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| george orwell politics and the english language: Politics and the English Language George Orwell, 2021-01-01 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Politics and the English Language, the second in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell takes aim at the language used in politics, which, he says, ‘is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind’. In an age where the language used in politics is constantly under the microscope, Orwell’s Politics and the English Language is just as relevant today, and gives the reader a vital understanding of the tactics at play. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Politics and the English Language and Other Essays George Orwell, 2021-01-09 Politics and the English Language and Other Essays is a collection of 6 essays by George Orwell. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, biting social criticism, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. Included in this collection: - Politics and the English Language - Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels - The Prevention of Literature - Why I Write - Writers and Leviathan - Poetry and the Microphone |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Why I Write George Orwell, 2021-01-01 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In Why I Write, the first in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell describes his journey to becoming a writer, and his movement from writing poems to short stories to the essays, fiction and non-fiction we remember him for. He also discusses what he sees as the ‘four great motives for writing’ – ‘sheer egoism’, ‘aesthetic enthusiasm’, ‘historical impulse’ and ‘political purpose’ – and considers the importance of keeping these in balance. Why I Write is a unique opportunity to look into Orwell’s mind, and it grants the reader an entirely different vantage point from which to consider the rest of the great writer’s oeuvre. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times |
| george orwell politics and the english language: George Orwell, 'Politics and the English Language, ' 1946 , Vincent Ferraro presents the full text of a 1946 essay entitled Politics and the English Language, written by English writer Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950), who used the pseudonym George Orwell. Blair discusses the alleged decline of the English language and notes the trite imagery and lack of precision found in examples of contemporary writing. Blair also suggests ways to improve the quality of one's writing. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: George Orwell Politics and The English Language George Orwell, 1946 Politics and the English Language (1946) is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and examines the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. Orwell believed that the language used was necessarily vague or meaningless because it was intended to hide the truth rather than express it. This unclear prose was a contagion which had spread to those who did not intend to hide the truth, and it concealed a writer's thoughts from himself and others.Orwell encourages concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness, and individuality over political conformity. Orwell relates what he believes to be a close association between bad prose and oppressive ideology: In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible. Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness. Defenceless villages are bombarded from the air, the inhabitants driven out into the countryside, the cattle machine-gunned, the huts set on fire with incendiary bullets: this is called pacification. Millions of peasants are robbed of their farms and sent trudging along the roads with no more than they can carry: this is called transfer of population or rectification of frontiers. People are imprisoned for years without trial, or shot in the back of the neck or sent to die of scurvy in Arctic lumber camps: this is called elimination of unreliable elements. Such phraseology is needed if one wants to name things without calling up mental pictures of them. One of Orwell's points is: The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink. The insincerity of the writer perpetuates the decline of the language as people (particularly politicians, Orwell later notes) attempt to disguise their intentions behind euphemisms and convoluted phrasing. Orwell says that this decline is self-perpetuating. He argues that it is easier to think with poor English because the language is in decline; and, as the language declines, foolish thoughts become even easier, reinforcing the original cause: A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier to have foolish thoughts. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” in the Age of Pseudocracy Hans Ostrom, William Haltom, 2018-03-19 Orwell’s Politics and the English Language in the Age of Pseudocracy visits the essay as if for the first time, clearing away lore about the essay and responding to the prose itself. It shows how many of Orwell’s rules and admonitions are far less useful than they are famed to be, but it also shows how some of them can be refurbished for our age, and how his major claim—that politics corrupts language, which then corrupts political discourse further, and so on indefinitely—can best be re-deployed today. Politics and the English Language has encouraged generations of writers and readers and teachers and students to take great care, to be skeptical and clear-sighted. The essay itself requires a fresh, clear, skeptical analysis so that it can, with reapplication, reclaim its status as a touchstone in our era of the rule of falsehood: the age of pseudocracy. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Politics vs. Literature George Orwell, 2021-01-01 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. Politics vs. Literature, the fourth in the Orwell’s Essays series, is, at heart, a review of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Having been given a copy of the book on his eighth birthday, Orwell knows it inside out, and thinks highly of it; it is ‘pessimistic’, though, he says – ‘it descends into political partisanship of a narrow kind,’ designed to ‘humiliate man by reminding him that he is weak and ridiculous.’ Using the book as an example of enjoying a book whose author one cannot stand, Orwell goes on to say that he considers Gulliver’s Travels a work of art, leaving the reader to reconsider the books on their own shelves. 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times |
| george orwell politics and the english language: All Art Is Propaganda George Orwell, Keith Gessen, 2009-10-14 The essential collection of critical essays from a twentieth-century master and author of 1984. As a critic, George Orwell cast a wide net. Equally at home discussing Charles Dickens and Charlie Chaplin, he moved back and forth across the porous borders between essay and journalism, high art and low. A frequent commentator on literature, language, film, and drama throughout his career, Orwell turned increasingly to the critical essay in the 1940s, when his most important experiences were behind him and some of his most incisive writing lay ahead. All Art Is Propaganda follows Orwell as he demonstrates in piece after piece how intent analysis of a work or body of work gives rise to trenchant aesthetic and philosophical commentary. With masterpieces such as Politics and the English Language and Rudyard Kipling and gems such as Good Bad Books, here is an unrivaled education in, as George Packer puts it, how to be interesting, line after line. With an Introduction from Keith Gessen. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: George Orwell John Rodden, 2017-09-04 The making of literary reputations is as much a reflection of a writer's surrounding culture and politics as it is of the intrinsic quality and importance of his work. The current stature of George Orwell, commonly recognized as the foremost political journalist and essayist of the century, provides a notable instance of a writer whose legacy has been claimed from a host of contending political interests. The exemplary clarity and force of his style, the rectitude of his political judgment along with his personal integrity have made him, as he famously noted of Dickens, a writer well worth stealing. Thus, the intellectual battles over Orwell's posthumous career point up ambiguities in Orwell's own work as they do in the motives of his would-be heirs. John Rodden's George Orwell: The Politics of Literary Reputation, breaks new ground in bringing Orwell's work into proper focus while providing much original insight into the phenomenon of literary fame.Rodden's intent is to clarify who Orwell was as a writer during his lifetime and who he became after his death. He explores the dichotomies between the novelist and the essayist, the socialist and the anti-communist and the contrast between his day-to-day activities as a journalist and his latter-day elevation to political prophet and secular saint. Rodden's approach is both contextual and textual, analyzing available reception materials on Orwell along with audiences and publications decisive for shaping his reputation. He then offers a detailed historical and biographical interpretation of the reception scene analyzing how and why did individuals and audiences cast Orwell in their own images and how these projected images served their own political needs and aspirations. Examined here are the views of Orwell as quixotic moralist, socialist renegade, anarchist, English patriot, neo-conservative, forerunner of cultural studies, and even media and commercial star. Rodden concludes with a consideration of the meaning of Or |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Politics and the English Language George Orwell, 2020-05-14 Politics and the English Language (1946) is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and examines the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. Orwell believed that the language used was necessarily vague or meaningless because it was intended to hide the truth rather than express it. This unclear prose was a contagion which had spread to those who did not intend to hide the truth, and it concealed a writer's thoughts from himself and others.Orwell encourages concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness, and individuality over political conformity. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: What Orwell Didn't Know Andras Szanto, 2007-11-06 To celebrate the 60th anniversary of George Orwells classic essay on propaganda, Politics and the English Language, this collection contains essays from writers who explore what Orwell didnt--or couldnt--know, from the effects of television and computers to the merger of journalism and entertainment. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Facing Unpleasant Facts George Orwell, 2009-10-14 Essays by the author of 1984 on topics from “remembrances of working in a bookshop [to] recollections of fighting in the Spanish Civil War” (Publishers Weekly). George Orwell was first and foremost an essayist, producing throughout his life an extraordinary array of short nonfiction that reflected—and illuminated—the fraught times in which he lived. “As soon as he began to write something,” comments George Packer in his foreword, “it was as natural for Orwell to propose, generalize, qualify, argue, judge—in short, to think—as it was for Yeats to versify or Dickens to invent.” Facing Unpleasant Facts charts Orwell’s development as a master of the narrative-essay form and unites such classics as “Shooting an Elephant” with lesser-known journalism and passages from his wartime diary. Whether detailing the horrors of Orwell’s boyhood in an English boarding school or bringing to life the sights, sounds, and smells of the Spanish Civil War, these essays weave together the personal and the political in an unmistakable style that is at once plainspoken and brilliantly complex. “Best known for his late-career classics Animal Farm and 1984, George Orwell—who used his given name, Eric Blair, in the earliest pieces of this collection aimed at the aficionado as well as the general reader—was above all a polemicist of the first rank. Organized chronologically, from 1931 through the late 1940s, these in-your-face writings showcase the power of this literary form.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review |
| george orwell politics and the english language: George Orwell the Essayist Peter Marks, 2015-04-06 George Orwell is acclaimed as one of English literature's great essayists. Yet, while many are considered classics, as a body of work his essays have been neglected. Peter Marks provides the first sustained study of Orwell the essayist, giving these compelling pieces the critical attention they merit. Orwell employed the essay as a tool to entertain, illuminate and provoke readers across an array of topics. Marks situates the essays in their original contexts, exploring how journals influenced the type of essay Orwell wrote. Acknowledging this periodical culture helps explain the tactics Orwell employed, the topics he chose and the audiences he addressed. Orwell's first and last published works were essays, providing evidence of the development of his cultural and political views over two decades. Essays helped him fashion his distinctive literary 'voice' and Mark traces how their afterlife contributes to Orwell's posthumous reputation. Arguing the essays are central to Orwell's enduring literary, political and cultural value, Marks shows how we understand the complexities, subtleties, and contradictions of Orwell better when we understand his essays. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Politics and the English Language: By George Orwell Hardcover Book George Orwell, 2020-08-07 Politics and the English Language (1946) is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and examines the connection between political orthodoxies and the debasement of language. The essay focuses on political language, which, according to Orwell, is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind. Orwell believed that the language used was necessarily vague or meaningless because it was intended to hide the truth rather than express it. This unclear prose was a contagion which had spread to those who did not intend to hide the truth, and it concealed a writer's thoughts from himself and others Orwell encourages concreteness and clarity instead of vagueness, and individuality over political conformity. Remedy of Six Rules Orwell said it was easy for his contemporaries to slip into bad writing of the sort he had described and that the temptation to use meaningless or hackneyed phrases was like a packet of aspirins always at one's elbow. In particular, such phrases are always ready to form the writer's thoughts for him, to save him the bother of thinking-or writing-clearly. However, he concluded that the progressive decline of the English language was reversible[ and suggested six rules which, he claimed, would prevent many of these faults, although one could keep all of them and still write bad English. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (Examples that Orwell gave included ring the changes, Achilles' heel, swan song, and hotbed. He described such phrases as dying metaphors and argued that they were used without knowing what was truly being said. Furthermore, he said that using metaphors of this kind made the original meaning of the phrases meaningless, because those who used them did not know their original meaning. He wrote that some metaphors now current have been twisted out of their original meaning without those who use them even being aware of the fact.) Never use 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. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Orwell On Truth George Orwell, 2018-04-03 Over the course of his career, George Orwell wrote about many things, but no matter what he wrote the goal was to get at the fundamental truths of the world. He had no place for dissemblers, liars, conmen, or frauds, and he made his feelings well-known. In Orwell on Truth, excerpts from across Orwell’s career show how his writing and worldview developed over the decades, profoundly shaped by his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, and further by World War II and the rise of totalitarian states. In a world that seems increasingly like one of Orwell’s dystopias, a willingness to speak truth to power is more important than ever. With Orwell on Truth, readers get a collection of both powerful quotes and the context for them. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: In Defence of English Cooking George Orwell, 2005 In May 2005 Penguin will publish 70 unique titles to celebrate the company's 70th birthday. The titles in the Pocket Penguins series are emblematic of the renowned breadth of quality of the Penguin list and will hark back to Penguin founder Allen Lane's vision of good books for all'. political thinkers of the twentieth century, he is also the author of the bestselling Penguin title of all time: Animal Farm first published in Penguin in 1951. These heartfelt essays demonstrate Orwell's wide-ranging appeal, and range from political manifesto to affectionate consideration of what being English truly means. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: England Your England George Orwell, 2022-02-23 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. Fearing that England was about to be wiped from the face of the earth by the Nazi bombers flying overhead, Orwell put pen to paper and set out to make a record of English culture. England Your England, the sixth in the Orwell’s Essays series, is this record, and is an important tableau of the nation’s history, and demonstrates a resolute refusal to bow to the threatening forces of Fascism. 'It just keeps being horribly relevant.' (David Olusoga, The Guardian) 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' (Irish Times) |
| george orwell politics and the english language: The Prevention of Literature George Orwell, 2021-01-01 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. In The Prevention of Literature, the third in the Orwell’s Essays series, Orwell considers the freedom of thought and expression. He discusses the effect of the ownership of the press on the accuracy of reports of events, and takes aim at political language, which ‘consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together.’ The Prevention of Literature is a stirring cry for freedom from censorship, which Orwell says must start with the writer themselves: ‘To write in plain vigorous language one has to think fearlessly.’ 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' — Irish Times |
| george orwell politics and the english language: A Collection Of Essays George Orwell, 1970-10-21 In this bestselling compilation of essays, written in the clear-eyed, uncompromising language for which he is famous, Orwell discusses with vigor such diverse subjects as his boyhood schooling, the Spanish Civil War, Henry Miller, British imperialism, and the profession of writing. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Orwell George Orwell, 2003 Celebrating the seventieth anniversary of Coming up for Air and the sixtieth anniversary of 1984. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Interglossa Lancelot Thomas Hogben, 1943 |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Why Orwell Matters Christopher Hitchens, 2008-08-06 Hitchens presents a George Orwell fit for the twenty-first century. --Boston Globe In this widely acclaimed biographical essay, the masterful polemicist Christopher Hitchens assesses the life, the achievements, and the myth of the great political writer and participant George Orwell. True to his contrarian style, Hitchens is both admiring and aggressive, sympathetic yet critical, taking true measure of his subject as hero and problem. Answering both the detractors and the false claimants, Hitchens tears down the façade of sainthood erected by the hagiographers and rebuts the critics point by point. He examines Orwell and his perspectives on fascism, empire, feminism, and Englishness, as well as his outlook on America, a country and culture toward which he exhibited much ambivalence. Whether thinking about empires or dictators, race or class, nationalism or popular culture, Orwell's moral outlook remains indispensable in a world that has undergone vast changes in the seven decades since his death. Combining the best of Hitchens' polemical punch and intellectual elegance in a tightly woven and subtle argument, this book addresses not only why Orwell matters today, but how he will continue to matter in a future, uncertain world. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Orwell and Politics George Orwell, 2001-05-03 This title brings George Orwell's classic satire Animal Farm together with the author's other works exploring the nature of politics and the Second World War. His topics include: corrupt political language, the oppressive British Empire, and a wry review of Mein Kampf . |
| george orwell politics and the english language: The Orwell Reader George Orwell, 1956 [1.] Prologue in Burma: Shooting an elephant -- A hanging -- From Burmese days -- [2.] The thirties: From Down and out in Paris and London -- How the poor die -- From A clergyman's daughter -- From Keep the aspidistra flying -- From The road to Wigan Pier -- From Homage to Catalonia -- From Coming up for air -- [3.] World War II and after: From The lion and the unicorn : socialism and the English genius -- England your England -- Rudyard Kipling -- Politics vs. literature : an examination of Gulliver's travels--Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool -- In defense of P.G. Wodehouse -- Reflections on Gandhi -- Second thoughts on James Burnham -- Politics and the English language -- The prevention of literature -- I write as I please: Decline of the English murder ; Some thoughts on the common toad ; A good word for the vicar of Bray -- Why I write -- From Nineteen eighty-four -- Such, such were the joys ... |
| george orwell politics and the english language: The Lion and the Unicorn George Orwell, 2023-11-27 The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius was published in February 1941, well into the Second World War, after Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain. It is a long essay, divided into three parts. 1. England Your England (35 pages)2. Shopkeepers at War (19 pages)3. The English Revolution (9 pages) The three essays 1. describe the essence of Englishness and records changes in English society over the previous thirty years or so 2. make the case for a socialist system in England 3. argue for an English democratic socialism, sharply distinct from the totalitarian communism of Stalin. Now, at this distance of 76 years, the political content seems to me almost completely useless. After the war, the socialist policies carried out by Attlee's government, thirty years of 'Butskellism' and Britain's steady industrial decline into the 1970s which was brutally arrested by Mrs Thatcher's radical economic and social policies of the 1980s, followed by Tony Blair's attempt to create a non-socialist Labour Party in the 1990s, and all the time the enormous social transformations wrought by ever-changing technology - the political, social, economic, technological and cultural character of England has been transformed out of all recognition. That said, this book-length essay is still worth reading as a fascinating social history of its times and for its warm evocation of the elements of the English character, some of which linger on, some of which have disappeared. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: England Your England George Orwell, 2017-03-30 'England is a family in which the young are generally thwarted and most of the power is in the hands of irresponsible uncles and bedridden aunts. Still, it is a family.' 'England Your England' is one of the most compelling and insightful portraits of the nation ever written. Shot through with Orwell's deeply felt sense of patriotism and love for his homeland, the essay is at the same time unfailingly clear-eyed about the nation's failings: entrenched social inequality, a dishonest press and a class system that only works for those at the top. Written during the Second World War, as the bombs were falling on England, the essay today speaks to the nation's current moment of crisis just as urgently as it did in Orwell's own time. It is a crucial read for anyone who wants to understand who we are, and where we've come from. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Orwell's Politics John Newsinger, 1999 A study of George Orwell's political ideas and beliefs from his time as a policeman in Burma through to the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Dreyer's English Benjamin Dreyer, 2019-01-29 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A sharp, funny grammar guide they’ll actually want to read, from Random House’s longtime copy chief and one of Twitter’s leading language gurus NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY O: The Oprah Magazine • Paste • Shelf Awareness “Essential (and delightful!)”—People We all write, all the time: books, blogs, emails. Lots and lots of emails. And we all want to write better. Benjamin Dreyer is here to help. As Random House’s copy chief, Dreyer has upheld the standards of the legendary publisher for more than two decades. He is beloved by authors and editors alike—not to mention his followers on social media—for deconstructing the English language with playful erudition. Now he distills everything he has learned from the myriad books he has copyedited and overseen into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best prose foot forward. As authoritative as it is amusing, Dreyer’s English offers lessons on punctuation, from the underloved semicolon to the enigmatic en dash; the rules and nonrules of grammar, including why it’s OK to begin a sentence with “And” or “But” and to confidently split an infinitive; and why it’s best to avoid the doldrums of the Wan Intensifiers and Throat Clearers, including “very,” “rather,” “of course,” and the dreaded “actually.” Dreyer will let you know whether “alright” is all right (sometimes) and even help you brush up on your spelling—though, as he notes, “The problem with mnemonic devices is that I can never remember them.” And yes: “Only godless savages eschew the series comma.” Chockful of advice, insider wisdom, and fun facts, this book will prove to be invaluable to everyone who wants to shore up their writing skills, mandatory for people who spend their time editing and shaping other people’s prose, and—perhaps best of all—an utter treat for anyone who simply revels in language. Praise for Dreyer’s English “Playful, smart, self-conscious, and personal . . . One encounters wisdom and good sense on nearly every page of Dreyer’s English.”—The Wall Street Journal “Destined to become a classic.”—The Millions “Dreyer can help you . . . with tips on punctuation and spelling. . . . Even better: He’ll entertain you while he’s at it.”—Newsday |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Unspeak Steven Poole, 2007-12-01 “A sharply articulated, well-documented expos of the political and economic manipulation of language . . . Fans of Orwell, take heart.”—Kirkus Reviews What do the phrases “pro-life,” “intelligent design,” and “the war on terror” have in common? Each of them is a name for something that smuggles in a highly charged political opinion. Words and phrases that function in this special way go by many names. Some writers call them “evaluative-descriptive terms.” Others talk of “terministic screens” or discuss the way debates are “framed.” Author Steven Poole calls them Unspeak. Unspeak represents an attempt by politicians, interest groups, and business corporations to say something without saying it, without getting into an argument and so having to justify itself. At the same time, it tries to unspeak—in the sense of erasing or silencing—any possible opposing point of view by laying a claim right at the start to only one way of looking at a problem. Recalling the vocabulary of George Orwell’s 1984, as an Unspeak phrase becomes a widely used term of public debate, it saturates the mind with one viewpoint while simultaneously makes an opposing view ever more difficult to enunciate. In this fascinating book, Poole traces modern Unspeak and reveals how the evolution of language changes the way we think. “Unspeak deserves a place in every journalist’s vocabulary.”—Slate “This book takes no word at face value, which will anger some and enlighten others, just as a book of social and linguistic commentary should.”—Publishers Weekly “As we approach yet another political campaign season, this remarkable new book examines the intersection where words and politics collide.”—Tucson Citizen |
| george orwell politics and the english language: The Language Wars Henry Hitchings, 2011-10-25 The English language is a battlefield. Since the age of Shakespeare, arguments over correct usage have been bitter, and have always really been about contesting values-morality, politics, and class. The Language Wars examines the present state of the conflict, its history, and its future. Above all, it uses the past as a way of illuminating the present. Moving chronologically, the book explores the most persistent issues to do with English and unpacks the history of proper usage. Where did these ideas spring from? Who has been on the front lines in the language wars? The Language Wars examines grammar rules, regional accents, swearing, spelling, dictionaries, political correctness, and the role of electronic media in reshaping language. It also takes a look at such details as the split infinitive, elocution, and text messaging. Peopled with intriguing characters such as Jonathan Swift, Lewis Carroll, and Lenny Bruce, The Language Wars is an essential volume for anyone interested in the state of the English language today or its future. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: The Tyranny of Words Stuart Chase, 2015-04-07 The pioneering and still essential text on semantics, urging readers to improve human communication and understanding with precise, concrete language. In 1938, Stuart Chase revolutionized the study of semantics with his classic text, The Tyranny of Words. Decades later, this eminently useful analysis of the way we use words continues to resonate. A contemporary of the economist Thorstein Veblen and the author Upton Sinclair, Chase was a social theorist and writer who despised the imprecision of contemporary communication. Wide-ranging and erudite, this iconic volume was one of the first to condemn the overuse of abstract words and to exhort language users to employ words that make their ideas accurate, complete, and readily understood. “[A] thoroughly scholarly study of the science of the meaning of words.” —Kirkus Reviews “When thinking about words, I think about Stuart Chase’s The Tyranny of Words. It is one of those books that never lose its message.” —CounterPunch |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Nineteen eighty-four George Orwell, 2022-11-22 This is a dystopian social science fiction novel and morality tale. The novel is set in the year 1984, a fictional future in which most of the world has been destroyed by unending war, constant government monitoring, historical revisionism, and propaganda. The totalitarian superstate Oceania, ruled by the Party and known as Airstrip One, now includes Great Britain as a province. The Party uses the Thought Police to repress individuality and critical thought. Big Brother, the tyrannical ruler of Oceania, enjoys a strong personality cult that was created by the party's overzealous brainwashing methods. Winston Smith, the main character, is a hard-working and skilled member of the Ministry of Truth's Outer Party who secretly despises the Party and harbors rebellious fantasies. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury, 1968 A fireman in charge of burning books meets a revolutionary school teacher who dares to read. Depicts a future world in which all printed reading material is burned. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Fascism and Democracy George Orwell, 2021-09-28 'The feeling that the very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world ... this prospect frightens me much more than bombs' On the 70th anniversary of George Orwell's death, a new collection of his brilliant essays written during the Second World War Fascism and Democracy collects five brilliant examples of Orwell's writing during the darkest days of World War Two. Grappling with the principles of democracy and the potential of reform, the meaning of literature and free speech in times of violence, and the sustainability of objective truth, Orwell offers a compelling portrayal of a nation where norms and ideals can no longer be taken for granted. Like the best of Orwell's writing, these essays also serve as timeless reminders of the fragility of freedom. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Churchill and Orwell Thomas E. Ricks, 2018-05-01 A New York Times bestseller! A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of 2017 A dual biography of Winston Churchill and George Orwell, who preserved democracy from the threats of authoritarianism, from the left and right alike. Both George Orwell and Winston Churchill came close to death in the mid-1930's—Orwell shot in the neck in a trench line in the Spanish Civil War, and Churchill struck by a car in New York City. If they'd died then, history would scarcely remember them. At the time, Churchill was a politician on the outs, his loyalty to his class and party suspect. Orwell was a mildly successful novelist, to put it generously. No one would have predicted that by the end of the 20th century they would be considered two of the most important people in British history for having the vision and courage to campaign tirelessly, in words and in deeds, against the totalitarian threat from both the left and the right. In a crucial moment, they responded first by seeking the facts of the matter, seeing through the lies and obfuscations, and then they acted on their beliefs. Together, to an extent not sufficiently appreciated, they kept the West's compass set toward freedom as its due north. It's not easy to recall now how lonely a position both men once occupied. By the late 1930's, democracy was discredited in many circles, and authoritarian rulers were everywhere in the ascent. There were some who decried the scourge of communism, but saw in Hitler and Mussolini men we could do business with, if not in fact saviors. And there were others who saw the Nazi and fascist threat as malign, but tended to view communism as the path to salvation. Churchill and Orwell, on the other hand, had the foresight to see clearly that the issue was human freedom—that whatever its coloration, a government that denied its people basic freedoms was a totalitarian menace and had to be resisted. In the end, Churchill and Orwell proved their age's necessary men. The glorious climax of Churchill and Orwell is the work they both did in the decade of the 1940's to triumph over freedom's enemies. And though Churchill played the larger role in the defeat of Hitler and the Axis, Orwell's reckoning with the menace of authoritarian rule in Animal Farm and 1984 would define the stakes of the Cold War for its 50-year course, and continues to give inspiration to fighters for freedom to this day. Taken together, in Thomas E. Ricks's masterful hands, their lives are a beautiful testament to the power of moral conviction, and to the courage it can take to stay true to it, through thick and thin. Churchill and Orwell is a perfect gift for the holidays! |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Facing Unpleasant Facts, 1937-1939 George Orwell, 1998 These years saw the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier, Homage to Catalonia, and Coming Up for Air. The most important document that has come to light regarding Orwell's Spanish experiences is the deposition charging him and Eileen with espionage and high treason, a charge unknown to them. This is fully analysed and can now be read in the context of the disputes that then divided the Left, well illustrated by the letters and documents printed here, notably his bitter response to Authors Take Sides on the Spanish War. The correspondence includes that with Yvonne Davet, who undertook the Translation of Orwell's books into French; George Kopp, Orwell's commandent in Spain; and a number of Eileen's letters. Orwell's Diary of Events Leading Up to the War' (2 July - 1 September 1939); his Domestic Diary (9 August 1938 - 29 April 1940), which records in detail his attempts at running a smallholding; his abstracts from Daily Worker and News Chronical reports on the Spanish Civil War; and his Marrakech Notebook with illustrations are reproduced. Many letters not previously published are included, and there is a large number of reviews. This volume also includes a sequence of letters that throws a completely new light on Orwell's personal relationships. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Shooting an Elephant George Orwell, 2022-02-14 George Orwell set out ‘to make political writing into an art’, and to a wide extent this aim shaped the future of English literature – his descriptions of authoritarian regimes helped to form a new vocabulary that is fundamental to understanding totalitarianism. While 1984 and Animal Farm are amongst the most popular classic novels in the English language, this new series of Orwell’s essays seeks to bring a wider selection of his writing on politics and literature to a new readership. Shooting an Elephant, the fifth in the Orwell’s Essays series, tells the story of a police officer in Burma who is called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant. Thought to be loosely based on Orwell’s own experiences in Burma, the tightly written essay weaves together fact and fiction indistinguishably, and leaves the reader contemplating the heavy topic of colonialism, with the words ‘when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys’ echoing from the page. 'A remarkable piece.' (Jeremy Paxman) 'A writer who can – and must – be rediscovered with every age.' (Irish Times) |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Literary Obscenities Erik M. Bachman, 2019-06 Examines U.S. obscenity trials in the early twentieth century and how they framed a wide-ranging debate about the printed word's power to deprave, offend, and shape behavior. |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Or Orwell Alex Woloch, 2016-01-04 Introduction: Orwell's formalism, or A theory of socialist writing -- Quite bare (A Hanging) -- Getting to work (The Road to Wigan Pier) -- Semi-sociological (Inside the Whale) -- The column as form -- Writing's outside -- First-person socialism -- Conclusion: Happy Orwell |
| george orwell politics and the english language: Lord of the Flies William Golding, 2012-09-20 A plane crashes on a desert island and the only survivors, a group of schoolboys, assemble on the beach and wait to be rescued. By day they inhabit a land of bright fantastic birds and dark blue seas, but at night their dreams are haunted by the image of a terrifying beast. As the boys' delicate sense of order fades, so their childish dreams are transformed into something more primitive, and their behaviour starts to take on a murderous, savage significance. First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is one of the most celebrated and widely read of modern classics. Now fully revised and updated, this educational edition includes chapter summaries, comprehension questions, discussion points, classroom activities, a biographical profile of Golding, historical context relevant to the novel and an essay on Lord of the Flies by William Golding entitled 'Fable'. Aimed at Key Stage 3 and 4 students, it also includes a section on literary theory for advanced or A-level students. The educational edition encourages original and independent thinking while guiding the student through the text - ideal for use in the classroom and at home. |
politics and the english language - Renard Press
the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilisation is decadent and our language – so the argument …
Politics and the English Language
Politics and the English Language . MOST people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by …
Politics and the English Language — George Orwell (1946)
23 Jan 2018 · Politics and the English Language! — George Orwell (1946) Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is …
Orwells Politics And The English Language (PDF)
English Language George Orwell,1946 Politics and the English Language 1946 is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and examines …
Politics And The English Language George Orwell Copy
The English Language George Orwell,1946 Politics and the English Language 1946 is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and …
Politics and the English Language - Public Library
Politics and the English Language MOST PEOPLE WHO BOTHER with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by …
Politics And The English Language George Orwell (2024)
George Orwell,1946 Politics and the English Language 1946 is an essay by George Orwell that criticised the ugly and inaccurate written English of his time and examines the connection …
ORWELL’S ‘POLITICS AND THE - Carl Tighe
George Orwell’s famous essay, ‘Politics and the English Language’, looks at several of the ideas implicit in this connection. His essay, in the manner of the ancient Greeks, raises issues …
Politics and the English Language - ia601403.us.archive.org
In “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell considers how, in light of World War II, wordy, vague prose contributes to a political culture of manipulation and violence.
George Orwell – Politics And The English Language - Rozenberg …
“Politics and the English Language” (1946) is an essay by George Orwell that criticised and ended the “ugly and inaccurate” written English of his time and examines the connection between …
POLITICS GEORGE ORWELL AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civktion is decadent, and our language-so the argument runs …
Politics and the English Language - The University of Texas at …
Politics and the English Language. George Orwell { 1946. Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that …
Politics and the English Language (1946)
GEORGE ORWELL Politics and the English Language (1946) British author George Orwell (1903–1950) is known for his writings about politics and the dangers of authoritarianism, most …
George Orwell Politics And English Language (book)
George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" remains a potent critique of linguistic manipulation and a timeless guide to clear, honest communication. His warnings about the …
Teaching Argument and the Rhetoric of Orwell's 'Politics and the ...
Altogether 1977 was not a good year for "Politics and the English Language." treatment of essays and simultaneously enrich the conceptual resources from which the student of the persuasive …
George Orwell Politics And The English Language [PDF]
George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" remains a vital text for understanding the power of language and its potential for manipulation. His insightful critique of political rhetoric …
Philosophy and Corruption of Language - JSTOR
In the political cases like those Orwell and Weil describe, where the language of objectivity or of moral evaluation or of nationhood is widely and ambiguously used or used without the …
Politics and the English Language - bioinfo.uib.es
Politics and the English Language George Orwell 1946 Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the En-glish language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we …
LESSON 3: ENGLAND YOUR ENGLAND - Orwell Prize
Orwell essay about the idea of a country as home – ‘England Your England’. First, read the full extract. Then, work through the questions below, which will help you think about how Orwell …
George Orwell: the Original Eco-Warrior!
I. How does Orwell use language at the start of the essay to make the most of the toad emerging in Paragraph 1? II. Orwell is not famous for comedy, but he has a dry sense of humour. How …
Who was George Orwell? The Orwell Youth Prize takes its …
Who was George Orwell? The Orwell Youth Prize takes its inspiration from the author, journalist, and essayist George Orwell. By the time of his death in 1950, he was respected all over the …
LESSON 2 Reading the Common Toad - Orwell Prize
I. How does Orwell use language at the start of the essay to make the most of the toad emerging in Paragraph 1? II. Orwell is not famous for comedy, but he has a dry sense of humour. How …
SCHOOL INFORMATION PACK - Orwell Prize
Our workshops use the writings of George Orwell to encourage young people to engage and think for themselves about the world they live in. Each workshop uses an Orwell text as a vehicle …
Guide to form – Essay - Orwell Prize
Orwell himself wrote lots of essays, on a very wide range of subjects, from toads to books, the atom bomb to English cooking, and you can read many of them for free on our website. As …
Burmese Days revisited - Orwell Prize
To coincide with the 75th anniversary of the publication of George Orwell’s famous first novel, Burmese Days, I went to follow the thread of his story by documenting the original locations in …
’s - Orwell Prize
George Orwell, author of the classic novels Nineteen eighty-four and Animal Farm, and one of the most important literary and political figures of the 20th century, believed in the moral power of …
CALL FOR ENTRIES The Orwell Prize for Journalism 2019
The Orwell Prize for Journalism, worth £3,000 to the winner, is one of the UK’s most prestigious prizes for journalism, awarded to the sustained commentary and/or reportage which comes …
‘Coming Up for Air: Writing the Climate Crisis’ - Orwell Prize
Orwell Youth Prize, on the theme ‘Coming Up for Air: Writing the Climate Crisis’ Lesson 5 – Choose Your Form Now that you have chosen a topic you want to write about – and done …
