In George Orwell’s essay on “Politics and the English Language,” he explains how Modern English has developed bad writing habits that continue to spread. He urges writers to take the necessary steps in preventing those bad habits from reflecting in their own writings; allowing a more accurate understanding. Orwell argues that the English language has evolved into writings that leave the reader unclear of what is being said through the use of similes, metaphors and long “ready-made phrases.”
I agree with Orwell’s argument about the overuse of metaphors, similes, “ready-made phrases” and long drawn out sentences with alternate meanings. I do not recall a particular example, however, I remember times when I have read information and by the end of the sentence I was so confused I couldn’t remember the beginning. I would always blame my lack of understanding on my lack of college education. Thinking back about those times it makes me wonder if my lack of understanding was simply my lack of education or the writer’s use of the bad habits Orwell mentioned.
Though I agree that politics has played an important role in the evolvement of the English language, I would like to present another possibility as well. What if writers aren’t simply imitating the bad habits they view in other writer’s papers, but actually taught to write this way? Although I was always taught to express my thoughts clearly in high school, I was also taught that the use of a good simile could be very effective. Maybe the bad habits that Orwell wrote about in his essay began in politics, but suppose now this is simply the way we are teaching and being taught to write. I understand that the writings we complete in high school are far less intellectual than the papers we complete in college, but doesn’t the way we learn to write in high school lay the foundation for college? The bad habits of writing that Orwell wrote about may have been taught without an understanding that they teaching a bad habit. We see from Orwell’s examples that many profound authors include these bad habits in their writings and we can assume that if they were aware they were writing using bad habits that they would change their wording.
Perhaps if we want to see the English language restored, then we should make sure that our educators are aware that the bad habits Orwell wrote about are bad habits and should not be taught as a way of writing.
In response to this well written entry, I wholeheartedly agree with some of your assessments. I believe the writing ability of future generations will continue to deteriorate as we start to include text language in dictionaries: http://www.mobiledia.com/news/85278.html
ReplyDeleteI also agree that our educational institutions bear some responsibility for the decline. In their defense (somewhat), teachers are at times crippled by the administration they answer to and the standards set by those administrators. Parents also should have to answer for the level of their children’s ability to communicate in writing. Living in the Pacific Northwest, I've been appalled at the extent to which some parents go to defend their children's right to be average, and defend them when caught cheating. It seems that the trend nowadays is to lower standards if the students are struggling, instead of finding ways to usher the students to a higher level of learning. If students are graded only on their thoughts and ideas and not also on how they present their ideas, are we not contributing to the decline?