From one piece Politics and the English Language (Horizon, April 1946) 6 beliefs · orwellfoundation.com
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korrents.com
If you simplify your English, a stupid remark becomes obviously stupid, even to yourself.Their words
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.
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korrents.com
Let the meaning choose the word, not the other way about: the worst thing a writer can do is surrender to words.Their 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.
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korrents.com
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.Their words
The great enemy of clear language is insincerity.
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Their words
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.
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Their words
But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.
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korrents.com
Sloppy language makes foolish thoughts easier, and getting rid of bad writing habits lets you think more clearly.Their words
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