List of Newspeak words
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four, the fictional language Newspeak attempts to influence thought by influencing the expressiveness of the English language.
Note: The word "doublespeak" is often incorrectly attributed to Orwell. It was actually coined in the early 1950s, and never actually appears in Nineteen Eighty-Four, but its meaning forms a natural parallel to the Newspeak word doublethink. The word groupthink, another word using a Newspeak-like pattern, was coined in 1952 by William H. Whyte.
Note that 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 "thought-crime" and the verb "to commit thoughtcrime". To form an adjective, one adds the suffix "-ful" (e.g. "crimethinkful"), and to form an adverb, "-wise" (e.g. "crimethinkwise").
Contents |
[edit] Bellyfeel
The word "bellyfeel" means a blind, enthusiastic acceptance of an idea.
The word likely comes from the idea that any good Oceanian should be able to internalize Party doctrine to the extent that it becomes a gut instinct - a feeling in the belly.
| Consider, for example, such a typical sentence from a Times leading article as "Oldthinkers unbellyfeel Ingsoc." The shortest rendering one could make of this in Oldspeak would be: "Those whose ideas were formed before the Revolution cannot have a full emotional understanding of the principles of English Socialism." But this is not an adequate translation. ... Only a person thoroughly grounded in Ingsoc could appreciate the full force of the word bellyfeel, which implied a blind, enthusiastic acceptance difficult to imagine today. |
[edit] Blackwhite
Blackwhite is defined as follows:
| ...this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it means the habit of impudently claiming that black is white, in contradiction of the plain facts. Applied to a Party member, it means a loyal willingness to say that black is white when Party discipline demands this. But it means also the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which really embraces all the rest, and which is known in Newspeak as doublethink. |
An understanding of the word 'blackwhite' is important to understanding Nineteen Eighty-Four because it embodies several of the essential themes of the novel. It is both an example of Newspeak and doublethink. Perhaps more important however is that the word 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. Orwell's blackwhite refers only to that caused by fear, indoctrination or repression of one's individual critical thinking ("to know black is white"), rather than caused by laziness or gullibility.
[edit] Crimethink
Crimethink is the Newspeak word for "thoughtcrime" (thoughts that are unorthodox, or are outside the official government platform), as well as the verb "to commit thoughtcrime". Goodthink, which is approved by the Party, is the opposite of crimethink.
In the book, Winston Smith, the main character, writes in his diary:
| Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime IS death. |
"Crimethink" has been adopted by an anarchist collective, who call themselves CrimethInc.
[edit] Duckspeak
Duckspeak is a Newspeak term meaning literally to quack like a duck or to speak without thinking. Duckspeak can be either good or ungood (bad), depending on who is speaking, and whether what they are saying is in following with the ideals of Big Brother. To be speaking rubbish and lies (ungood), or to be speaking rubbish and lies for the good of "The Party" (good).
Syme, who works on the Newspeak Dictionary, tells Winston:
| There is a word in Newspeak, I don't know whether you know it: duckspeak, to quack like a duck. It is one of those interesting words that have two contradictory meanings. Applied to an opponent, it is abuse; applied to someone you agree with, it is praise. |
[edit] Goodsex and sexcrime
Goodsex is any form of sex considered acceptable by the Party; specifically, this refers only to sex within marriage, not for pleasure, and for the exclusive purpose of providing new children for the Party. All other forms of sex are considered sexcrime.
[edit] Ownlife
Ownlife refers to the tendency to enjoy being solitary, which is considered subversive. Winston Smith comments that even to go for a walk by oneself can be regarded as suspicious.
[edit] Unperson
Unperson is a person who had been "vaporized"; who has been not only killed by the state, but effectively erased from existence. Such a person would be written out of existing books, photographs, and articles so that no trace of their existence could be found in the historical record. The idea is that such a person would, according to the principles of doublethink, be forgotten completely (for it would be impossible to provide evidence of their existence), even by close friends and family members, and mentioning his/her name is thoughtcrime. (The concept that the person may have existed at one time, and has disappeared, cannot be expressed in Newspeak.) Compare to the Stalinist practice of erasing people from photographs after their death.
A similar punishment, damnatio memoriae, was used in the Roman Empire. The Soviet Union also provided real-world examples of unpersons in its treatment of Leon Trotsky and other members of the Communist party who became politically inconvenient. In his 1960 magazine article "Pravda means 'Truth'", reprinted in Expanded Universe, Robert A. Heinlein argued that John Paul Jones and a mysterious May 15, 1960 cosmonaut had also received this treatment.
[edit] See also
[edit] Other Newspeak words
- Crimestop
- Doubleplusgood
- Doubleplusungood
- Doublethink
- Equal (meaning of equal size, looks, etc. It does not mean politically equal, since there is no such concept in Ingsoc)
- Facecrime (an indication that a person is guilty of thoughtcrime based on their facial expression)
- Free (only in statements like "This dog is free from lice.") The concepts of "political freedom" and "intellectual freedom" do not exist in Newspeak.
- Goodsex (chastity): In Oceania the only purpose of sexual interaction or mating is the creation of new party members.
- Goodthink
- Ingsoc: English Socialism.
- Miniluv : "Ministry of Love" (torture and secret police)
- Minipax : "Ministry of Peace" (Ministry of War)
- Minitrue : "Ministry of Truth" (propaganda and rewriting history)
- Miniplen: "Ministry of Plenty" (keeping the population in a state of constant economic hardship)
- Oldspeak (English; any language that is not Newspeak)
- Oldthink
- Plusgood
- Plusungood
- Prolefeed
[edit] External links
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | |
|---|---|
| By George Orwell | |
| Characters | Winston Smith | Julia | O'Brien | Big Brother | Emmanuel Goldstein |
| Places | Oceania | Eastasia | Eurasia | Airstrip One | Room 101 |
| Classes | Inner Party | Outer Party | Proles |
| Ministries | Ministry of Love | Ministry of Peace | Ministry of Plenty | Ministry of Truth |
| Concepts | Ingsoc | Newspeak | Doublethink | Goodthink | Crimestop Two plus two | Thoughtcrime | Prolefeed | Prolesec |
| Miscellaneous | Thought Police | Telescreen | Memory hole | The Book Newspeak words | Two Minutes Hate | Hate week |
| Adaptations | 1956 film | 1984 film | 1953 TV programme | 1954 TV programme Opera |
| Parody | Me and the Big Guy
|
