Gobbledygook - Hardcover

Don-watson

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1843543567 ISBN 13: 9781843543565

Publisher: Atlantic, 2004

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atlantic
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1843543567
• ISBN 13: 9781843543565
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 200