The weasels in the wordpile

The etymologists of the Oxford English Dictionary should be alerted that Steven Poole has coined a new word. First used as the title for his book, published in 2006, ‘unspeak’ is a noun for a ‘mode of speech that persuades by stealth’. How, it might be asked, does this differ from ‘spin’?

Poole contends that politicians do not talk in platitudes as a means of obfuscation, as is commonly alleged, but rather sway debate by consciously deploying language in a careful and manipulative way. In recognising that newspapers and television bulletins have scant space, they have worked out that they need to reduce their arguments to soundbite size. This means deploying devious words.

At its mildest, this is really about improving public relations. It is the process whereby supporters of abortion rebrand themselves ‘pro-choice’ and opponents declare themselves ‘pro-life’. But Poole uncovers what he believes to be a serious pollution of debate in which, for example, public-spirited terms like ‘anti-social behaviour orders’ (Asbos) are actually tools to criminalise those not breaking any law.

He finds that organisations disputing ‘global warming’ attempt to subvert its implications with the less alarming phrase ‘climate change’. He tells us that creationists are perpetuating belief in ‘intelligent design’ which, he vouches, is neither intelligent nor much of a design. Meanwhile, opponents of immigration have encouraged us to stop reaching out to ‘refugees’ and to start fearing the grasping hands of ‘asylum-seekers’. At every level, the political right — Bush, Blair, Fox News, big business — is polluting our thoughts with their language.

Sometimes Poole’s observations are shrewd. However, often he lets his own assumptions cloud his interpretation. For instance, he has a pop at the overuse of the word ‘community’. There is much that might be written about the term ‘faith communities’, the touchy-feely inclusivity of which implies the great religions of the world are on a par with people who visit Glastonbury for the weekend.