Comparing Orwell's Politics And Language

Just as evolution has taken place in animals over the decades and causing many species to arise. Language has also evolved and changed over the years to fit different means of society. I argue that nowadays modern English is vague and not really used effectively by not only individuals but also politicians. Language nowadays lacks meaning and imagery and instead consist of words and phrases that are attached together. In “Politics and Language” by George Orwell, he also argues that the language utilized by political parties is vague and incompetent language is used to remain abstract to the listener or reader. This is shown when Orwell states, "The mixture of vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English

He states the old English sentence, “I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is now swift, nor the battle to the … " (Orwell 2614). In modern English, he states it translates to, "Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure …" (Orwell, 2614). Compared to the modern English translation the old English example had more words and fewer syllables. However, in the modern English translation, eighteen of those words were found to be of Latin or Greek origin. Due to this, Orwell claims that nowadays English does not consist of words used to create images to have a clearer meaning nor for their meaning. In 2016, during the USA presidential elections, Donald Trump would often use the catchphrase “ Make America Great Again” (The Odyssey Online). This phrase lacks to create a specific image in the minds of the audience. The adjective great is very vague and does not provide any direct meaning to the audience other than creating a thought of a generally positive way of things occurring if Trump becomes president. The purpose of writing the way one does in the modern day is because it is easier. Since phrases already exist for individuals and one does not have to think of words or phrases that have meaning or can convey mental images. This makes the meaning of texts not only abstract to the audience but abstract to ourselves and inhibits us from understanding not normal messages but also political messages that influence the public