Job Discussion Forums

[The Voice Of Reason]

The word 'free' still existed in Newspeak, but it could only be used in such statements as ' This dog is free from lice' or 'This field is free from weeds'. It could not be used in its old sense of 'politically free' or 'intellectually free', since political and intellectual freedom no longer existed even as concepts, and were therefore of necessity nameless.

Newspeak was designed [...] to diminish the range of thought, and this purpose was indirectly assisted by cutting the choice of words down to a minimum.


Slender English / Dumbed-Down English / Deconstructive English / Newspeak would require the ridding of all the rich language that we�ve greedily gorged ourselves on, selected from our fat language menu, from the past, so as to secure our retardation of a future.

[WastedMiddleAge]

Orwell wrote
...any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.

[Politics and the English Language 1946]

To control a language you first need a socio-political standard by which to judge others. The poetry of my students' English communications over the years has taught me much , as has the intransigence of various native-speaker colleagues as to the 'wrongness' of their efforts.

[The Voice Of Reason]

The �struggle� for freedom of complexity of articulation against simplified language is in itself an abuse (of simplicity). This �struggle� needn�t be �aided� by any belief that language is, in any way, a natural (however meant) growth, but precisely for the safeguarding of the many-stringed instrument that is a language, which we use to shape our internal and external worlds, and which can be played with with dynamic subtly or simply simply.

The greatest reward is to know that one can speak and emit articulate sounds and utter words that describe things, events and emotions.
Camilo Jose Cela

[Steppenwolf]

The artificial creation of Simplynglish to suit the simply misunderstood communications needs of Chinese (i.e. foreigners) reminds me of the creation of Newsseak: an arbitrarily taken decree. A dictatorial fiat. In this instance - by lazy outsiders who want to be members of the worldwide English speaking community.

Why Chinglish and not Inlish? In ca. 30 years the Indians will outperform the Chinese economically; they already have a grown English version of their own. Will that be outlawed by Chinese veto at the UNO?

[vikdk]

[InTime]

Krashen's words are relevant:
Language acquisition occurs best when

[Steppenwolf]

Krashen seems tobe most misunderstood by his followers, blind and unreflecting adherents of his ideas. IT's not just the Chinese students who get an overdose on what you call "extrinsic" information (whatever that means - I don't understand it but I guess you are saying they get too much theorising, lecturing, the flour of the ravioli, not the meat that fills it). Why is it then that others pick upsomething useful from their overdose of "extrinsic" English instruction but not the Chinese? Maybe we should look at how the Chinese teach their stuff, not at how FTs do their job!@

[vikdk]

[InTime]

RE: Steppenwolfe's