George Orwell
English essayist, journalist and novelist (1903 to 1950); author of Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm.
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What they believe
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Sloppy language makes foolish thoughts easier, and getting rid of bad writing habits lets you think more clearly.
It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly
orwellfoundation.comSaid 1 Apr 1946This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These one: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 6 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
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Sloppy language makes foolish thoughts easier, and getting rid of bad writing habits lets you think more clearly.
It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
Bad modern writing is gumming together ready-made strips of words someone else set in order, and its attraction is that it is easy.
It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug. The attraction of this way of writing is that it is easy.
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
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The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
Let the meaning choose the word, not the other way about: the worst thing a writer can do is surrender to words.
What is above all needed is to let the meaning choose the word, and not the other way about. In prose, the worst thing one can do with words is to surrender to them.
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
If you simplify your English, a stupid remark becomes obviously stupid, even to yourself.
If you simplify your English, you are freed from the worst follies of orthodoxy. You cannot speak any of the necessary dialects, and when you make a stupid remark its stupidity will be obvious, even to yourself.
Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) Said 1 Apr 1946
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