Great read, until the conclusion that Irony and Sarcasm are better weapons against Nicespeak than George Orwell's plain English is.
Getting people to speak in vitriolic Opposites is no better than making them speak empty Compliments...
Getting people to speak in vitriolic Opposites is no better than making them speak empty Compliments...
And with that, I find the language author complains about better. If it achieves nothing I just ignore that.
The biggest whiff for me in this essay is the idea that people aren't acutely aware of the fakeness. It would be like her acknowledging no irony in holding the Rupert Murdoch Professorship in Language and Communication.
This pretty much provides the final proof of the corporate takeover of academia.
If you're planning on being faculty in modern higher education, you very well better have some rich person's name in your title!
Your alternative? You can always be an underpaid, un-insured, temporary adjunct!
This 20 year old article certainly calls out the complete insincerity of the modern corporation's interface to it's customers. Especially when those customers are the retail masses.
The really scariest part to me, is that many modern consumers seem to think this is all OK.
"As long as the bot keeps kissing my ass I feel so taken care of" <-- This is the ultimate irony...
Whereas policing their emotions to make sure they feel the right thing when they make words . . . ew!
;)