Language and Community in Orwell's Anglo-India and in 1984.
Abstract
What specifically separates a formulaic phrase from a considered phrase, the language of instinct from the language of intellect? They share a similar grammar and appear in the same dictionary. In perhaps the most politically significant phase of Politics and the English Language, Orwell replaces formulaic phraseology with its social equivalent, suggesting that in orthodox writing substance and style are linked inseparably: Orthodoxy, of whatever colour, seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style. The orthodox writer must use formulaic language; he must express the insightful, forceful probe Orwell advocates in his essay, he will no longer be orthodox. Put another way, the incentive writer will lose membership in a club: the one composed of orthodox people. Formulaic language, the kind most inimical to objective judgement, has a predominantly communal, not referential purpose.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1986
- Accession Number
- ADA169572
Entities
People
- Anthony W. Harriman