Analysis of George Orwell’s Paper ‘politics and The English Language’

Over time, the use of the English language as a form of expression has evolved, albeit not in the right direction. Consequently, it has altered the way audience interprets texts, which forces us to recognise George Orwell’s concerns about the current state of English language. Currently, it is not only bland but also inspiring lacking in vividness, which culminated in the substandard writing we produce. Current state of English language and many of its nuances are associated with the English language’s debasement, viewed by some as the product of economic and political writings. However, sadly we believe that nothing can be done to stop this rut we have created. George Orwell’s paper ‘Politics and the English Language’ tries to restore the correct use of English language through its discourse on the state of English language and the incorrect application of Figurative language, which has lost its correct meaning over the years. By establishing connection between language use and writing style, this essay elucidates one’s ability to think clearly and write honestly, which reflect the way they see and represent the world in writing.

The state of the English language can be viewed as alarming, prompting us to ruminate over what triggered this dismaying situation. Aided by his skilfully persuasive style, Orwell critiques five examples of ‘poor writing’, outlining their common flaws, such as ‘staleness of imagery’ and ‘lack of precision’. This not only makes it hard for the reader to comprehend the message but also lose interest in reading. George Orwell’s essay was greatly influenced by his context, when people began to witness the political debasement of the German language under the Nazis and the Russian language under Stalin during the respective wars. Being particularly sensitive to political manipulation, Orwell was forced to contemplate over how the English language had changed during these wartime years. Orwell thus critiques modern writing style in his essay, affirming that one’s position on a political matter will determine the way they will write or speak about it. He stresses that all writing is fundamentally political, and that bad writing styles produce oppressive political mind-sets. His declaration that “the present political chaos is connected with the decay of language” is supported through his lack meaning. His concern about this is reflected in his contention that the use of verbosity and jargon as a medium to convey political thought in fact lacks substance. Overloaded with meaningless jargon, pretentious phrases and words that have have assumed their place in everyday language used by cross section of community. By exposing how contemporary political language employs stock phrases, “euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness”, he posits that the metaphorical use of ‘cloudy’ points out to lack of clarity and succinctness. His claims about the concealing of the truth in political writings, are further supported in “A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow”. The simile of ‘like soft snow’ indicates the pretentious use of Latin phrases, which rather than disseminating the facts clearly twisted them. Therefore, Orwell’s discourse on the state of the English language not only forced us to reflect on his concerns but also has paved the way to its correct usage. Orwell outlines how a lack of succinct language results in “swindles and perversions” in contemporary writing. By using an allusion to Aristotle’s Triangle, Orwell highlights how this anomaly reduces the persuasive power of language on the audience and their emotions, being less appealing and struggle to create pathos or emotional appeal. Thus, by pointing out the state of English language, Orwell compels us to embrace his concerns about the current state of English language.

Orwell establishes that the demise of the English language is attributed to intellectual laziness, outlining that language controls thought as much as thought shapes language, in “[Language] becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts.” His exposure of the use of “readymade phrases” and “stale metaphors” by authors as an alternative to write in an accurate and original manner, conjures an image of stale writing the writers are currently producing. The reader is shocked when from Orwell’s essay they learn that writers attempt to conceal what they lack, through elaborate word choice, producing ‘banal’ texts, entailing superfluous suffixes, prefixes and words. Orwell’s critiquing of text, establishes how an accumulation of stale phrases as “choking him like tea leaves blocking the sink”, showing staleness of English language bereft of ideas. The Intellectual Laziness of writers is showcased by Orwell in “What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?” Orwell cumulatively lists four questions writers don’t commonly ask themselves, preventing them from demonstrating their intellect in their writing, implying that this results in the deterioration of the English writing and literature.

Therefore, Orwell’s observations on the state of English language and convictions about the responsibilities of the writer in their use of language convention transcend contextual boundaries, forcing the audience to take his viewpoint. Aware of the political manipulation and how it surfaced into English language, he has tried to restore the rightful place of English language.