In the essay Politics and the English Language from the book What Orwell Didn't Know he says that the English language is poor because our thoughts are foolish. Orwell gives 6 rules on what not to do. Orwell also states that language should be simple instead of using big complicated words use simple words that people can understand. He also states that if your going to use a metaphor or a simile do not use one that is always used like "toe the line". He gives examples of how bad our language is. We try so hard to sound smart that the meaning is lost.
I like this article even though it was hard to read. I like the idea that we use simple language instead of complicated terms you have to look up in the dictionary. I also found the rules helpful because by following these rules things will be much simpler to understand and people will enjoy reading different varieties of readings.
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I agree, I like how Orwell wants us to use simpler language. I could see how Orwell says that the English language is poor from the examples he gives, but I would have never realized that before.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to learn that he believes simple language is better. Especially because it seems as if we have been taught the opposite by all our teachers. They all encourage us to use bigger words. I do understand how people could get easly lost when people only use big words and how that confuses people.I too would agree that simple english is better.
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