Semantic Differential Measurements of Connotations of Verbal Terms and Their Doublespeak Facsimiles in Sentence Contexts

Abstract

To test whether the self-serving euphemisms labeled “doublespeak” have different connotative meanings than noneuphemistic expressions, 77 college students rated 16 pairs of such terms embedded in sentences on semantic differential scales. Analysis showed that “doublespeak” may be at least partially successful.

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