Newspeak

Newspeak is a fictional language in George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell included an essay about it in the form of an Appendix (in the past tense)Orwell, George (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four, "Appendix: The Principles of Newspeak", pp. 309–323. New York: Plume, 2003.
Pynchon, Thomas (2003). "Foreword to the Centennial Edition" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. vii–xxvi . New York: Plume, 2003.
Fromm, Erich (1961). "Afterword" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. 324–337. New York: Plume, 2003.
Orwell's text has a "Selected Bibliography", pp. 338–9; the foreword and the afterword each contain further references.
Copyright is explicitly extended to digital and any other means.
Plume edition is a reprint of a hardcover by Harcourt. Plume edition is also in a Signet edition. after the end of the novel, in which the basic principles of the language are explained. Newspeak is closely based on English but has a greatly reduced and simplified vocabulary and grammar. This suited the totalitarian regime of the Party, whose aim was to make any alternative thinking ("thoughtcrime") or speech impossible by removing any words or possible constructs which describe the ideas of freedom, rebellion and so on.

The Newspeak term for the English language is Oldspeak. Oldspeak was intended to have been completely eclipsed by Newspeak before 2050.

The genesis of Orwell's Newspeak can be seen in his earlier essay, "Politics and the English Language," where he laments the quality of the English of his day, citing examples of dying metaphors, pretentious diction or rhetoric, and meaningless words — all of which contribute to fuzzy ideas and a lack of logical thinking. Towards the end of this essay, having argued his case, Orwell muses:

Thus Newspeak is an attempt by Orwell to describe a deliberate intent to exploit this decadence with the aim of oppressing its speakers.

Basic principles of Newspeak

To remove synonyms

The basic idea behind Newspeak was to remove all shades of meaning from language, leaving simple dichotomies (pleasure and pain, happiness and sadness, good thoughts and thoughtcrimes) which reinforce the total dominance of the State. A staccato rhythm of short syllables was also a goal, further reducing the need for deep thinking about language. (See duckspeak.) Successful Newspeak meant that there would be fewer and fewer words -- dictionaries would get thinner and thinner.

In addition, words with opposite meanings were removed as redundant, so "bad" became "ungood." Words with comparative and superlative meanings were also simplified, so "better" became "gooder", and "best" likewise became "goodest". Intensifiers could be added, so "great" became "plusgood", and "excellent" or "splendid" likewise became "doubleplusgood." In this manner, as many words as possible were removed from the language. The ultimate aim of Newspeak was to reduce even the dichotomies to a single word that was a "yes" of some sort: an obedient word with which everyone answered affirmatively to what was asked of them.

Some of the constructions in Newspeak which Orwell derides, such as replacing "bad" with "ungood", are in fact characteristic of agglutinative languages, although foreign to English. It is possible that Orwell modeled aspects of Newspeak specifically on Esperanto; for example "ungood" is constructed similarly to the Esperanto word "malbona". Orwell had been exposed to Esperanto in 1927 when living in Paris with his aunt Kate Limouzin and her husband Eugène Lanti, a prominent Esperantist. Esperanto was the language of the house, and Orwell was disadvantaged by not speaking it, which may account for some antipathy towards the languageOrwell, George (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four, "Appendix: The Principles of Newspeak", pp. 309–323. New York: Plume, 2003.
Pynchon, Thomas (2003). "Foreword to the Centennial Edition" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. vii–xxvi . New York: Plume, 2003.
Fromm, Erich (1961). "Afterword" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. 324–337. New York: Plume, 2003.
Orwell's text has a "Selected Bibliography", pp. 338–9; the foreword and the afterword each contain further references.
Copyright is explicitly extended to digital and any other means.
Plume edition is a reprint of a hardcover by Harcourt. Plume edition is also in a Signet edition..

To control thought

The underlying theory of Newspeak is that if something can't be said, then it can't be thought. One question raised in response this is whether we are defined by our language, or whether we actively define it. For instance, can we communicate the need for freedom, or organise an uprising, if we do not have the words for either? This is related to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, and Ludwig Wittgenstein's proposition, "The limits of my language mean the limits to my world." However, this view is disputed by authors like Gene Wolfe (see the article on his Ascian language); Ayn Rand's novel Anthem details, among other things, the attempts of two refugees from a repressively collectivist society to comprehend the concept of the first-person singular, the words for which have fallen into disuse.

Examples of Newspeak, from the novel, include: "crimethink"; "doubleplusungood"; and "Ingsoc." They mean, respectively: "thought-crime"; "extremely bad"; and "English Socialism," the political philosophy of the Party. The word "Newspeak" itself also comes from the language.

Generically, newspeak has come to mean any attempt to restrict disapproved language by a government or other powerful entity.

Real-life examples of Newspeak

A comparison to Newspeak may arguably be seen in political rhetoric, where two opposing sides string together phrases so empty of meaning that they may be compared to the taunts young children toss back and forth. The arguments of either side ultimately reduce to "I'm good; he's bad."

Politically correct euphemisms

Charges of Newspeak are sometimes advanced when a group tries to replace a word/phrase that is politically unsuitable (e.g. "civilian casualties") or offensive (e.g. "murder") with a politically correct or inoffensive euphemism (e.g. "collateral damage"). Some maintain that to make certain words or phrases "unspeakable" (thoughtcrime) restricts what ideas may be held (Newspeak) and is therefore tantamount to censorship. Others believe that expunging terms that have fallen out of favor or become insulting will make people less likely to hold outdated or offensive views. The intent to alter the minds of the public through changes made to language illustrates Newspeak perfectly.

Either way, there is a resemblance between political correctness and Newspeak, although some may feel that they differ in their intentions: in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Newspeak is instituted to enhance the power of the state over the individual; politically correct language, on the other hand, is said by supporters to free individuals from stereotypical preconceptions caused by the use of prejudicial terminology. It is this attempt to change thought through changing (or eliminating) words that earns political correctness the connection to Newspeak.

However, there exist striking instances where Orwell's speculations have matched with reality. Orwell suggested that all philosophies prior to Ingsoc (English Socialism) would be covered under the term "oldthink", bearing with it none of the nuances of these ideologies, but simply a connotation of badness. Since the end of the Second World War and the Cold War, a similar effect has been wrought on the words "fascism" and "communism". To many, communism no longer bears with it the doctrines of Marx, Engels, or Lenin, but rather a general bad connotation. Similarly, few people are aware of the differences between the theories of government of Mussolini, Dollfuß, Franco, and Hitler; all are placed under the blanket term "fascism" or "nazism" with only a general denotation of badness.

Political groups often use neologisms to frame their views positively and to discredit their opponents' views.^* In the U.S. abortion debates, those advocating restrictions on abortion label themselves "pro-life," leaving their opponents presumably "anti-life" or "pro-death." Conversely, those advocating greater availability of abortion call themselves "pro-choice," leaving their opponents "anti-choice".

Two examples unrelated to political correctness are Basic English, a language which prides itself on reducing the number of English words, and E-Prime, another simplified version of English.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Another common use of Newspeak today is the overuse of abbreviations. To quote from the 1984 Appendix "It was perceived that in thus abbreviating a name one narrowed and subtly altered its meaning, by cutting out most of the associations that would otherwise cling to it." Attention is also drawn to the use of such abbreviations by totalitarian regimes prior to World War II (see Gestapo, Comintern, Agitprop).

Even more powerful are acronyms like "ANSWER", "Ofcom", "OPEC", "PETA", "NAFTA", "NICE" and "USA PATRIOT" which can be pronounced as if they were proper words. This is most vividly seen in acronyms like "laser" and "radar," which are in widespread use today and are nearly always written in lowercase. Acronyms contain less information than the full term and tend not to trigger spontaneous associations; this also makes them ambiguous and therefore vulnerable to misuse.

Cyril Kornbluth and Newspeak

The 1950 short story "The Silly Season" by Science Fiction writer Cyril M. Kornbluth contained a text resembling Newspeak, though in a completely different context - not the artificial tongue of a tyrannical regime, but simply a kind of journalists' shorthand.

The protagonist, a news editor, gets a news item about the appearance of "shining domes" in the Ozark hamlet of Rush City and the death of a visiting lawman Pinkney Crawles who touched them. The original text includes "Rushers untouched, unapproached. Crawles warned but touched and died burns". This is later rendered into: "The inhabitants of Rush City did not dare approach the domes. They warned the visiting Marshall Crawles - but, not heeding their warning, he walked up to one of the domes and put his hand on it. There was a big flash and he was burned to death".

The story was written shortly after Nineteen Eighty Four was published, simultaneously in Britain and the US, and Kornbluth may have read it. Moreover, the appearance of an incomprehensible text followed by its translation into standard English (or Oldspeak) is similar to what appears in Part 1, Chapter 4 of Orwell's book.

Moreover, while the story takes place in a recognisable United States and not in any totalitarian society, at the end the hero realizes that in helping to spread panic about the "shining domes" he had been the unwitting dupe of Martian invaders, helping them draw attention away from their real conquest of Earth - which in retrospect makes the text in truth the message of a dictatorial and oppressive regime.

Notes and References

Orwell, George (1949). Nineteen Eighty-Four, "Appendix: The Principles of Newspeak", pp. 309–323. New York: Plume, 2003.
Pynchon, Thomas (2003). "Foreword to the Centennial Edition" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. vii–xxvi . New York: Plume, 2003.
Fromm, Erich (1961). "Afterword" to Nineteen Eighty-Four, pp. 324–337. New York: Plume, 2003.
Orwell's text has a "Selected Bibliography", pp. 338–9; the foreword and the afterword each contain further references.
Copyright is explicitly extended to digital and any other means.
Plume edition is a reprint of a hardcover by Harcourt. Plume edition is also in a Signet edition.

Basic principles of Newspeak

To remove synonyms

To control thought

Real-life examples of Newspeak

Politically correct euphemisms

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Cyril Kornbluth and Newspeak

See also

Notes and References

Further reading

Gourt Home::Gourt :: Newspeak

Basic principles of Newspeak

To remove synonyms

To control thought

Real-life examples of Newspeak

Politically correct euphemisms

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Cyril Kornbluth and Newspeak

See also

Notes and References

Further reading