Orwell: Politics and the English language

“Political language – and with variations, this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists – is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.” ~ George Orwell

This quote by Orwell first appeared in his 1946 essay, Politics and the English language explains how debasement of the English language is used to obfuscate and confuse truth – a political necessity when attempting to defend the indefensible.

Orwell describes a style of language that is ugly, inaccurate, vague, and full of archaic terms used to express sentiments that would sound foolish in plain English.

Orwell, G., 1946. Politics And The English Language. [online] Public-library.uk. Available at: <http://www.public-library.uk/ebooks/72/30.pdf> [Accessed 18 August 2020].

George Orwell:

Eric Arthur Blair, better known by the pseudonym, George Orwell was born on 25th June 1903 in Motihari, India.

He was a journalist, essayist, novelist, and biting social critic.

He is best remembered for his novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.

Orwell died of tuberculosis in London, England on 21st January 1950. Read More [ … ]

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