politicianese

English

Etymology

From politician +‎ -ese.

Noun

politicianese (uncountable)

1. Political jargon; the obfuscatory or euphemistic language used by politicians.

   Synonyms: politicianspeak, politicese, politicspeak, politicospeak, politicalspeak, politispeak, politicalese

   • 1923, Edward Willmore, “Preface”, in Cromwell, the Protector: A Play, page vii:

     In journalese and politicianese every warning is grave, every destruction wanton, every feeling sensibly felt […]

   • 1931 June 1, The Daily Messenger, Madisonville, Ky., page four:

     This is fine, of course, but somewhat vague, illusory and politicianese.

   • 1946 May 5, “Iowa Political Notes”, in The Cedar Rapids Gazette, volume 64, number 116, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, four, page 2:

     The statement said the governor will answer only “valid criticisms,” during the campaign. Political Notes doesn’t know what that means in French or Chinese, but in Politicianese it means: “There simply can’t be any valid criticism against our man so we ain’t answering nuttin’.”

   • 1998, Harlan Coben, One False Move (Myron Bolitar series), Hodder & Stoughton, →ISBN, page 105:

     “The name is not unfamiliar,” Chance said, “but . . .” He shook his head. Not unfamiliar. You gotta love it when they speak politicianese.

   • 2000, Folco Zanobini, “The Politician and “Politicianese””, in What Do You Think of Italy?: Guide for Getting to Know Italians, Not for Tourists But for Humans, iUniverse.com, Inc., →ISBN, pages 66–68:

     Listening to their meetings is almost never pleasant: it generates boredom and sleepiness. Their language is contorted and ambiguous: it’s the so-called “politicianese”. […] This is how politicianese (politichese in Italian) came about, almost a language in itself, made from indirect allusions, reassuring vagueness, technicalities difficult to understand....

   • 2001, Damian Tambini, Nationalism in Italian Politics: The Stories of the Northern League, 1980-2000 (Routledge Advances in European Politics), Routledge:

     He later defended this kind of work: ‘A slogan, a poster with just a few words (hard words) is worth a thousand polished, hypocritical messages in politicianese’ (Bossi, in Iacopini and Bianchi 1994: vii).

   • 2013, Jody Lynn Nye, Robert Asprin’s Dragons Run, New York, N.Y.: Ace Books, →ISBN:

     She might speak fluent politicianese, but she never talked down to her correspondents.

Translations

political jargon, language used by politicians

• Italian: politichese (it) m
• Spanish: politiqués m