Journal # 7

“Politics and the English Language”

1. In this essay, Orwell suggests that the English language is on the decline because the people who use English are misusing the language. What sort of things does he mention as proof that the English language is in trouble?
- "Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble". He also gives examples of bad writing and what can be avoid.

2. Orwell wrote this essay almost 60 years ago. Do you think the English language is in a better or worse condition than when Orwell wrote his essay? Can you think of modern examples of how people misuse language?
- If he wrote this essay almost 60 years ago and he considered that the English language was in trouble, imagine how can it be now. It's getting worst everyday. People are becoming lazy in speaking and writing. People cut the words in order to speak and talk less. For example, if you want to say: Do you want to go?, now you can say: wanna come?. You see how short the words and sentences are becoming and maybe in the future they'll approve it.

3. What do you think of Orwell’s list of rules to improve your writing?
-That people are using them but in a exaggerated way. Like I said before people cut too much the words.
He also tries to say to be straight forward with your point view and that could be help full.

4. Orwell wrote the following in the provided excerpt:

Probably it is better to put off using words as long as possible and get one's meaning as clear as one can through pictures and sensations. Afterward one can choose -- not simply accept -- the phrases that will best cover the meaning, and then switch round and decide what impressions one's words are likely to make on another person.

What do you think he means when he suggests that one should focus on “pictures and sensations” before one sits down to put words on the page? Have you ever done this? Does it help you write better?
I think what he means is that it's better to see the image first in your head, organize your ideas and then put it in a paper.
What I usually do is that I picture everything that I want to write n my head but sometimes they are many and I can't organize them, so I grab a paper and write them before I forget them and then organize them all together in order to make sense. It helps me the way I do it.