Response to "Politics and the English Language" 2/5/2017

     In the essay "Politics and the English Language," George Orwell examines and criticizes the "bad," "ugly," and "inaccurate" use of the English language and how political writing/speech contributes to it. First explaining the common fallacies in the English language such as dying metaphors, verbal false limbs, pretentious diction, and meaningless words, Orwell then moves on to say that these things only cause the English language to become inflated with unnecessary words and phrases which in turn inhibits the clarity of the piece. One hypothetical example Orwell gives is of an English professor defending Russian totalitarianism. Clearly stating that the professor can not say, "I believe in killing off your opponents when you can get good results by doing so," Orwell instead proposed a more realistic response, "While freely conceding that the Soviet regime exhibits certain features which the humanitarian may be inclined to deplore, we must, I think, agree that a certain curtailment of the right to political opposition is an unavoidable concomitant of transitional periods, and that the rigors which the Russian people have been called upon to undergo have been amply justified in the sphere of concrete achievement." When compared to the shorter and simpler response, the longer one full of "fluff" seems to be the more sophisticated and socially accepted one. Although they essentially state the same thing in the end, since the second one consists of more words it loses its meaning and purpose. While the first one, shorter and more direct has a more powerful impact. Therefore, many politicians often use this approach when answering questions in order to avoid and direct the attention elsewhere. Still, even though Orwell considers this approach to be "inaccurate," I do think that it is necessary at times especially when trying to maintain peace, unity, and order within society. Nevertheless, I do find myself using words and phrases for other reasons. Specifically, I sometimes use words because it sounds "pretty." While I know that using big words does not necessarily make my writing more sophisticated, I still find my writing to be cluttered with jargon at times. All in all, it is clear that the English language is flawed, as "wrong" language spreads and more people use it, it becomes socially acceptable within society.