The term Aesopian language was first used by the nineteenth-century Russian writer Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin to describe the writing technique he began using late in his career, which he compared to that of Aesop's Fables.
His purpose was to satirize the social ills of the time while evading the harsh censorship of the late Tsarist Russia, of which he was a particular target.
[2] Maliheh Tyrell defines the term in the Soviet context, and observes that the use of Aesopian language extended to other national literatures under Soviet rule: In short, this form of literature, like Aesop's animal fables, veils itself in allegorical suggestions, hints, and euphemisms so as to elude political censorship.
"[4] The German-American philosopher Herbert Marcuse uses the term in his book One-Dimensional Man somewhat interchangeably with Orwellian language.
[5] An example of such a technique is the use of abbreviations to possibly prevent undesirable questions from arising: "AFL–CIO entombs the radical political differences which once separated the two organizations.