Miles Klosek
Dr.Davis
Dual English 112 - 4A
21 February 2026
1984 assignment
If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
In 1984, the party understood this completely and used it as a tool of control. Because
they are creating a way to control language, they would soon be able to rule over the minds of
the people in Oceania. The entire point of Newsepak is not to completely silence citizens but to
take away the ability to create ideas that challenge the government of Oceania. While the
government is slowly shrinking the vocabulary, your ability to think goes with it. Without the
words to describe freedom, anger, or resistance, those concepts and thoughts slowly disappear.
This is exactly why Syme and the party are pushing for the implementation of Newspeak. The
quicker they are able to restrict language, the sooner thought and rebellion comes impossible.
Within 1984, newspeak came to life for one main reason: to shrink the way that people
are able to think and communicate. By slowly removing words that are used to express
themselves, their personality, or strong emotions, the party is able to limit what people are
actually able to think about. If there are no words like “hate” or “freedom,” then those ideas
become nearly impossible to form. Language shapes thoughts, so by controlling language, the
party controls everything around it. Syme said it perfectly, “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.” -52 When people are unable to express
themselves because the vocabulary does not exist, it creates an environment that the government
strives for. Preventing rebellion, through crime, and anything that could threaten the party's
control. You are also able to limit emotional intelligence for example, “If you have a word like
‘good’, what need is there for a word like ‘bad’? ‘Ungood’ will do just as well” -51 Because of
this simplification or emotion in Newspeak, it removes any need for improved surveillance as
well, because there are no words related to rebellion there is no way for the people to rebel.
Taking a step beyond the simplification of vocabulary in order to limit the people, the
party is also creating new words that break the logic of the citizens, like ‘Doublethink’ and
‘thought crime.’ These slogans create an environment that is black and white, limiting anyone
outside of the party from seeing the true color and what is happening around them. Given the fact
that the junior youth league and the junior spies are already groups that watch and monitor
outside of government systems like telescreens, people are already on edge. But now they have a
new vocabulary to worry about, and not fall under. This makes anyone outside of the party watch
themselves even harder so that they don't get vaporized. Language is one of the things that the
party uses to point each member in the right direction. Within the Ministry of Truth, “You had
nothing to guide you except your knowledge of principles of INGSOC and your estimate of what
the party wanted you to say” -43 by the party controlling what was allowed to be said, they were
constantly rewriting history. Continuing to update Newspeak as they tried to remove the past and
beat the future, because if the people realized that they were slowly being repressed, they would
need to speak up. But without having the words to explain malice towards the party, they were
too late. When language is able to change the past, the present becomes a place where no one can
escape.
Ultimately the goal of the party by changing and monitoring language in 1985 is to
completely prevent individuals from making their own identity and making it impossible to
rebel. As oldspeak becomes more and more restricted and turns into newspeak. People lose the
ability to think independently or express genuine emotion, reducing them to bodies that are filled
with party ideology. This is most clearly shown through a concept of ‘Duckspeak’ which shows
the final stages of linguistic control; it is seen as syme says as “a harsh gabble almost like the
quacking of a duck.” -50 At this point, the people outside of the party are no longer thinking
humans. But tools that repeat only know what the party has taught them. This extreme control
over language shows the deeply developed authoritarian nature of the party, where obedience is
not enough and complete mental and physical control is needed for the party to deal in power.
The party simply wants to erase the language needed to express love, hate, or anything in
between. Winston said himself “He had an almost overwhelming sensation to shout a string of
filthy words at the top of his voice” -63 but didn't because he was afraid of the repercussions of
the party, for someone was bound to be listening. But once Newspeak is fully implemented he
will have no words to describe these emotions because they will slowly disappear, leaving and
never coming back. What Newspeak does is it turns ordinary people into hollow versions of who
they once were, incapable of imagining a life or bringing something outside of the party's
control.
In 1984 language was something more than just a way to communicate, it's the party's
most powerful weapon on the home front. By reshaping words, limiting vocabulary, and creating
ideas that will destroy logic and the person's ability to express themselves. The Party is able to
completely control how people think and act. Newspeak does more than just prevent rebellion; it
removes everyone's ability to properly process emotion and independent thought altogether. As
language fades, so do ideas, humanity, and the ability to recognize one's self. This is exactly what
the party wants. Once people lose the words to resist, they lose the ability to resist at all.