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From the Wikipedia article: "These authors observed that a communication under the copula ban can remain extremely unclear and imply prejudice, while losing im
by no-dr-onboard 5y ago
From the Wikipedia article:
"These authors observed that a communication under the copula ban can remain extremely unclear and imply prejudice, while losing important speech patterns, such as identities and identification . . .Bourland sees specifically the "identity" and "predication" functions as pernicious, but advocates eliminating all forms for the sake of simplicity. In the case of the "existence" form (and less idiomatically, the "location" form), one might (for example) simply substitute the verb 'exists' "
From the Appendix of 1984:
"So did the fact of having very few words to choose from. Relative to our own, the Newspeak vocabulary was tiny, and new ways of reducing it were constantly being devised. Newspeak, indeed, differed from most all other languages in that its vocabulary grew smaller instead of larger every year. Each reduction was a gain, since the smaller the area of choice, the smaller the temptation to take thought. . . Like various other words in the B vocabulary, duckspeak was ambivalent in meaning. Provided that the opinions which were quacked out were orthodox ones, it implied nothing but praise, and when The Times referred to one of the orators of the Party as a doubleplusgood duckspeaker it was paying a warm and valued compliment."
- hwbehrens 5y agoMy experience with E-Prime began with a challenge predicated on the idea that the copula stands in for far too many verbs, and that by limiting the use of one verb, the heterogeneity of the remainder increases. Viewed in that context, I think E-Prime provides some benefit. It does sometimes lead to belabored wording, and demands more careful consideration during composition. However, when regarded as a tool for encourage more thoughtful word choice, and in contrast to the explicitly stated goals of "Newspeak", the use of E-Prime increases the 'area of choice' and broadens the spectrum of vocabulary used in practice, if not in theory.
- lapetitejort 5y agoUsing an emotion wheel [0] can also help clarify a sentence using fewer words. I could never imagine someone suggesting reducing the use of words in the inner circles as promoting Newspeak. [0]: https://flowingdata.com/2020/03/20/wheel-of-emotional-words/ https://flowingdata.com/2020/03/20/wheel-of-emotional-words/
- jmuhlich 5y agoNice work avoiding the copula there :)
- shashurup 5y agoI don't think this is that bad. There is nothing like consistent effort to simplify, at least I don't see any :) I don't get this language preservation at any cost sentiment. IMO, there are always features in a language which are unnecessary complex, hard to learn and doesn't at all add up to its expressive power.