Kasinda's blog

Orwell: The Politics of the English Language

Orwell writes about ways in which the English language is used and how it has allowed various realms, especially the political, to thrive. He states that metaphors, scientific language, and foreign phrases, contribute to vague and meaningless conversation. By referring to bombings or other acts of war as "liberation attempts" or other such nonsense, it makes it easier for the public to be controlled.

His ideas are sound, but times exist when such language is necessary. Imagine a job interview where someone was completely honest and did not make their faults appear to be good things. For example, I worked my last job for seven years. I received an interview with a new company and she said, "Well, it seems like they did not treat you very well." I replied, "Regardless of how they treated me, they taught me everything I know and for that, I will always be grateful to them." If I had replied fully truthfully, as opposed to bullshitting just a little bit, the poor woman would have received a barrage of misdoings and wrongs that I was the brunt of, and I would not be employed.

Submitted by Kasinda on Wed, 05/23/2007 - 2:12pm.
Syndicate content