Language and Politics Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by subduing the freeness of speech. - Benjamin Franklin
Dec 16, 2015
Language and Politics
Whoever would overthrow the liberty of a nation must begin by
subduing the freeness of speech
- Benjamin Franklin
The Language of Politics
Politics is concerned with power the power to
make decisions control resources control other peoplersquos behavior control their values
What are the features of language used by
politicians and by the media
Language as Thought Control
Why do politicians choose their words carefully
Because they believe in the power of language to influence thought
They believe absolutely that language is power
ldquoIf the word has the potency to revive and make us free it has also the power to blind imprison and destroyrdquo
- Ralph Ellison
Listen ldquoThe Linguistic Legacyrdquo by Brooke
Gladstone on WNYC Radio
The Spin Starts Herehellip
Orwell describes a future totalitarian society where the government tries to control not only the behavior but also the thoughts of the people
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
The Language of Politics
Politics is concerned with power the power to
make decisions control resources control other peoplersquos behavior control their values
What are the features of language used by
politicians and by the media
Language as Thought Control
Why do politicians choose their words carefully
Because they believe in the power of language to influence thought
They believe absolutely that language is power
ldquoIf the word has the potency to revive and make us free it has also the power to blind imprison and destroyrdquo
- Ralph Ellison
Listen ldquoThe Linguistic Legacyrdquo by Brooke
Gladstone on WNYC Radio
The Spin Starts Herehellip
Orwell describes a future totalitarian society where the government tries to control not only the behavior but also the thoughts of the people
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Language as Thought Control
Why do politicians choose their words carefully
Because they believe in the power of language to influence thought
They believe absolutely that language is power
ldquoIf the word has the potency to revive and make us free it has also the power to blind imprison and destroyrdquo
- Ralph Ellison
Listen ldquoThe Linguistic Legacyrdquo by Brooke
Gladstone on WNYC Radio
The Spin Starts Herehellip
Orwell describes a future totalitarian society where the government tries to control not only the behavior but also the thoughts of the people
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Listen ldquoThe Linguistic Legacyrdquo by Brooke
Gladstone on WNYC Radio
The Spin Starts Herehellip
Orwell describes a future totalitarian society where the government tries to control not only the behavior but also the thoughts of the people
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
The Spin Starts Herehellip
Orwell describes a future totalitarian society where the government tries to control not only the behavior but also the thoughts of the people
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Language as Thought Control
In many ways the psychological control exercised by Big Brother is much more sinister than the physical torture his government promises
Manipulation control total domination resides in the language of this society or Newspeak
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Newspeak
Newspeak is the official language of Oceania and had been devised to meet the ideological needs of Ingsoc or English Socialism In the year 1984 nobody really uses Newspeak in speech nor in writing Only the leading articles are written in this ldquolanguagerdquo But it is generally assumed that in the year 2050 Newspeak will replace Oldspeak or common English
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Newspeak
The purpose of Newspeak is not only to provide an expression for the world view and mental habits proper to supporters of Ingsoc but to make all other methods of thought impossible
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Newspeak
Another reason for developing Newspeak is to make old books or books which were written before the era of the Party unreadable With Newspeak Doublethink would be even easier
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Newspeak
1048766 The vocabulary of Newspeak is constructed to give exact expression to every meaning that a Party member could properly wish to express while excluding all other meanings and also the possibility of arriving at them by indirect methods (or only by the means the Party dictates)
1048766 This is done partly by inventing new words but mainly by eliminating undesirable words or words with unorthodox meanings
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Examples of Newspeak
free - Only exists in the sense of ldquoThe dog is free of licerdquo
The concept of political freedom has been replaced by the word crimethink
Miniplenty - Ministry of Plenty (rationing) The Ministry of Plenty controlled the entire economy
Ungood - Bad One of the rules of Newspeak is that any word can be turned into its antonym by adding the prefix ldquoun-rdquo This allowed the removal of repetitive words such as horrible terrible
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Why Orwell focused on language as a tool for manipulation
Language has the power in politics to mask the truth and mislead the public
Language can be used politically to deceive and manipulate people leading to a society in which the people unquestioningly obey their government and mindlessly accept all propaganda as reality
Language becomes a mind-control tool with the ultimate goal of destroying the will and imagination
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
ldquo[wersquore] cutting the language down to the bone
Newspeak is the only language in the world whose vocabulary
gets smaller every yearrdquo
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Why Language
When words that describe a particular thought are absent from a language that thought becomes more difficult to summon and communicate
Without the words to name or summon a thought against the Party (lsquothoughtcrimersquo) rebellion is impossible
Physical weapons frighten less than spiritual weapons
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Paradox and Irony Party slogans appear as
oxymorons though when considered through the filter of the Party they express a type of truth for this society
In essence they become the working paradox for the world of Ingsoc as much as our world accepted as truth the statement that we have nothing to fear but fear itself
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Paradox and Irony conthellipOrwell wrote ldquoPolitical language is designed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to pure windrdquo
In the novel Orwell provides a scathing satire of this political ldquotruthinessrdquo through the Party language
The Ministry of Truth is concerned with the falsification of records The Ministry of Peace deals with warfare The Ministry of Love is ldquothe really frightening onerdquo essentially a place for the
questioning and torturing of suspected criminals The Ministry of Plenty makes up economic figures to convince the public that the
economy is in good shape even though there are great shortages of all commodities due to the war
The use of such irony certainly provides the perception that everything is indeed the opposite of what is expected
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Paradox and Irony cont
In Our World Citizens generally strive to
expand their lexicon Aims to expand language so as
to expand the ability to think Words maintain clarity and
precision Retains and esteems a linguistic
tradition History and language have a
direct link (a narrative) Language maintains memory Holds some suspicion of the
media and politicians
In 1984 Aims to cut back Newspeak
vocabulary Aims to restrict language so as
to restrict the range of thought Words purposely deceptive
contradictory and without range Aims to destroy all old language
and replace it with an entirely new one
Written history will cease to exist as new language replaces old
Memory is lost with the language Swallows unquestionably the
leadership and propaganda of their society
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
ldquoIf the Party [can] thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that
event it never happened ndash that surely [is] more terrifying than mere
torture and deathrdquo
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
Why it Works
While physical punishment is difficult to administer psychological tactics (manipulation of people through language) can be continuously applied to the general public without raising great public opposition or fear mdash and that is where its strength lies
Newspeak rather than torture is planned as the way to erase thoughtcrime
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me
What About Todayhellip
Are we currently in danger of being controlled through our language
Do you think the media controls our reality Do you believe politicians have used words
to manipulate history both in the past and present
Can you think of examples of Newspeak in our culture
Show Me