Thanks to the blogger at 'Carmarthen Planning Problems and More' for putting me on to this VERY interesting programme via her post;
BBC Radio; Eye On Wales - 'The Language of Spin'
The programme is a mere half hour and definitely worth a listen but hurry you only have SIX days left to hear it.
...Presenter Felicity Evans takes a personal look at the language of spin and obfuscation, using George Orwell's essay on Politics and the English Language as her starting point...she talks to politicians and pundits about how our politics is conducted and reported. Does - as Orwell felt back in 1946 - the language used on all sides still tend to “obscure and confuse and ultimately mislead”?
The programme contains input from, amongst others, Margaret Heffernan and contains references to her book, "Wilful Blindness' which examines how the use:
"...of language in the workplace can be used to stop ordinary people facing things that should be obvious..."
I believe Ms Heffernan says
"Orwell understood that...if you mess with the language you mess with people's thinking. If you misuse language you stop people being able to think clearly...in some contexts I often wonder if that is the point."
Other quotes from the programme:
"...managerial language which has infected government..."
"The life sucking jargon of the corporate world"
"True democracy depends on clear communications"
There is also a very interesting item on the Carmarthen blog regarding the saga of the treatment of visitors attending the public gallery during council meetings.
Very interesting to read the Carmarthen experience where the Council purports to be be committed to transparency and openness, but whose attitudes and actions rather belie that.
ReplyDeleteYes I really do wonder myself what can be in the local authority's mind. They give the impression to this outsider that they are unable to take on board the views of the public.
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