SW Eng HW – Politics and the English Language 150922

“In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefencible… thus
political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy
vaugeness.”

Orwell explains the idea that when politicians and commentators choose to speak, they use unclear and
flowery language to mask the intentions of parties and their representatives. This is mimicked in 1984 with
the use of “doublespeak”, where language is purposefully distorted in order to hide the real meaning of a
sentence. Orwell uses this in 1984 to imitate how media and politicians in the political climate we live in
twist the narrative, and change the framing of events using unclear, unprecise language. “The War on
Terror” is a particularly good example of a euphemistic phrase being employed as a guise for violet
military action against nations which the US deems a “threat” to national security. In 1984, contradictions
such as “war is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” are examples of “doublethink” where two
contrasting ideas exist in one’s mind simultaneously. This language is used to associate freedom with
slavery, and constant war with peace, changing the meaning of the words, and controlling the way people
think.

“If thought corrupts language, language corrupts thought.”

We use language to think, and we use thoughts to make sentences. If we do not have the right words in our
thoughts, then the way we use language would have changed. “Newspeak”, a new form of the English
language in 1984, simplifies grammar and restricts the ability to articulate complex thoughts and ideas. If a
limited or incorrect meaning is assigned to a word and then spread, the association one has with their
vocabulary changes – and this idea, says Orwell, is “spread through imitation”. As we use language to
communicate thoughts and ideas, it is easy to influence thought with what Orwell deems “bad English”.

“Political language… is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable,”

In the political climate Orwell (and by extension, us) lived in a time of political unrest – the Spanish Civil
War and World War Two having just occurred. This quote is a criticism of the governments and politicians
who use language as a defence and justification for the atrocities they commit. Much like 1984, (where he
modelled the totalitarian government after Germany and Russia at the time) the German and Russian
governments used language in the form of propaganda to defend their use of violence and continue
committing atrocities, much like how the Thought Police act, when they torture those whose beliefs do not
fit in with The Party’s.