Politics and the English Language

I absolutely love what George Orwell has to say in "Politics and the English Language." I have always felt similarly about the (sometimes) intentional butchering of the English Language, not only by politicians, but by the population in general. While it is widely known and easily discoverable (just turn on C-SPAN) the ridiculous use to which our lawmakers put our language. Orwell says:

 "Things like the continuance of British rule in India, the Russian purges and deportations, the dropping of the atom bombs on Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of the political parties. Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism., question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness."

For me, this was one of the most resonant passages from the text. Aside from being perfectly parallel with my own opinion of "the-Government-is-constantly-doing-things-they-dont-want-us-to-know-about," Orwell's point here is that (in order to maintain good public standing in the case of controversy) politicians purposefully word their presented documents in such an incomprehensible way that only those of us with backgrounds in the drafting of legal documents would be able to understand them.

While the work seems to mainly criticize the improper, pretentious, and senseless way in which politics butcher the beauty and fluidity of our language, George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" brought to my attention just how trite and cliche the English Language has become. Over time, and still today, the English language has been evolving (or rather, the opposite of such) into a lazy, worn-out product of our ever-increasing desire for convenience. In America especially, our society, economy, and culture are driven by nothing more than pure desire; driven by an emotion that presents itself in early childhood and never seems to leave us. We crave things, and easier ways to obtain those things. Naturally, the integrity and sophistication of our spoken communications dissolves as we find easier, shorter, "better" ways of making our points and desires known to others. Why would you ask, "would you please pass me that pencil," when "give me that" is much easier and quicker to say? Just as "violence begets more violence," ignorance and laziness operate exactly the same way. With the development of the "drive-thru," which one may note is spelled improperly as a result of this mentality, we have pampered ourselves into shameful laziness, insatiable greed, and willful ignorance. The most meaningful excerpt from this text (for me, at least) is hauntingly apparent upon the examination of our modern spoken and written communication:

"...modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug. The attraction of this way of writing is that it is easy. It is easier -- even quicker, once you have the habit..."

While no one is completely innocent when it comes to the murder of the English Language, not you or I...not even Orwell as he confesses, every living person should strive to keep their words fresh, clear, and most of all, intelligent.

Twilight of the Books

Caleb Crain makes some very shocking points in his article "Twilight of the Books." Essentially, with the rise of television, people in developed countries are reading less and less. While more information has been made available online since the invention of the computer, there is something more concrete and profound about reading a classic piece of literature or thumbing through a textbook. In my opinion, the decline of literacy is a shameful and discouraging thing to witness. What will happen to the libraries and private collections of the world's richest novels when no one will leave the fly-zapper glow of their television sets?

"...Reading scores fell an average of six points between 1992 and 2005, and the share of proficient twelfth-grade readers dropped from forty per cent to thirty-five per cent." Is it just me, or is that scary? Kids getting ready to start college are already LESS intelligent than those that were doing the same just nine years ago. Isn't it common understanding that societies and civilizations should PROGRESS as time passes, not decline?

People these days can't take the time to pick up a newspaper or open a book, but they can parade around shopping malls to pick up the latest blend of colors on the hippest shirts sold at the coolest stores. What is wrong with our society? Exactly that.

Meh.

My name is William Gaylord, and I am in my sophomore year at KSU. I am currently majoring in English, and have designs on either writing or teaching after finishing my degree. I am an avid musician and am currently active in more than three bands which play in and around the Atlanta area. My main instrument is the guitar, but I enjoy playing synthesizer more than anything (I love making weird sounds!) and have always secretly harbored the desire to learn drums, despite my poor coordination. I hope to have an interesting and enjoyable semester with everyone in class!