
Full Answer
What is Newspeak and why is it bad?
The basic idea behind Newspeak is to basically erase all deeper meaning from language. The shades of language are gone, leaving only the most basic, black-and-white ideas for people to think, and, in turn, feel. For example, there is no 'bad,' because negative words are deleted from existence.
Where does the term Newspeak come from in 1984?
Newspeak Comes From 1984. The term "newspeak" was coined by George Orwell in his 1949 anti-utopian novel 1984. In Orwell's fictional totalitarian state, Newspeak was a language favored by the minions of Big Brother and, in Orwell's words, "designed to diminish the range of thought.". Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration...
What is the opposite of UN in Newspeak?
Newspeak has no antonyms, therefore the prefix "Un–" is used to indicate negation; the Standard-English word warm becomes uncold, and the moral concept communicated with the word bad is expressed as ungood.
What does the prefix unproceed mean in Newspeak?
When appended to a verb, the prefix "un–" communicates a negative imperative mood, thus, the Newspeak word unproceed means "do not proceed" in Standard English. "Plus–" is an intensifier that replaces more and the suffix –er; thus, plusgood replaced the English words great and better.

What does "free" mean in newspeak?
free – Meaning Negative freedom ( without) in a physical sense, only in statements like "This dog is free from lice", as the concepts of "political freedom" and "intellectual freedom" do not exist in Newspeak. full – (the adverb fullwise appears in the Records Department's written orders)
What is the use of speakwrites?
Speakwrites are also apparently able to record everything that is spoken into the device. telescreen – television and security camera-like devices used by the ruling Party in Oceania to keep its subjects under constant surveillance.
What is misprinting in politics?
misprints – Errors or mispredictions which need to be rectified in order to prove that the Party is always right. See malquoted above
What is doublethinking?
doublethink – the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct. duckspeak – Voicing political orthodoxies without thinking, lit. "to quack like a duck". equal – Only in the sense of physically equal, like equal height/size, etc.
What is the meaning of crimethink?
crimethink – Thoughtcrime, thoughts that are unorthodox or outside the official government platform (or the crime of thinking such thoughts) dayorder – Order of the day. doubleplusgood -Replaces excellent, best and benevolent. doubleplusungood - Replaces terrible and worst.
When was doublespeak coined?
Words incorrectly attributed to Orwell's Newspeak. doublespeak – often incorrectly attributed to Orwell, it was actually coined in the early 1950s, and does not appear in Nineteen Eighty-Four, but its meaning forms a natural parallel to the Newspeak word doublethink.
When was doubletalk popular?
doubletalk – predated Orwell's novel, becoming popular during the late 1930s and early 1940s, but usually written as separate words. groupthink – coined in 1952 by William H. Whyte. unmutual – coined in 1967 in an episode of The Prisoner.
What is the meaning of the word "newspeak"?
The word 'Newspeak' itself has also been used to refer to any government attempt to control thought with propaganda, or ideas that are advertised to make a group or person look good (or bad, depending on who's doing the advertising).
What is the idea behind newspeak?
The basic idea behind Newspeak is to basically erase all deeper meaning from language. The shades of language are gone, leaving only the most basic, black-and-white ideas for people to think, and, in turn, feel. For example, there is no 'bad,' because negative words are deleted from existence. So 'bad' becomes 'ungood.'.
Why was Newspeak created?
In the world of 1984, Newspeak was created by the totalitarian overlords of Oceania, with its fictional leader known as Big Brother, in order to actually limit free thought and free speech. In totalitarian governments, those in charge try to control every aspect of citizens' lives, even down to personal habits.
Why does newspeak change in the world of the novel?
This is because the powers that be constantly decide there are words that must be stopped, as those words allow individuals to exercise freedom of thought or freedom of speech.
What is Bellyfeel in Newspeak?
'Bellyfeel' is a perfect example. According to Orwell's 'Newspeak Dictionary appendix,' 'bellyfeel' implies a blind, enthusiastic, and casual acceptance.
Is 1984 still around?
1984 still resounds with audiences all around the world today, and some of the clearest ways it does so can be found in the relationship people still have with Newspeak. The novel itself is often referenced when people talk about government regulation or, most recently, wiretapping and data gathering by government organizations on its citizens.
Is there a dictionary for newspeak?
There's actually a for-real Newspeak dictionary, and Orwell also crafted an entire appendix at the end of the novel in order to fully explain this bizarre, but awesomely crafted language. Newspeak Lives On.
What is newspeak in the novel?
Richard Nordquist. Updated February 12, 2020. Newspeak is the deliberately ambiguous and contradictory language used to mislead and manipulate the public. (In this general sense, the term newspeak is usually not capitalized.) In George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949), Newspeak is the language devised by ...
What is the purpose of newspeak?
" Newspeak occurs whenever the main purpose of language--which is to describe reality--is replaced by the rival purpose of asserting power over it. . . . Newspeak sentences sound like assertions, but their underlying logic is the logic of the spell. They show the triumph of words over things, the futility of rational argument and also the danger of resistance."
What is Newspeak in the novel Nineteen Eighty Four?
In George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (published in 1949), Newspeak is the language devised by the totalitarian government of Oceania to replace English, which is called Oldspeak. Newspeak was designed, says Jonathan Green, "to shrink vocabularies and eliminate subtleties.".
How does Green's new newspeak differ from Orwell's newspeak?
Green discusses how the "new newspeak" differs in method and tone from Orwell's Newspeak: "Rather than shorten the language it is infinitely broadened; instead of curt monosyllables, there are mellifluous, calming phrases designed to allay suspicions, modify facts and divert one's attention from difficulties" ( Newspeak: A Dictionary of Jargon, 1984/2014).
Who said the axis of evil?
The Washington Post, December 19, 2010) Axis of Evil. " [C]onsider the now-famous phrase, 'axis of evil,' which was first used by President Bush in his January 29, 2002, State of the Union address. Bush characterized Iran, Iraq, and North Korea as an 'axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. . . .'.
What does "newspeak" mean?
disapproving : speech or writing that uses words in a way that changes their meaning especially to persuade people to think a certain way. See the full definition for newspeak in the English Language Learners Dictionary.
What is newspeak characterized by?
Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes. The word has caught on in general use to refer to confusing or deceptive bureaucratic jargon.
What is newspeak in politics?
In Orwell's fictional totalitarian state, Newspeak was a language favored by the minions of Big Brother and, in Orwell's words, "designed to diminish the range of thought." Newspeak was characterized by the elimination or alteration of certain words, the substitution of one word for another, the interchangeability of parts of speech, and the creation of words for political purposes. The word has caught on in general use to refer to confusing or deceptive bureaucratic jargon.
What is newspeak in history?
History and Etymology for newspeak. Newspeak, a language "designed to diminish the range of thought," in the novel 1984 (1949) by George Orwell. Keep scrolling for more.
What is newspeak in Orwell's world?
Blum, National Review, 12 Sep. 2019 Newspeak: ambiguous language, chiefly used to further political propoganda, the term newspeak is also the language of Oceania, a fictional totalitarian state ruled by the Party, in George Orwell’s world of Nineteen Eighty-Four. — Patrick May, The Mercury News, 17 May 2017
What is newspeak in Big Brother?
About Dystopian Fiction. Newspeak Dictionary. Newspeak Dictionary. Newspeak is a fictional language used in Nineteen Eight y-Fourby Big Brother and the Party. It is an altered English with restricted vocabulary used as a tool to limit freedom and thought.
What does "suspicious" mean?
A citizen being individualistic and solitary. This is regarded as suspicious.
What is thought police?
Thoughts not deemed acceptable by the Party. Monitored by the Thought Police.
How does Newspeak influence thought?
In George Orwell 's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the fictional language Newspeak attempts to influence thought by influencing the expressiveness of the English language .
What is crimethink in newspeak?
In keeping with the principles of Newspeak, all of the words listed here serve as both nouns and verbs; thus, crimethink is both the noun meaning "thoughtcrime" ...
What was Orwell's aim in Newspeak?
In the appendix to 1984, Orwell explains: Ultimately it was hoped to make articulate speech issue from the larynx without involving the higher brain centres at all. This aim was frankly admitted in the Newspeak word duckspeak ]. Like various words in the B vocabulary, duckspeak was ambivalent in meaning.
What chapter does Duckspeaker speak?
An example of a skillful duckspeaker in action is provided in the beginning of chapter 9, in which an Inner Party speaker is haranguing the crowd about the crimes of Eurasia when a note is passed into his hand; he does not stop speaking for a moment, or change his voice or manner, but (according to the changed party line) he now condemns the crimes of Eastasia, which is Oceania's new enemy.
What does it mean to blindly believe anything?
It represents the active process of rewriting the past, control of the past being a vital aspect of the Party's control over the present. The ability to blindly believe anything, regardless of its absurdity, can have different causes: respect for authority, fear, indoctrination, even critical laziness or gullibility.
Why is warm a negative prefix?
It is used as a prefix to make the word negative, since there are no antonyms in Newspeak. Therefore, for example, warm becomes uncold. It is often decided to keep the word which has a more unpleasant nuance to it when choosing which one of the antonyms should be kept in the process of diminishing vocabulary.
When was the word "doublespeak" coined?
Words incorrectly attributed to Orwell's Newspeak. The word doublespeak is often incorrectly attributed to Orwell. It was actually coined in the early 1950s, and does not appear in Nineteen Eighty-Four, but its meaning forms a natural parallel to the Newspeak word doublethink.

Overview
Grammar
Newspeak's grammar is greatly simplifed compared to English. It also has two "outstanding" characteristics: Almost completely interchangeable linguistic functions between the parts of speech (any word could function as a verb, noun, adjective, or adverb), and heavy inflectional regularity in the construction of usages and of words. Inflectional regularity means that most irregular words were replaced with regular words combined with prefixes and suffixes. For exam…
Orwell and Newspeak
Orwell was interested in linguistic questions and questions pertaining to the function and change of language. This can be seen in his essay "Politics and the English Language" (1946) as well as in the Appendix to Nineteen Eighty-Four. As in "Politics and the English Language", the perceived decline and decadence of the English Language is a central theme in Nineteen Eighty-Four and Newspeak. In the essay Orwell criticises standard English, with its perceived dying metaphors, p…
Principles
The political purpose of Newspeak is to eliminate the expression of the shades of meaning inherent in ambiguity and nuance from Oldspeak (Standard English). In order to reduce the language's function of communication, Newspeak uses concepts of simple construction, such as pleasure vs. pain and happiness vs. sadness. Additionally, goodthink and crimethink linguistically reinforce the State's totalitarian dominance of the people of Oceania. The Party's long-term goal …
List of Newspeak words
This is a list of Newspeak words known from the novel. It does not include words carried over directly from English with no change in meaning, nor does it include regular uses of the listed affixes (e.g. unbellyfeel) unless they are particularly significant.
The novel says that the Ministry of Truth uses a jargon "not actually Newspeak, but consisting largely of Newspeak words" for its internal memos. As many of the words in this list (e.g. "bb", "u…
See also
• 2 + 2 = 5
• Authoritarian socialism
• Glossary of Nazi Germany
• Groupthink
• Language and thought
Further reading
• Burgess, Anthony. Nineteen Eighty-Five. Boston: Little Brown & Co, 1978. ISBN 0-316-11651-3. Anthony Burgess discusses the plausibility of Newspeak.
• Green, Jonathon. Newspeak: a dictionary of jargon. London, Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985, 1984. ISBN 0-7102-0673-9.
• Klemperer, Victor. LTI - Lingua Tertii Imperii: Notizbuch eines Philologen.. Original German language editions.