English Language - George Orewll
Inaccurate thoughts and ways of thinking are affecting the English language.
"It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for use to have foolish thoughts ... but if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought"(Orwell).
It is important to understand that the way one thinks is directly related to how one writes and speaks, and vise versa. Orwell writes in his essay that part of the downfall of the English language is directly related to people not thinking clearly because of the different vices that are used such as pretentious diction, and dying metaphors.
Ideas and thoughts created by leaders and politicians using these bad vices, are then implemented into the minds of society. When people begin to think in a way that destroys the language, it then creates inaccurate and weak arguments and writing.
There is a vicious cycle occurring of people who don't know how to make the language better.
Orwell has stated throughout his essay that politics are ruining the English language. He believes that this has become a vicious cycle that is only going to continue unless people are willing to correct their thinking to use words that have meaning and make sure that what they are saying makes sense. It's important to understand that people are imitating the politicians around them because typically they are supposed to be seen as role models. Something to keep in mind is that this can be fixed through making sure that anything that is written is clear, concise, fresh, and active.
Orwell has created rules and outlines to follow in order to correct what he believes politics has ruined:
"What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? ... Could I put it more shortly? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly? ... Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never us a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous"(Orwell).
"written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration"(Orwell).
The reducing quality of the language is producing lazy speakers and writers.
Orwell believes that the reducing quality of the English language is creating lazy speakers and writers. Since people are following by example of politicians many are now writing with overused words or metaphors thus becoming lazy. Being a lazy writer takes away from a piece of writing because many words or phrases used in the piece can bore or confuse the reader.
It also makes the writer seem as if they don't have any new ideas to share, which takes away from the whole purpose of creating and sharing a piece of writing. In order to create a worthwhile work there needs to be fresh ideas and imagery for the reader to learn and understand. By it becoming socially acceptable to use bad language people have become reluctant to think of anything that could make this better or come up with anything new, something that Orwell believes has started with politicians.
"are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves ... these save the trouble of picking out appropriate verbs"(Orwell).
Many people (including politicians) don't understand what they are saying while writing and speaking.
Since metaphors how lost meaning, as well as many words have become meaningless, many people don't know exactly what they are saying when creating an argument or thesis. Orwell believes that since politicians are people for society to look up to in terms of language and proper display of thinking and writing they are the true cause of this issue.
In many uses of dying metaphors, the meaning is lost and thus is just meaningless words strung together in which no one understands. This has become a normal thing to do in writing and therefore many do not completely understand what they are saying or writing. This destroys an argument and can make a piece of writing inaccurate and flawed.
"Many of these are used without knowledge of their meaning"(Orwell).
Much of the population misuses language in terms of writing by using the following vices. Most often seen in political writing.
Meaningless Words
Meaningless words are words that no longer have a direct meaning. They instead are open to interpretation and therefore do not have a firm definition. Many of these words are seen in art criticisms, as well as literary criticisms.
Meaningless words are to be avoided in order to make sure that an argument has a clear meaning. Orwell throughout his essay describes meaningless words as words that can be interpreted by any reader and is different for almost everyone. Meaningless words take away from an argument because it allows the reader to interpret the work in a different way than the author intended, which can have the effect of ruining a thesis if not described correctly.
"Words of this kind are often used in a consciously dishonest way. That is, the person who uses them has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different"(Orwell).
Pretentious Diction
Pretentious diction is the use of foreign words such as Greek or Latin diction to make a piece of writing seem more intelligent. This tacit is often used in scientific, political, and economic works in order to create the false effect of the piece being of knowledgeable information. Orwell believes that this type of writing takes away from modern English replacing it with Greek or Latin.
Pretentious diction is important to avoid because it often creates the opposite affect of what is intended. According to Orwell the use of pretentious diction give a piece of writing "vagueness" and "slovenliness"(Orwell). When writing to prove an argument or to inform an audience it is important that the author has a clear statement and explanation. Pretentious diction may confuse the reader since it might be a language that they don't know, it can also be especially confusing if the author has not used a phrase in the right context. When creating an argument it is vital that the author create a clear thesis, by using these words to " give an aire of impartiality to biased judgements" the author is displaying that they do not have a clear opinion on the subject and therefore cannot successfully prove their thesis to the reader.
"Words like phenomenon, element, individual (as noun) ... are used to dress up a simple statement and give an aire of scientific impartiality to biased judgements"(Orwell).
Operators or False Limbs
Operators or False Limbs are used to 'beef up' (Orwell) a piece of writing. In places where a simple verb would be fine, many authors have taken to adding unnecessary nouns to make their sentences longer. This turns a simple verb into a phrase and often creates a passive sentence where active would be preferable.
Operators and false limbs often make a piece of writing overly wordy where it is not necessary. It's important to eliminate this while writing because it keeps the reader more engaged in the work. Turning a verb into a phrase such as, "with respect to, having regard to, the fact that"(Orwell) eliminates the intended effect of a verb. While this tactic increases symmetry which can draw in a reader, instead of the verb having the powerful impact of describing an action instead it turns into a long winded statement in which the reader loses interest in.
"save the trouble of picking out verbs ... instead of being a single word ... made up of a noun or adjective tacked onto some general-purpose verb"(Orwell).
Dying Metaphors
While metaphors are typically used to show imagery
dying metaphors have lost all use of imagery as they
are over used. In some cases many of these metaphors loose their meanings as a effect of being misused.
It's important to understand the meaning of the metaphors that are being used while writing. Since many metaphors have been changed throughout the times, there is no way for a reader to imagine what the metaphor means or what the author is trying to describe. Author's typically when they use dying metaphors don't understand the what they are writing which makes the writing have no effect on the reader.Often times dying metaphors are used by writers that cannot create their own new and fresh metaphor to explain their thinking. Being able to understand and explain one's thinking with new ideas which can be further explained through fresh metaphors shows the strength in a writer and keeps the reader engaged and knowledgeable.
"toe the line is sometimes written as tow the line"(Orwell).
Thesis: Politics are ruining the English language. This bad writing and speaking habits are affecting how the rest of the population write and speak.
