Tatiana Sosa

12.14.17
8th Period

What side of the debate around Politically Correct Language

Would Orwell be on?

Politically correct language is the idea of how we describe language, policies, or

measures that are aimed to avoid offense to a person or a group of some sort. And with that, I
believe Orwell would disagree with Politically correct language because he is against the idea of
being controlled and told how to speak and how to go about things. In the book ​1984​ By George
Orwell, he makes the main character, Winston, stand strong by the idea that a society should n
be controlled language and action wise.
In ​1984​ By George Orwell, they are brought up in a society where there was a totalitarian
government in Oceania controlling the people’s thoughts, opinions and actions. Given that
George Orwell wrote the book, he made Winston disagree with how the government was going
about things. He himself knew the dark truths the government seemed to be hiding from the
people of Oceania. Apart from the dark truths, he noticed how little by little, the language
Oceania’s people used was starting to be controlled and change drastically as well. “-- Don’t you
see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end, we shall make
thoughtcrime literally impossible, because there will be no words in which to express it. Every
concept that can be needed will be expressed by exactly ​one​ word, with its meaning rigidly
defined and all its subsidiary meanings rubbed out and forgotten. --- Every year fewer and fewer
words, and then range of consciousness always a little smaller” (Orwell 52). What it being said
can easily describe how Oceania is and prove that the people are being controlled on how to talk.
Winston doesn’t like that, however. He feels that the party has too much control. In an
article called ​Control the language, control the masses​ by Pieter Vree, it states, “The controller
of language controls the masses by redefining or, in some cases, limiting the very thoughts in
their heads. George Orwell explored this theme to great effect in his novel 1984. The totalitarian
government of Oceania, in order to rein in dissent and advance its peculiar form of socialism,
pared down the English language, reducing it to an attenuated version of its former glory. This
new form is simply called Newspeak”. Orwell would agree strongly with the point Vree makes
because Vree is stating that whoever is controlling the language, is the one that controls
everything else which is how Orwell makes Winston feel throughout ​1984.​ Apart from Vree’s
point, in a documentary called, ​P.C Language control and The Rise of the Third Reich, ​r made
by Natural news founder / editor Mike Adams, it says, “​Adams makes a compelling case in
comparing the current state of affairs in the United States – where politically correct language
control is increasingly being used to create division and establish ​control​ – to the political
climate in pre-WWII Germany, where P.C. language control was used by the Nazis to
accomplish the ​exact same thing​”. Even today, there are signs of the people being controlled by
politically correct language. Orwell preceives Oceania to be divided up due to the control that the
party has and it is another thing that Winston does not favor.
With that, Orwell would stand strong and disagree with politically correct language
because he makes it known that he feels it is a way of the government or whoever has power,
control the people’s ideas, opinions, actions and most importantly, language. The same way he
shows how Winston feels, could be his way of showing his side and opinion on being controlled
or more specifically, politically correct language.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. ​1984​. Penguin Books USA Inc., 1950.

“Politically Correct Language 'Control' Is a Danger to Society ... Has Led to Genocide of

Millions.” ​NaturalNews​,

www.naturalnews.com/055501_Third_Reich_PC_speech_Health_Ranger_documentary.ht

ml​.