Exam prep instructions
EXAM PREP BLOG INSTRUCTIONS
Each week I will post 5 terms that have been discussed in our course. You are responsible for writing responses for 2 of them (ie. 2 per week). Write your responses as if you were writing the answers for an exam. Post your responses in the comments section under the appropriate term. Please try to have your responses posted before your tutorial begins on Monday/Tuesday.
If you cannot access the comments section to post your response, you must email me and I will send you an invite to the blog.
Participating in this exercise will account for 30% of your final participation grade. I will be posting 5 terms/week over the next 6 weeks, so by posting an adequate response for 2 terms will earn you 5%/week.
If you have any questions, please email me at jhandreae@gmail.com
This exam prep exercise in no way guarantees that all or any of these terms will appear on the final exam. You are responsible for familiarizing yourself will all of the terms relevant to this course.
Doublespeak is when one believes in two contradicting thoughts simultaneously. When one contrasts any two opposing thoughts, these thoughts will stand out or somehow become inflated language. Inflated language is when language is designed to make everyday life impressive. George Orwell opposed the idea of politicians who use muddled language. These politicians would deliberately try to be vague or confuse their language in order promote their specific ideologies in a subtle way. For example, politicians may manipulate an important connection between an image or a word that the general population would understand. Orwell also believes in the way language can corrupt thought; thus everything is political. Doublespeak is almost a satirical view on anyone who is mindless enough to believe in two different thoughts at the same time.
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ReplyDeleteDoublespeak is defined as a mixture of Newspeak and Doublethink. Newspeak is the language that is promoted in 1984 - this language is constraining and limiting. For example, synonyms and antonyms are non-existent in this language in order to limit self-expression and freedom of thoughts. Doublethink is the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously and accepting both of them. This is shown in 1984, when Winston had to help convince everyone that even though the chocolate ration amount was decreasing, it was really increasing. Therefore, doublespeak is a language that is ambiguous and disguises the true nature of what one is saying. As Jodie referenced, doublespeak is used by politicians who use the language to subtly manipulate their audience.
ReplyDeleteDoublespeak is discourse that is highly used in politics, and is one that purposely distorts, disguises, or reverses the meaning of words in order to make the truth sound better than it actually is. It is a way for people to knowingly or unconsciously lie and get away with it. It derives from the terms ‘newspeak’ and ‘doublethink,’ which were both popularized by George Orwell’s novel 1984. Newspeak is a controlled language that is created by the totalitarian state, and it prevents the citizens living in it from individuality, self-expression, and freedom. This, in turn, limits the citizen’s freedom of thought. Doublethink is when people simultaneously accept that two mutually contradictory beliefs are correct, mainly in certain social environments. It is a part of newspeak, as it prevents the citizens of the totalitarian state from becoming aware of any conflict or contradictions; it is a form of brainwashing. By involving factors from both doublethink and newspeak, politicians deliberately use doublespeak as a means of attracting potential followers and audiences. The language allows politicians to get away with fabricating details, as it is used to manipulate and sway the opinions and views of audiences by disguising the truth. Even though it was not used in Orwell’s 1984, the term ‘doublespeak’ most likely may have rooted from it.
ReplyDeleteDoublespeak is a language that disguises and distorts the meaning of words to make the truth sound more pleasing. Doublespeak takes on the form of euphemisms. The definition derives from two words from George Orwell's 1984. 'Doublethink' is the power of holding two contradicting beliefs in one mind's simultaneously and agreeing with both of them. In regards to the novel, it's the only way a semi realist could survive in that society. It was the only way to stay sane. It was knowing one own's thoughts were correct, however to stay alive one had to keep the notion of what Big Brother preached, and/or that 2+2=5. 'Newspeak' was designed to diminish thought by cutting down the number of words to a minimum, leaving the individual with a certain amount of intellect. The goal was to simplify old thought, eliminate crime thinking, which would eventually leave them thinking their citizens would not make the wrong choices, and follow order. The combination of both terms, is used in politics as a way of gaining followers and attracting members by using what they want to hear. Although, it was not coined by Orwell, it seems to have stemmed from these two terms, which makes the term very political and a way to use language against individuals own thoughts, and opinions.
ReplyDeleteDouble Speak is a term coined by William Lutz to describe the type of speech in which people attempt to cover up the true meanings of their words. (For example, “He’s not with us anymore” instead of “He died”). This language is used frequently by the media and by politicians in order to appeal to a greater audience. This language is intentionally ambiguous in order to distort meanings. It includes euphemism, jargon, “gobbledegook,” and inflated language. We discussed this term during our Politics of Language lecture where we studied Orwell and Tan’s essays, and also when discussing Stephen Poole who pointed out that when language is deliberately confusing, words become weapons.
ReplyDeleteA term affiliated with George Orwell's 1984, Doublespeak is a term that refers to language that disguises, distorts, or reverses the meaning of words. Doublespeak is also known to take the form of euphemisms. However, the primary purpose of the term is to make the truth of a meaning sound more palpatable. For example, the term "servicing the target" would refer to the act of bombing. Double speak also refers to intentional ambiguity in language or ro the inversions of meanings. As referenced in Orwell's 1984, the state of war may be referred to as "
ReplyDeletepeace."
Doublespeak refers to a combination of two terms: newspeak and doublethink, coined by William Lutz after Orwell’s book: 1984. Newspeak is a type of language that restricts individuals from the freedom of thought, self-expression, individuality, and peace. Doublethink is when individuals can agree with and consider two contradictory ideas correct at the same time. In 1984, doublethink and newspeak were used to keep order in the society. With both of these terms combined, doublespeak therefore employs euphemisms, jargon, gobbledygook, and inflated language to create an ambiguous idea of what the speaker really means. For example, we often refer to an average person who makes coffee at Starbucks as a “barista” so that it sounds more extravagant and pleasing. Another example for doublespeak is using the term “ethnic cleansing” instead of “genocide”. “Cleansing” and “Genocide” are two separate and contradicting things; yet mean the same thing except one disguises the actual unpleasant reality of thousands of people being mass-murdered.
ReplyDeleteEssentially double speak refers to the action of possessing two opposing beliefs and accepting them both equally as the truth. In the novel introduced in this course called “1984” by George Orwell, double speak or doublethink is another way that the totalitarian state controls its citizens. Citizens are lead to believe that following doublethink is the only way to live in this world because of all the contradictions. An example of doublethink in the novel is in regards to the chocolate rations. In both cases when the ration went up or down, the people help both the contradicting beliefs that chocolate rations going up was pleasant, and so was it going down. As well as doublethink, New Speak is form of the English language in the novel where vocabulary is drastically simplified. Even if the citizens wanted to communicate the contradictions of doublethink, for instance, New Speak prevents them from having the vocabulary to do to.
ReplyDeleteThe term “double speak” was coined by William Lutz. Itself is not a term, but a combination of “doublethink” and “newspeak”. Doublethink is defined as the act of agreeing to multiple ideas that contradict each other. Meanwhile, newspeak is the manipulation of semantics in order to achieve confusion in the greater public, which is often seen in political propaganda. Combined it causes ambiguity in people, which is very useful for governing parties, as they can easily manipulate its people by “feeding them” the right words in the right way. Both terms are seen in Orwells novel 1984. The government in Orwells novel uses these tactics in order to maintain the citizens fearful, confused and free of their own thoughts and opinions. They are told what to believe in order to make controlling them much easier.
ReplyDeleteDouble speak is the inspiration of two definitions-doublethink and newspeak. These two definitions were inspired by William Lutz after the novel 1984 by Orwell. Double think means to agree with multiple ideas at one time. Newspeak is the manipulation of words to make them more ambiguous to the public.
ReplyDeleteAs William Lutz describes is Doublespeak refers to the idea that one person can have two contradicting ideas in their mind at once and agree with both of them. I found doublespeak to be the style of writing David Frosts "Consider the Lobster" David Frost's piece is written from the view of the lobster, explaining how the the lobster is killed in humanly , and tortuously for own enjoying pleasures. He goes into graphic detail on how the lobster is being prepared for people to eat. Than he goes on to say he enjoys to eat this crustacean himself. This suggest we can feel sorry for the lobsters needless suffers yet enjoy his tasty meat. These are to contradicting ideas that one can both agree with.
Double speak is when one believes in two contradicting thoughts simultaneously, and agrees with both. By doing this it disguises and distorts the meaning of words to make them sound more pleasing to the ear and to oneself. In many ways it is a copping method that many use in order to find some form of sanity. Within 1984, Winston needed to believe that although the food was decreasing it was still increasing as well. Politicians use double speak extensively as they attempt to manipulate their audience as they try to appeal to both sides of their audience. When we analyse double speak we also need to acknowledge New Speak, which is a language that is much constraining and limited. Synonyms and Antonyms do not exist to New Speak which ultimately limits an individual’s level of expression and freedom of speech.
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