Death sentence : the decay of public language / Don Watson
- Bib ID:
- 7287655
- Format:
- Book
- Author:
- Watson, Don, 1949-, author
- Online Access:
- National edeposit: Onsite at National Library of Australia
- Related Online Resources:
- Thumbnail
- Access Conditions:
- National edeposit: Available onsite at national, state and territory libraries
- Description:
-
- North Sydney, NSW : Random House Australia Pty Ltd, 2004
- ©2003
- 1 online resource (204 pages)
- ISBN:
-
- 1742744648
- 9781742744643
- Summary:
-
Part diatribe, part cool reflection on the state of Australia's public language, Don Watson's Death Sentence is scathing, funny and brilliant. ' ... in public life the language has never been held in less regard. It withers in the dungeons of the technocratic mind. It is butchered by the media. In politics it lacks all qualifications for the main game.' Almost sixty years ago, George Orwell described the decay of language and why this threatened democratic society. But compared to what we now endure, the public language of Orwell's day brimmed with life and truth. Today's corporations, government departments, news media, and, perhaps most dangerously, politicians - speak to each other and to us in cliched, impenetrable, lifeless sludge. Don Watson can bear it no longer. In Death Sentence, part diatribe, part cool reflection on the state of Australia's public language, he takes a blowtorch to the words - and their users - who kill joy, imagination and clarity. Scathing, funny and brilliant, Death Sentence is a small book of profound weight - and timeliness.
- Notes:
-
- First published by Knopf in 2003. This Vintage edition published in 2004.
- Imprint: RHA eBooks Adult.
- Includes bibliographical references.
- Audience: General.
- Subject:
-
- English language -- Social aspects -- Australia
- English language -- Australia -- Usage
- Language and culture -- Australia
- Sociolinguistics -- Australia
- Humor - General
- Humour
- Literary Collections - Essays
- Literary essays
- Literature: history & criticism
- Social Science - Sociology - General
- Society & culture: general
- Australian
- Copyright:
-
In Copyright
You may copy under some circumstances, for example you may copy a portion for research or study. Order a copy through Copies Direct to the extent allowed under fair dealing. Contact us for further information about copying.
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Literary Dramatic Musical
- Published status:
- Published
- Publication date:
- 2003
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.