may be called a "travel counselor," "vacation specialist," "destination counselor" or "reservation specialist." As part of their merger, Chase Manhattan Bank and Chemical Bank decided that the position of "Relationship Manager" would be divided between executives of both banks. What is a "Relationship Manager"? Once upon a time this person was called a salesman.
With doublespeak, banks don't have "bad loans" or "bad debts"; they have "nonperforming assets" or "nonperforming credits" which are "rolled over" or "rescheduled." Corporations never lose money; they just experience "negative cash flow," "deficit enhancement," "net profit revenue deficiencies," or "negative contributions to profits."
No one gets fired these days, and no one gets laid off. During these days of "cost rationalization," companies fire or lay off workers many different ways. They make "workforce adjustments," "headcount reductions," "census reductions," or institute a program of "negative employee retention."
One company denied it was laying off 500 people at its headquarters. "We don't characterize it as a layoff," said the corporate doublespeaker (sometimes called a spin doctor). "We're managing our staff resources. Sometimes you manage them up, and sometimes you manage them down."
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SYNONYMS
doublespeak, gibberish, mumbo jumbo, prattle, hot air, twaddle
---
PRACTICE OWAD IN A CONVERSATION TODAY
say something like:
"In politics and management you often get double talk rather than straight answers."
---
QUICK, Before you go… TEST YOUR MEMORY !
Next day reviews boost memory by 70%
What was yesterday's OWAD?
Versuchskanninchen; Meerschweinchen = G _ _ _ _ _ P _ _
“Did you know that some medical researchers volunteer to be G _ _ _ _ _ P _ _ S in the first human trials of a new drug?”
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G U I N E A P I G
