Monday, September 16, 2019
Politics and the English Language Essay
Eric Arthur Blair popularly known as George Orwell is known for his novels ââ¬Å"Animal Farmâ⬠(1945) and ââ¬Å"Nineteen-Eighty Fourâ⬠(1949). He was born in British India on 1903 and he grew up to detest a personââ¬â¢s control over another which is typical in his writings (Microsoft Student, 2007). He wrote in 1950 the essay ââ¬Å"Politics and the English Languageâ⬠which is a confrontation of the bad writing habits of the British people that has crept into ââ¬Å"Modern Englishâ⬠during his time. Orwell argues that the English language has gotten worse because of ââ¬Å"political and economicâ⬠factors and that political collapse has also been affected by the weakening of the English language. He presented five passages from different writings which he describes as ineffective and careless and enumerated the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠of ââ¬Å"written Englishâ⬠which has become common in the modern prose of that period. It also pointed out the ambiguity of language caused people to be deceived. In this essay, Orwell appeals to his readers that they can still reverse what is happening to the English language and to politics and that is to avoid the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠and to follow the rules he prescribes. The main idea of Orwellââ¬â¢s essay observes the four canons of ââ¬Å"memoryâ⬠, ââ¬Å"inventionâ⬠, ââ¬Å"dispositionâ⬠and ââ¬Å"styleâ⬠and its controlling idea that the deterioration of the English language is connected with the worsening of politics is a cyclical process may be true but the connection between politics and the incompetence of the English language has not been clearly established because it does not provide sufficient examples from political writings or speeches that will prove this claim. When analyzed, it can be discovered that the essay follows the four canons of ââ¬Å"memoryâ⬠, ââ¬Å"inventionâ⬠, dispositionâ⬠and ââ¬Å"styleâ⬠. To start with, the essay begins by drawing upon the belief that ââ¬Å"most peopleâ⬠know about the deterioration of ââ¬Å"our civilizationâ⬠and that language eventually becomes deteriorated in the process. It also includes the general knowledge of the ââ¬Å"British rule in Indiaâ⬠, and the bombing in Hiroshima, Japan. Next, the essay does not mention statistics or record of interviews but it employs an analysis of five passages from various writings that the author cited as well as the examples of phrases or words that have become worn-out or have lost its meaning. Orwell also translated a paragraph written in ââ¬Å"good Englishâ⬠into a paragraph written in what he calls ââ¬Å"modern English of the worst sortâ⬠which illustrated how something good can turn into bad or even worse. The result of such methods employed by the writer has been effective in understanding the essay. Another, the essay follows a logical pattern in its organization and structure. After the introductory paragraph which mentions a public belief in the essay. The second paragraph of the essay states the controlling idea that the worsening of politics and economics brings about the decline of language and it goes around in a cycle. It elaborates that this is demonstrated by the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠that have spread ââ¬Å"by tradition and imitationâ⬠at that time. But, he lays down a solution which is to avoid those ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠. The essay includes five samples of passages that use metaphors that are no longer effective and accurate from the third to the ninth paragraph. It goes on to enumerate the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠of ââ¬Å"dying metaphorsâ⬠, ââ¬Å"operators or verbal false limbsâ⬠, ââ¬Å"pretentious dictionâ⬠and ââ¬Å"meaningless wordsâ⬠of ââ¬Å"Modern Englishâ⬠in the tenth to thirteenth paragraph. He goes on to give his own example of a paragraph in ââ¬Å"good Englishâ⬠translated into bad ââ¬Å"modern Englishâ⬠from paragraphs fourteen (14) to seventeen (17). Paragraph eighteen (18), explains how the selected passages no longer present vivid imagery and accuracy. In the same paragraph, Orwell mentions that writers use those ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠because it is convenient and is ââ¬Å"easyâ⬠. Paragraph nineteen (19) expounds on how ââ¬Å"political writing is bad writingâ⬠by citing examples of situations as well as phrases. Paragraphs 20 to 21 continue to explain that ââ¬Å"political languageâ⬠has been used to hide the truth from the people. Paragraph 22 elucidates that one uses vague, long and ambiguous words so as to blur the details. Paragraph 23 goes back to clarify what the author has already mentioned in the second paragraph that ââ¬Å"thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. â⬠Orwell also recognizes that he has ââ¬Å"committed the very faults I am protesting against. â⬠He asserts that it is only with constant awareness of the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠that one can be liberated from it. The essay gives details on the writerââ¬â¢s idea that the decay of language can still be regenerated in paragraphs 24 to 26. The last paragraph recapitulates the controlling idea and the supporting ideas that have been presented in the body of the essay. Lastly, the style of the text is a combination of short and long sentences in its 27 paragraphs. The shortest sentence in the essay consists of 7 words while the longest can consist of 57 words. The average sentence length per paragraph can range from 21 to 38 words. There is a minimum of 4 sentences and a maximum of 8 sentences per paragraph. Its sentence and paragraph length suggests a formal tone that is at the same time analytical and persuasive. Although the essay follows the four canons, there are still inadequacies in the research method, and in the order of some paragraphs. First, the essay does not include interviews of people who have suffered because language was used in a deceitful way during that time of Orwellââ¬â¢s writing. If one has to look back to that period of World War II when this essay was probably written, there are people who survived the so called ââ¬Å"Holocaustâ⬠that the author could have cited or interviewed. The ââ¬Å"Holocaustâ⬠was the ââ¬Å"almostâ⬠complete annihilation of the ââ¬Å"Jews in Europeâ⬠by the Nazis and its allies during World War II (Bankier, 2007). The statements of Hitler before the occurrence of World War II could have been a very good example of political language used to deceive people or to hide the truth from them. In addition, the essay should have also included samples of passages that come from political writings or speeches because the readers can hardly see the connection between the degeneration of language and the political disorder without concrete examples. Out of the five sample passages in the essay, only passage (4) can be considered a political writing. Moreover, the order of some of the paragraphs is not effective. For instance, paragraph 18 which is an illumination on the ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠that the five passages contain, should be placed in between paragraph 13 and 14. When the writer talks about the sample passages then he should move on to explain those and he should not mention a new topic or idea as he did in paragraphs 14 to 17. Furthermore, the second sentence of paragraph 17 is quite ambiguous. It is not at all very clear because it does not specify what those ââ¬Å"several patches of the same kind of Englishâ⬠are. In conclusion, Orwellââ¬â¢s essay on ââ¬Å"Politics and the English Languageâ⬠follows the four canons and has achieved its purpose in persuading the readers to avoid ââ¬Å"bad habitsâ⬠of ââ¬Å"modern Englishâ⬠so that they can think clearly for it is with ââ¬Å"foolish thoughtsâ⬠that language is corrupted. References Bankier, D. (2007). Holocaust. Microsoftà ® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. Orwell, G. (1946). Politics and the English Language. London: Horizon. Ziemke, E. F. World War II. Microsoftà ® Student 2008 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.
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