In “Language, Appearance and Reality: Doublespeak in 1984”, William Lutz explains how language can be manipulated to disguise its actions or shift responsibility. Referring to this as doublespeak – and exploring four sub-categories: euphemism, jargon, bureaucratese, and inflated language – Lutz identifies how its power is leveraged all around us to enhance truth or make something negative sound nonthreatening. Lutz doesn’t support the use of doublespeak and thinks of it as misleading. The aim of his article is to help readers identify ways in which they are otherwise manipulated by different people and groups due to the pervasive influence and acceptance of deceitful language.

Firstly, Lutz explores euphemism which he explains can be deliberately and appropriately employed in the event of a tragedy – often, as a mollifier to produce gentler connotations. As it is, a person typically passes away (Lutz 382) instead of dies. At the same time, in cases where the U.S. State Department euphemistically refers to killing as unlawful deprivation of life, bombing as a limited duration protective reaction strike or a bullet hole as a ballistically induced aperture in the subcutaneous environment, misleading language serves to bend the truth in order to make dangerous conduct sound reasonable. While doublespeak might seem like unintentional word use, Lutz asserts that it is rather consciously designed to often manipulate (382); euphemism often poses as neutral but contains hidden political or personal agenda to disinfect the issues people encounter.