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Gobbledygook :How Cliches, Sludge, and Management-Speak are Strangling Our Public Language
Gobbledygook :How Cliches, Sludge, and Management-Speak are Strangling Our Public Language
paperback
Published:
15 September, 2005
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Description
When was the last time you heard a politician use words that rang with truth and meaning? Do your eyes glaze over when you read a letter from your bank or insurance company? Does your mind shut down when your employer starts talking about 'making a commitment going forwards' or speaks of 'enhancing the bottom line'?
Every day we are confronted with a debased, depleted sludge: in the media, among corporations, in the public services and cultural institutions, at work, and out of the mouths of our leaders. There is a new public language that has been forced on us that makes no sense to outsiders and confounds even those who use it. It is a dead language, devoid of lyricism, emotion, complexity or nuance.
Meanwhile, in step with managerial thinking, opinion polls and an impossibly demanding media, our political leaders employ this new language of cliches, jargon, platitudes and weasel words to hide or twist the truth.
Don Watson can take it no longer.In Gobbledygook, he takes a blowtorch to the words -- and their users - that sterilise the language and kill imagination and clarity. Scathing, funny and brilliant, Gobbledygook is a small book that is as timely as it is profound.
More Details
| Type | Book |
|---|---|
| ISBN13 | 9781843543596 |
| ISBN10 | 1843543591 |
| Number Of Pages | 176 |
| Item Weight | 170 g |
| Product Dimensions | 130 x 198 x 14 mm |
| Publisher / Reseller | Atlantic Books |
| Format | paperback |
| Edition | Main |
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Author's Bio
Don Watson's previous book Recollections of a Bleeding Heart won the Age Non-Fiction Prize and the National Biography Award, among many other prizes.In addition to books and essays, he writes films and attempts to improve public language in occasional seminars and lectures.