Evaluation of “Politics and the English Language”
George Orwell’s article, “Politics and the English Language,” explores the increasing misuse of the English language and its possible political causes. When I first saw the title “Politics,” I was afraid to read the article. The first word of the title is such a sensitive one in my mind, since it always seems to involve argument. I also fear my knowledge about the subject is too limited, even when I translate the word into Chinese. Despite my initial discomfort, I have tried my best to use proper English and not, as Orwell terms them, “meaningless words” (p.108) to analyze the reading and more specifically George Orwell’s argument that our bad application of the English language can be reversed. I agree partially with George Orwell in that people often make mistakes in using English, however I also think he is too harsh in his criticism and lets his personal political inclination pervades his objectivity.
In “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell describes several bad language habits existent in the English-speaking world today. These habits include dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words, and he mentions that those “bad habits” appear in prose construction. He states that the worst part of modern writing is making the results presentable by “gumming together long strips of words”(p.111), which have already been set in order. It is a pretentious, “Latinized” (p.108) style. He believes that such habits have a negative affect on our society’s progress. Meaning in language, he says, is often deliberately manipulated. For instance, slack or hack writers, instead of doing their real job of clarifying meaning, open channels through which “the ready made phrases come crowding in”(WSU). “They will construct your sentences for you--even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent--and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself” (WSU). George Orwell is so against
In “Politics and the English Language,” George Orwell describes several bad language habits existent in the English-speaking world today. These habits include dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words, and he mentions that those “bad habits” appear in prose construction. He states that the worst part of modern writing is making the results presentable by “gumming together long strips of words”(p.111), which have already been set in order. It is a pretentious, “Latinized” (p.108) style. He believes that such habits have a negative affect on our society’s progress. Meaning in language, he says, is often deliberately manipulated. For instance, slack or hack writers, instead of doing their real job of clarifying meaning, open channels through which “the ready made phrases come crowding in”(WSU). “They will construct your sentences for you--even think your thoughts for you, to a certain extent--and at need they will perform the important service of partially concealing your meaning even from yourself” (WSU). George Orwell is so against