History Main / Newspeak

{{NewSpeak}} is a [[{{Fictionary}} fictive language]] invented by GeorgeOrwell for the novel ''NineteenEightyFour.'' Newspeak was the official language of Oceania, and the members of the Outer Party were encouraged to think and converse in Newspeak.

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now [[LanguageEqualsThought discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of [[AirstripOne Oceania]]. Its constructions are similar to {{Esperanto}} (Ungood/Malbona) and other compounding languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that Newspeak would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

Neologisms that are based on Newspeak syntax but not coined by Orwell have also appeared, the most notable being ''[[TooManyCooks groupthink]]'' (describing a group thought process where everybody is going along with everybody else and no one is thinking critically). [[LifeImitatesArt Frighteningly often]] such words are coined in political/media circles (and the [[MemeticMutation Internet]]). For instance, ''[[FromACertainPointOfView doublespeak]]'' has retained its Orwellian connotations, even though [[BeamMeUpScotty he never said it]].

Some Orwellian phrases have been replaced by modern equivalents; ''bellyfeel'' never caught on, [[PerfectlyCromulentWord despite the usefulness]] of a word to describe "that which is calculated to give a positive gut reaction", possibly because it sounds childish and begs to be used literally. The appearance of ''[[StephenColbert truthiness]]'', which contains the same meaning (that Orwell intended, not Ingsoc) and ''mouthfeel'' which ''does'' literally mean "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin how a piece of food feels in the diner's mouth]]" in the past decade have probably ended ''bellyfeel'''s chances.

!!''{{Newspeak}} [[{{Works}} Exampleswork]]'' - (variations of newspeak appear in the following works):

* ''{{Wikipedia}}''.
--> ''[[WeaselWords Some argue]]'' that this ''[[{{Fandom}} notable]]'' [[{{MMORPG}} free encyclopedia]] spawned enough of Newspeak to qualify as a separate dialect. More [[{{Google}} research]] ([[ViewersAreMorons not to be confused]] with ''[[DumbIsGood Original Research]]'') is needed to [[AllBlueEntry tell]] whether [[CaptainObvious it is so]].
--> More 1984-ian: [[http://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=badsite+site%3Awikipedia.org badsite]], [[http://www.google.com/search?safe=off&q=wikilove+site%3Awikipedia.org wikilove]], and now ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiCrime WikiCrime]]''.
--> [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:1984 Speaking of which...]]

Strictly speaking, neither German nor Russian is an agglutinative language. The difference between them and English is one of spelling, that in German a compound is written as one word ("Physiklehrer") while in English it is written as two ("physics teacher"). Russian in fact often will use a combination of "(noun-derived) adjective + noun" where German and English use "noun + noun" compounds. The feature that Orwell imitated in Newspeak was a way of combining clipped elements of different words into one, because that became very pronounced in the language used by the Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes. However, linguistically speaking they are not that different from {{portmanteau}} words (e. g. "brunch") or acronyms pronounced as words (e. g. "radar") and such constructions were freely, if less frequently, used before, after and apart from the two totalitarian regimes.

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now [[LanguageEqualsThought discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other compounding languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that Newspeak would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

Strictly speaking, neither German nor Russian is an agglutinative language. The difference between them and English is one of spelling, that in German a compound is written as one word ("Physiklehrer") while in English it is written as two ("physics teacher"). Russian in fact often will use a combination of "(noun-derived) adjective + noun" where German and English use "noun + noun" compounds. The feature that Orwell imitated in Newspeak was a way of combining clipped elements of different words into one, because that became very pronounced in the language used by the Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes. However, linguistically speaking they are not that different from portmanteau words (e. g. "brunch") or acronyms pronounced as words (e. g. "radar") and such constructions were freely, if less frequently, used before, after and apart from the two totalitarian regimes.

As noted above, many features of Newspeak are in fact similar to the features of real life compounding languages, including German and Russian, but also many Native American languages. This gave Newspeak a certain "[[BlackSpeech totalitarian flavor]]" at a time when both Germany and Russia had totalitarian governments. However, this point may look anachronistic today, and the theory that there is a connection between language and social behavior has mostly been discredited (after all, the same country can go through many different government types, totalitarian or not, without changing its language). Also, this makes Newspeak especially difficult to portray in a translation of NineteenEightyFour into a language that is already agglutinative. If the word for "evil" in your native language is already something like "ungood", translators will have a hard time coming up with a Newspeak version of it.

!!'''{{NewSpeak}} ''[[{{Tropes}} Examplestrope]]'' (contains examples of):'''

->[+'''{{NewSpeak}} ''[[{{Tropes}} othertropes]]'' (contains examples of):'''+]

->[+'''{{NewSpeak}} ''[[{{Tropes}} extropes]]'' (contains examples of):'''+]

->[+'''{{NewSpeak}} ''[[{{Tropes}} putropes]]'' (contains examples of):'''+]

As noted above, many features of Newspeak are in fact similar to the features of real life compounding languages, including German and Russian, but also many Native American languages. This gave Newspeak a certain "[[BlackSpeech totalitarian flavor]]" at a time when both Germany and Russia had totalitarian governments. However, this point may look anachronistic today, and the theory that there is a connection between language and social behavior has been discredited (after all, the same country can go through many different government types, some totalitarian and some not, without changing its language). Also, this makes Newspeak especially difficult to portray in a translation of NineteenEightyFour into a language that is already agglutinative. If the word for "evil" in your native language is already something like "ungood", translators will have a hard time coming up with a Newspeak version of it.

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now discredited) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is [[LanguageEqualsThought also controversial]]), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other compounding languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that Newspeak would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now [[LanguageEqualsThought discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other compounding languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that Newspeak would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

* ''TheSimpsons'': In one of the [[HalloweenEpisode Treehouse Of Horror]] specials, Homer's tampering with time creates an Orwellian Springfield with Ned Flanders as Big Brother: "Heidely-ho, slaverinos!" That's right. They Flanderized NewSpeak.

Neologisms that are based on Newspeak syntax but not coined by Orwell have also appeared, the most notable being ''[[TooManyCooks groupthink]]'' (a shorthand of the results of committee thinking). [[LifeImitatesArt Frighteningly often]] such words are coined in political/media circles (and the [[MemeticMutation Internet]]). For instance, ''[[FromACertainPointOfView doublespeak]]'' has retained its Orwellian connotations, even though [[BeamMeUpScotty he never said it]].

** That's one side of it. The other is the fact that due to the Giver system, a great deal of the very concepts of the old world (stavation, war, etc) have been or are in the process of being completely scrubbed out of the collective consciousness this way almost passively. ReleasedToElsewhere is a prime example: it is a DeadlyEuphemism that nobody save the Giver even KNOWS is a euphemism because they have ceased to have virtually any concept of death. Which means that the authorities that order it and the doctors that preform it likely [[FridgeHorror probably don't realize the full ramifications of what they are doing.]] In short: [[UpToEleven NewSpeak so powerful even those that mandate it and enforce it can't circumvent it.]] [[ParanoiaFuel Care to imagine the kind of psychological tampering THAT would require?]]

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now [[LanguageEqualsThought discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other compounding languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that {{NewSpeak}} would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

Orwell provided [[{{Fictionary}} an appendix]] discussing the features of the language in the novel. The appendix, ostensibly from an unspecified time after the events of the novel, written in Standard English and speaking of [=NewSpeak=], the Party, and Oceania in the past tense, implies that [[NewSpeak NewSpeak]] is no longer in general use.

* [[TheIndexIsWatchingYou Conspiracy Tropes]]
* [[YouWouldNotWantToLiveInDex Dystopia Tropes]]
* [[HelpHelpThisIndexIsBeingRepressed Oppression Tropes]]

As noted above, many features of Newspeak are in fact similar to the features of real life agglutinative languages, including German and Russian, but also many Native American languages. This gave Newspeak a certain "[[BlackSpeech totalitarian flavor]]" at a time when both Germany and Russia had totalitarian governments. However, this point may look anachronistic today, and the theory that there is a connection between language and social behavior has been discredited (after all, the same country can go through many different government types, some totalitarian and some not, without changing its language). Also, this makes Newspeak especially difficult to portray in a translation of NineteenEightyFour into a language that is already agglutinative. If the word for "evil" in your native language is already something like "ungood", translators will have a hard time coming up with a Newspeak version of it.

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the (now [[LanguageEqualsThought discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other agglutinative languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that {{NewSpeak}} would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.

Strictly speaking, neither German nor Russian is an agglutinative language. The difference between them and English is one of spelling, that in German a compound is written as one word ("Physiklehrer") while in English it is written as two ("physics teacher"). Russian in fact often will use a combination of "(noun-derived) adjective + noun" where German and English use "noun + noun" compounds. The feature that Orwell imitated in Newspeak was a way of combining clipped elements of different words into one, because that became very pronounced in the language used by the Nazi and Soviet Communist regimes. However, linguistically speaking they are not that different from portmanteau words (e. g. "brunch") or acronyms pronounced as words (e. g. "radar").

The goal of Newspeak was essentially the destruction of words, especially synonyms and antonyms, and to render language instinctively euphemistic, so as to suppress any possibility of rebellion against the party. Based on the ([[LanguageEqualsThought now discredited]]) strong form of the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapir-Whorf_hypothesis Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis]] (the weak form is also controversial), it was intended to be a psychological and linguistic RestrainingBolt on the population of Oceania. Its constructions are similar to Esperanto (Ungood/Malbona) and other agglutinative languages (such as German). Contraction conventions from historical totalitarian regimes were also incorporated, resulting in words like "Ingsoc" which are similar in construction to "Comintern" and "Gestapo". Acronyms are used extensively. The Party predicted (or propagandized) that {{NewSpeak}} would completely supplant English by 2050. Every edition of the Newspeak Dictionary was ''smaller'' than its predecessor.