Speaking Anew : Language Politics Of Totalitarianism Essay

In 1984, Orwell talks about how language can be misused to deceive the people. Today, political precision and euphemism are equally inescapable and ridiculed. The novel also discussed the corruption of verbal progression under the direction of Big Brother. The formation of the Newspeak dictionary is mentioned very often in the book. The purpose of Newspeak was not only to provide a moderate form of expression for Oceania but to make sure that all additional methods of thought impossible. This is shown today by many public figures who speak on behave of the United States. For example, “Politically correct” language is a form of speech that stumps thought. Autocorrect and autocomplete functions frequently command our phrasing and the language of texting is a skill that has become increasingly more

Orwell designed Newspeak to demonstrate the importance of language to ideas. Orwell thought literature was dying out, which he connected with dying language (Kazin 235). Language is not only the means by which an idea is expressed, but also the means by which an idea is thought. The purposes of Newspeak are to allow for the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed proper and make impossible the expression of thoughts Ingsoc deemed heretical (Kendrick 344). According to Orwell, control of thought follows control of language. The government in 1984 means to control the language, and

Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Nonfiction. Eds. Linda H. Peterson. et al. 12th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008. 828-834. Print.

George Orwell’s essay, Politics and the English Language, first published in 1946, talks about some “bad habits”, which have driven the English language in the wrong direction, that is, away from communicating ideas. In his essay he quotes five passages, each from a different author, which embody the faults he is talking about. He lists dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words as things to look out for in your own writing and the writing of others (593-595). He talks about political uses of the English language. Our language has become ugly and the ugliness impedes upon communication. Ugly uses of language have been reinforced and passed down in the population “even among people who should and do know

In George Orwell’s essay, “Politics And The English Language” Orwell discusses how the English language is changing negatively. His purpose is to show how modern writers, especially in politics, has become bogged down with the poor use of language. Orwell does this by using examples, critiques, and inductive reasoning. The author also has a serious tone that shows what he is talking about is very important to him and should be to his audience.

Newspeak demolishes thought. Throughout the book, George Orwell tackles controversial ideas. He uses topics that create distraught in the readers to show how the future could exist. People kill for excitement and uses special forces to attack people. This happens because “Big Brother” wants it to. Big Brother runs the society and he uses his influence to control his subservients. He does this with the help of his new language “Newspeak,” which inhibits peoples thoughts and minds. The society in George Orwell’s 1984 does not have the capability to form personal opinions because of Newspeak.

In James Baldwin's “If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” and George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” it is evident that both of these authors have their own interpretations, and understanding of language as a political instrument. In spite of their differences they also have a few similarities. For Baldwin language was a powerful tool giving blacks a voice, allowing them to express their uniqueness and empowering them, whereas for Orwell believed that language controlled thinking and writing. Both of these authors had different perspectives towards the topic of language but the same desires when it came to expressing their perspectives. They both believed that the powerful could use language, to control the powerlessness.

“Don 't you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it” In 1984 every thought is considered a threat towards the party.

Language is common in the world it is the way humans communicate and relate to things with one another.Language is a powerful tool in the world because it can give power to people and can be used to manipulate through renaming people,stereotyping a person and using a euphemistic approach in addressing a person.

“Newspeak was designed to. . .diminish the range of thought. . .by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum” explains George Orwell, the author of a dystopian fiction novel, 1984 (Orwell 300). Orwell designs a society in which a totalitarian government rules, depriving people of their thoughts. The story gives us a look into the life of the main character, Winston, who seems to face issues with reality control. Today, we will delve into the depths of this novel and explore Orwell’s views on the nature of language. In simple terms, Orwell suggests that language, if used in a certain way, has the ability to influence people and compel them to alter their thoughts. With this statement and supporting evidence, it can be concluded that the effective use of language can give individuals power to modify or reshape opinions that will allow for change in society.

Relationship between thought and language is not something you consider or contemplate in your everyday life. Nevertheless, the answer to this seemingly useless philosophical question might spell the difference between totalitarian control of our minds achieved through manipulation of language and a world of freedom, where human ideas cannot be subjected to blatant perversions as they resonate through intelligent minds, bound only by the power of our imagination. This dilemma has captivated my attention ever since I read Orwell’s “1984” as well as his “Politics and English Language.” In both pieces, Orwell implies a direct correlation between the two notions and paints a horrifying picture of disastrous consequences that a language manipulation can usher in. Orwell’s claim that “if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought” clashed with my own perception of those concepts somewhere deep on a subconscious level. “Language could not possibly alter a thought,” I thought, “How could it? After all, language merely describes my thoughts, whereas thoughts are generally spontaneous ideas, sounds, pictures that flash though my mind’s eye, sometimes so fast, that I fail to grasp them before they fleet away.” Even though in his article Orwell was referring specifically to bad practices that are common in the use of language, the question persisted. Can a language influence thinking in the same manner as thinking influences the words being uttered or does it have

Most dystopian novels contain themes of corruption and oppression, therefore in both ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’ language is obviously used as a form of the states control, enabling dystopian leaders to remain in power by manipulating language to restrict free thought. Orwell and Atwood have utilized language as a key tool of oppression throughout their novels. The use of language is mostly repressive, language can also be seen as liberating, and used as an act of rebellion, which the state wishes to eliminate.

In the novel 1984, by George Orwell, citizens are stripped of their humanity. Citizens are not given the thinking capability to think for themselves do to NewSpeak. NewSpeak is a new language that is used throughout 1984 in order to limit the thinking capability of the people. Imagine how it would be to lose your freedom or even your humanity. It’s not an easy task to accomplish, but George Orwell found a way to make it feasible. In 1984, Orwell has the government leaders strip its citizens not only of their freedom, but of their humanity as well.

Since without language thought is nearly impossible the party believes that by altering the language they can impose their untrue reality. They will be able to restrict it to the point that even a person’s thoughts are manipulated; things such as individualism and imagination will cease to exist. Which ultimately will give the Party total control over society. The newspeak engineer also goes on to state “ In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally impossible because there will be no words in which to express it.” (55) This quote proves how vital control of language is to the party, it is the key to becoming a controlled state. By creating the element of Newspeak in 1984 Orwell is warning against the potential consequences of manipulating language to benefit people in power and how this can eventually lead to a totalitarian state.

According to Orwell, language corrupts thought and thought corrupts language. In this case, “an effect can become the cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form” (2). This can continue on indefinitely if nothing is done to stop it and reverse the effects. First, he discusses how thought corrupts language in paragraphs three and four. He argues that the use of euphemisms in political language is so that governments can defend and cover up their cruel actions. For example, a euphemism such as “rectification of frontiers” (3) would be used to hide the cruel fact that “millions of peasants are robbed of their farms and sent trudging along the roads with no more than they can carry” (3). The manipulative