The Language Fascist strikes again!

[sabotabby]

I just came across the term "material solidarity" in an (otherwise well-intentioned) e-mail. What they meant, I think, was "aid."

Is anyone else getting sick of the way corporatespeak, or at least the structures of corporatespeak -- euphemism, jargon, etc. -- has infiltrated activist vocabulary? All of a sudden, I'm hearing about "point-people" and "bottom-lining." (One friend remarked: "You [the Wobblies] still use 'secretary'? Why?" Because it's the most accurate description of the task. Why else?)

It actually irritates me more than "wimmin" and "persyn," fundamentally misguided though those may be. Corporatespeak is pernicious in any context because it robs the language of meaning. In the realms of business and government, this is done for very specific reasons -- to shift accountability and to obscure information. ("The functionality of the copy machine has been compromised by our Associate Coffee/Errand Assistant I." vs. "The intern broke the copier.")

So what does it mean when we do it?

I'm out of here for the night. Politicos and language geeks -- discuss.

Comments

[wlach.livejournal.com]

I can't resist the urge to link to George Orwell's most excellent essay on writing[1]:

http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html

Maybe the answer is, as Orwell says, that writing ambiguous and muddy prose is simply easier than sitting down and articulating your thoughts clearly. That, and the fact that some people just get off on using jargon where it's not necessary.

You are correct that this type of language is used in the realm of business and government to shift accountability and obscure information (e.g..: in the case that someone is fired), but such situations are generally more the exception than the rule. In most cases people have a choice, and they're simply more comfortable expressing themselves the way that they do.

[1] I can't remember if you're one of the people that I know who hates Orwell: if you do, try to put that aside because it's really good.

[sabotabby]

I don't hate Orwell. I don't think Orwell gets enough love sometimes, which is funny, because he gets a lot of love. I remember reading that essay ages ago and thinking that he was going a bit too far in a few places but was overall on the right track. I ought to read it again and see if I still agree with him.