Newspeak

[The Bookworm]

Big Brother is trying to eliminate all adjectives and words related to political rebellion. If the people who have been around before the invention of Newspeak continue to talk and think with all the old words and teach their children that, how could they learn Newspeak? Even with the rewritten dictionary who would read the dictionary? Also, if they implemented Newspeak through the telescreens the proles don't have them so they couldn't be exposed to it. So how would it work?

[kev67]

I suppose people like Winston would be required to write newspaper articles in Newspeak. Didn't Julia work on television or film scripts? She would be required to write them in Newspeak. Party members would be monitored and if they persisted in using Oldspeak they would be picked up by the thought police. Eventually it would filter down to the proles.

[Proletariat]

If you're living in an oppressive society, and the government issues a new dictionary with a new dialect that is used everywhere, you will most likely feel inclined to learn it, if you even feel inclined to learn anything at all. The proles are described as an uneducated, apathetic group of people that make up 85% of the population. Even though they are the key to the past, many either forgot the past, don't care enough to remember, or are completely brainwashed by the government. Due to their ignorance, they are easily controlled by the government. The deterioration of skepticism and free thought is a dangerous thing. Uneducated parents will become brainwashed by the government, then teach their children the things that the government has told them. Children's minds are open and moldable, they will accept what they're told as true. They are congratulated on being 'junior spies' and reporting their loved ones for anything they say or do against Big Brother. With the mindset of the developing population like this, newspeak won't even be necessary to remove the risk of rebellion.

[The Bookworm]

Is the thought police real? Or is it just a lie from the government to try and control the people?

[ZeppelinForLife]

If the Government controls everything you read and watch, then you'd be forced to learn the language it's in (Newspeak.) Your children would learn it, and it would overthrow Oldspeak. It would be easy for an oppressive government to dumb down it's citizens if they wanted.

[Soccerchick]

I agree. Newspeak is centered around control and power. Newspeak was invented simply because the government wants control over the citizens vocabulary. By getting rid of words it can lower the citizens intelligence. Since the government wants all of the citizens to learn Newspeak they will find a way to make them learn. It will be more effective on the younger generation since they will grow up learning the language. Newspeak is a powerful yet subtle form of controlling the citizens.

[jujufishy]

In response to The Bookworm, no one will ever know if the Thought Police are real or just a simply a lie put out by the government. Although you an I know humans cant read thoughts, Winston as well as all his comrades do not know this fact.