This section contains 526 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |
Newspeak and the Declaration of Independence
Summary: Discusses the uses and effects of Newspeak in George Orwell's "1984." Also compares it to the Declaration of Independence.
The appendix of George Orwell's 1984 concerns itself mainly with the workings of Newspeak, the official language of Oceania. In it, Orwell discusses how a certain extract from America' Declaration of Independence could not accurately be translated from Oldspeak into Newspeak. To keep the original sense of the passage and to be in line with The Party's policies, it would be fully translated into just one Newspeak word: crimethink. All the ideas expressed in the passage are contrary to the principles of Ingsoc (English Socialism, The Party's official social policy), and thus by definition, holding or considering any one of these ideas would be an act of Thoughtcrime. On the other hand, a literal translation of the passage would result in its entire sense being changed, into ideological praise of totalitarian governments. The words to translate it without losing its meaning simply do not exist in the Newspeak dictionary...
This section contains 526 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) |