Verified Document

Language Political Or Historically Based  Essay

Note that inflated English has been more characteristic of the centuries preceding Orwell and of Orwell's own time than on the latter part of the 20th century. There has been a shift in linguistics. As linguists and historians of language have noted, the Western model of language follows the monological approach. The monological approach has roots reaching back to Aristotle who saw communication as one of rhetoric, namely persuasion, where communication was a strategy for influencing people and helping them see reason, or the truth. In this way, the 'other' became viewed as object, communication was one way (monological) and the objective was how to best seduce the other to one's way of thinking. According to some linguists, such as Alfred Taylor, this reduction culminated in reducing conversation, depersonalizing words, and converting them into ideas rather than seeing the complexity of the speaker behind the words. It also led to glossing over the complexity of the words themselves with their manifold messages. In more recent times, however, linguists attempt to show people that communication is also about our unique perspective and interpretation of the world, not just about delivery and ideas, and that language (in all its multiplicity and complexity) serves as medium for conveying our slanted and biased perspective. The goal of language ahs becomes that of constructing a shared meaning. This is a dualogic approach and is the epitome of Orwell's insistence in that we present writing from the perspective of the other drawing into the other and assessing how we can best present our words in a way that the other understands us.

The duologic approach sees meaning...

People therefore become free agents standing outside the one-sided communication that the monological perspective sees communication to be.
The duologic approach has increasingly become the way that contemporary writers view their writing. Academicians are over and again instructed to speak in transparent writing on the level of the other so that the other understands. Business executives undergo expensive training in order to clean their language and present it on the level of the other. Today's linguistic habits have shifted in the opposite direction to those that they were at one time.

Orwell criticized the English language for politicizing itself and via using conflated words exploiting those who were less educated and literate. He saw the bloatedness of higher English vocabulary as a tool for controlling people of 'lower' spheres. Orwell's observation, thoguh accurate in terms of certain descriptive semantics, may have been more applicable to historical context than to political determinants. Language has traditionally been monological and this may have caused certain individuals to bloat it. Today, however, duologic communication has replaced the monologic model. It seems to me, therefore, that, whilst the English language may have terms that are political in terms of social construct, the tendency of writing in a contorted manner may be more historically-based than political.

Source

Orwell, G. Politics and the English Language, Horizon, 1946

Sources used in this document:
Source Orwell, G. Politics and the English Language, Horizon, 1946
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Political Science Vincent Hutchings -- Racial Coding
Words: 915 Length: 3 Document Type: Essay

Political Science Vincent Hutchings -- Racial Coding in American Politics What are three key points discussed by the scholar? The three key points that were discussed include: race continues to play an important role in political perceptions; to avoid negative stereo types requires showing a particular demographic in a positive light and most people are more racially tolerant but have negative perceptions at the same time. As a result, political candidates are subtle

Political Parties and the Electoral
Words: 3819 Length: 9 Document Type: Term Paper

Over the years, the electoral process has changed a lot. As per the original rules, each state legislature selected its electors. The electors would then assemble at a given time and vote for two people. The person with the majority of votes became the president and the runner-up became the vice-president. This system was in practice until the 1800 election. (the Presidential Electoral Process) By 1800, American politics were dominated

First Language L1 in the Second Language
Words: 6580 Length: 24 Document Type: Essay

first language (L1) in the second language EFL classroom (L2). The study provides a brief historical background of the use of native or target language for a classroom teaching. The literatures are also reviewed to enhance to a greater understanding on the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis. Theoretical arguments are provided to support or against the use of monolingual or bilingual approach in a teaching environment. While some scholars believe that

Language Instinct How Are the
Words: 1647 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Pinker maintains that evolution follows a branching, rather than linear pattern. Many species develop concurrently, each with their own survival instincts. Humans, and their survival instinct of language, are just one branch of the evolutionary process rather than a pinnacle rung. Holding the belief that we can, or might someday communicate with animals creates empathy, which leads to humane treatment of animals. A belief that animals cannot communicate with us

Language Barriers Among the Karen People
Words: 4083 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

GAP stands for Guadalupe Alternative Programs and stands to serve St. Paul's Latino youth living on the West Side for the last fifty years. Programs like GAP have existed to promote the wellbeing of St. Paul's, Minnesota's Latino student population by offering services like counseling, educational programs, emergency resources, and job assistance (GAP, n.d.). While GAP still assists the Latino student population, times have changes and the Latino population has

Nationalism Two Distinct Political Movements Influence the
Words: 1249 Length: 4 Document Type: Term Paper

Nationalism Two distinct political movements influence the course of modern Taiwanese history: groups that are pro-independence and those that favor eventual unification with mainland China. In the year 2000, the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party came into power in Taiwan, taking over from the well-established Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist Party). The official websites of these two major Taiwanese political parties display different approaches to the independence issue as well as to Taiwanese history

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now