You may not have heard of the term ‘doublespeak’ before, but the Brits are experts at it! Historically, British people are known for their politeness – for instance, saying words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ are really important. Sometimes, however, we take this too far and struggle with telling people what is really on our minds because we don’t want to be ‘rude’. The solution? We use ‘doublespeak’ to make the truth more acceptable.

So, what does ‘doublespeak’ look or sound like? Being vague and indirect is one example. Have you ever asked a British person a simple question such as ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ and instead of saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the person replies ‘well, erm, maybe, if it’s not too much trouble…’. Classic doublespeak! Another is euphemisms when we replace an unpleasant word or phrase with a more ‘polite’ word or expression. Instead of ‘No, I don’t want to do that’, we say ‘Oh what a lovely idea, but maybe another time’. For those of you preparing for exams or learning business English, you will be familiar with polite ways of expressing opinions or how to apply ‘softeners’ when needed – congratulations, you are now a doublespeak speaker!

Unfortunately, doublespeak can be very confusing when you are learning English, as what we say isn’t often what we mean! So, how do you know what Brits are really thinking when we say these things? Here is our guide to British doublespeak, but be warned, you may not like what you read. Perhaps, we are not that polite after all!

Can you think of any others? Send us your ideas!

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