I’m browsing in a bookshop in Piccadilly and buy, for tuppence, Orwell’s pamphlet Politics and the English Language. I read it in the lovely, winter light of St James Square. The writing is sharp, fresh, lucid – and still completely relevant.
“When the general atmosphere is bad, when politics is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred and schizophrenia – language must suffer.”
Or vice-versa.
He cites such things as “meaningless words”, “verbal false limbs”, “dying metaphors”, “exhausted idioms” and the sheer “lying”, consciously or not, of so much political speech. It is the job of teachers – and columnists – to keep eternal vigilance on all this – to use a very “exhausted” phrase.
Register now, read forever
Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.
What's included:
-
Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast
-
New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday
Already have an account? Sign in here