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Doublethink

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Doublethink is a process of indoctrination in which subjects are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, often at odds with their own memory or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy .

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102-436: George Orwell coined the term doublethink as part of the fictional language of Newspeak in his 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four . In the novel, its origins within the citizenry is unclear; while it could be partly a product of Big Brother 's formal brainwashing programmes, the novel explicitly shows people learning doublethink and Newspeak due to peer pressure and a desire to "fit in", or gain status within

204-497: A protologism is such a term used exclusively within a small group; a prelogism is such a term that is gaining usage but still not mainstream; and a neologism has become accepted or recognized by social institutions. Neologisms are often driven by changes in culture and technology. Popular examples of neologisms can be found in science , technology , fiction (notably science fiction ), films and television, commercial branding, literature , jargon , cant , linguistics ,

306-543: A blue plaque at his Kentish Town residence. At this time, Victor Gollancz suggested Orwell spend a short time investigating social conditions in economically depressed Northern England . The Depression had introduced a number of working-class writers from the North of England to the reading public. It was one of these working-class authors, Jack Hilton , whom Orwell sought for advice. Orwell had written to Hilton seeking lodging and asking for recommendations on his route. Hilton

408-726: A tripe shop. In Wigan, he visited many homes to see how people lived, went down Bryn Hall coal mine , and used the local public library to consult public health records and reports on working conditions in mines. During this time, he was distracted by concerns about style and possible libel in Keep the Aspidistra Flying . He made a quick visit to Liverpool and during March, stayed in south Yorkshire, spending time in Sheffield and Barnsley . As well as visiting mines, including Grimethorpe , and observing social conditions, he attended meetings of

510-661: A brief visit in mid-1907, he did not see his father until 1912. Aged five, Eric was sent as a day student to a convent school in Henley-on-Thames. It was a Catholic convent run by French Ursuline nuns. His mother wanted him to have a public school education, but his family could not afford it. Through the social connections of Ida's brother Charles Limouzin, Blair gained a scholarship to St Cyprian's School in Eastbourne , East Sussex. Arriving in September 1911, he boarded for

612-487: A cell he returned home to Southwold. In April 1932 Blair became a teacher at The Hawthorns High School, a school for boys, in Hayes , west London. This was a small private school, and had only 14 or 16 boys aged between ten and sixteen, and one other master. While at the school he became friendly with the curate of the local parish church and became involved with activities there. Mabel Fierz had pursued matters with Moore, and at

714-542: A chill that developed into pneumonia. He was taken to a cottage hospital in Uxbridge, where for a time his life was believed to be in danger. When he was discharged in January 1934, he returned to Southwold to convalesce and, supported by his parents, never returned to teaching. He was disappointed when Gollancz turned down Burmese Days , mainly on the grounds of potential suits for libel, but Harper were prepared to publish it in

816-499: A common lodging house, possibly George Levy's "kip". For a while he "went native" in his own country, dressing like a tramp , adopting the name P.S. Burton; he recorded his experiences of the low life for use in " The Spike ", his first published essay in English, and in the second half of his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). In early 1928 he moved to Paris. He lived in

918-531: A day in the life of a tramp, and the beggars of London, respectively. "In one or another of its destructive forms, poverty was to become his obsessive subject—at the heart of almost everything he wrote until Homage to Catalonia ." He fell seriously ill in February 1929 and was taken to the Hôpital Cochin , a free hospital where medical students were trained. His experiences there were the basis of his essay " How

1020-778: A deposition was presented to the Tribunal for Espionage & High Treason in Valencia , charging the Orwells with "rabid Trotskyism", and being agents of the POUM. The trial of the leaders of the POUM and of Orwell (in his absence) took place in Barcelona in October and November 1938. Observing events from French Morocco, Orwell wrote that they were "only a by-product of the Russian Trotskyist trials and from

1122-472: A flat in Parliament Hill. A Clergyman's Daughter was published on 11 March 1935. In early 1935 Blair met his future wife Eileen O'Shaughnessy , when his landlady, Rosalind Obermeyer, who was studying for a master's degree in psychology at University College London , invited some of her fellow students to a party. One of these students, Elizaveta Fen, recalled Blair and his friend Richard Rees "draped" at

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1224-583: A misguided romantic quest like that of the title character in Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes ; Scrooge , a pejorative for misers based on the avaricious main character in Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol ; and Pollyanna , referring to people who are unfailingly optimistic like the title character of Eleanor H. Porter's Pollyanna . Neologisms are often introduced in technical writing, so-called Fachtexte or 'technical texts' through

1326-452: A moustache similar to those worn by officers of the British regiments stationed there. [He] also acquired some tattoos; on each knuckle he had a small untidy blue circle. Many Burmese living in rural areas still sport tattoos like this—they are believed to protect against bullets and snake bites. In April 1926 he moved to Moulmein, where his maternal grandmother lived. At the end of that year, he

1428-399: A neologism once it is published in a dictionary. Neologisms are one facet of lexical innovation , i.e., the linguistic process of new terms and meanings entering a language's lexicon . The most precise studies into language change and word formation , in fact, identify the process of a "neological continuum": a nonce word is any single-use term that may or may not grow in popularity;

1530-536: A newspaper in Lucknow , but by March 1938 Orwell's health had deteriorated. He was admitted to Preston Hall Sanatorium at Aylesford , Kent, a British Legion hospital for ex-servicemen to which his brother-in-law Laurence O'Shaughnessy was attached. He was thought initially to be suffering from tuberculosis and stayed in the sanatorium until September. Homage to Catalonia was published in London by Secker & Warburg and

1632-424: A person's idiolect , one's unique patterns of vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation. Neologisms are usually introduced when it is found that a specific notion is lacking a term, or when the existing vocabulary lacks detail, or when a speaker is unaware of the existing vocabulary. The law, governmental bodies, and technology have a relatively high frequency of acquiring neologisms. Another trigger that motivates

1734-586: A political/literary journal edited by Henri Barbusse (his first article as a professional writer, "La Censure en Angleterre", appeared in that journal on 6 October 1928); G. K.'s Weekly , where his first article to appear in England, "A Farthing Newspaper", was printed on 29 December 1928; and Le Progrès Civique (founded by the left-wing coalition Le Cartel des Gauches ). Three pieces appeared in successive weeks in Le Progrès Civique : discussing unemployment,

1836-442: A quality or attribute of a perceived object, as opposed to its essence. In physics, new terms were introduced sometimes via nonce formation (e.g., Murray Gell-Man 's quark , taken from James Joyce ) or through derivation (e.g. John von Neumann's kiloton , coined by combining the common prefix kilo- 'thousand' with the noun ton ). Neologisms therefore are a vital component of scientific jargon or termini technici . Polari

1938-510: A stop to this. Orwell was also able to find a more sympathetic publisher for his views in Fredric Warburg of Secker & Warburg. Orwell returned to Wallington, which he found in disarray after his absence. He acquired goats, a cockerel (rooster) he called Henry Ford and a poodle puppy he called Marx ; and settled down to animal husbandry and writing Homage to Catalonia . There were thoughts of going to India to work on The Pioneer ,

2040-497: A sub-divisional officer, he was responsible for the security of some 200,000 people. At the end of 1924, he was posted to Syriam , closer to Rangoon. Syriam had the refinery of the Burmah Oil Company , "the surrounding land a barren waste, all vegetation killed off by the fumes of sulphur dioxide pouring out day and night from the stacks of the refinery." But the town was near Rangoon, a cosmopolitan seaport, and Blair went into

2142-506: A term still below the threshold of a neologism according to Merriam-Webster , is an example of the latter which has specifically spread primarily through Facebook group and Twitter account use. The suspected origin of this way of referring to dogs stems from a Facebook group founded in 2008 and gaining popularity in 2014 in Australia. In Australian English it is common to use diminutives , often ending in –o, which could be where doggo-lingo

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2244-606: A type of dairy product ) from James Joyce 's Finnegans Wake . The title of a book may become a neologism, for instance, Catch-22 (from the title of Joseph Heller 's novel). Alternatively, the author's name may give rise to the neologism, although the term is sometimes based on only one work of that author. This includes such words as " Orwellian " (from George Orwell , referring to his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four ) and "Kafkaesque" (from Franz Kafka ). Names of famous characters are another source of literary neologisms. Some examples include: Quixotic , referring to

2346-483: Is interdisciplinary . Anyone such as a lexicographer or an etymologist might study neologisms, how their uses span the scope of human expression, and how, due to science and technology, they spread more rapidly than ever before in the present times. The term neologism has a broader meaning which also includes "a word which has gained a new meaning". Sometimes, the latter process is called semantic shifting , or semantic extension . Neologisms are distinct from

2448-457: Is Blair as Burton (the name he used in his down-and-out episodes) in search of experience in the kips and spikes, in the East End, on the road, and in the hop fields of Kent. He went painting and bathing on the beach, and there he met Mabel and Francis Fierz, who later influenced his career. Over the next year he visited them in London, often meeting their friend Max Plowman. He also often stayed at

2550-413: Is a blend of the words "breakfast" and "lunch", or through abbreviation or acronym , by intentionally rhyming with existing words or simply through playing with sounds. A relatively rare form of neologism is when proper names are used as words (e.g., boycott , from Charles Boycott ), including guy , dick , Chad , and Karen . Neologisms can become popular through memetics , through mass media ,

2652-497: Is a cant used by some actors, circus performers, and the gay subculture to communicate without outsiders understanding. Some Polari terms have crossed over into mainstream slang, in part through their usage in pop song lyrics and other works. Example include: acdc , barney , blag , butch , camp , khazi , cottaging , hoofer , mince , ogle , scarper , slap , strides , tod , [rough] trade ( rough trade ). Verlan ( French pronunciation: [vɛʁlɑ̃] ), ( verlan

2754-460: Is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism , poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for

2856-505: Is crucial in various industries and legal systems. Inaccurate translations can lead to 'translation asymmetry' or misunderstandings and miscommunication. Many technical glossaries of English translations exist to combat this issue in the medical, judicial, and technological fields. In psychiatry and neuroscience , the term neologism is used to describe words that have meaning only to the person who uses them, independent of their common meaning. This can be seen in schizophrenia , where

2958-442: Is the predominant language for published research and studies, like-sounding translations (referred to as 'naturalization') are sometimes used. Alternatively, the English word is used along with a brief explanation of meaning. The four translation methods are emphasized in order to translate neologisms: transliteration , transcription , the use of analogues, and loan translation . When translating from English to other languages,

3060-481: Is the reverse of the expression "l'envers") is a type of argot in the French language , featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. Some verlan words, such as meuf ("femme", which means "woman" roughly backwards), have become so commonplace that they have been included in

3162-431: Is unusual for a word to gain popularity if it does not clearly resemble other words. The term neologism is first attested in English in 1772, borrowed from French néologisme (1734). The French word derives from Greek νέο- néo (="new") and λόγος / lógos , meaning "speech, utterance". In an academic sense, there is no professional neologist, because the study of such things (cultural or ethnic vernacular, for example)

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3264-601: The Henley and South Oxfordshire Standard . He came second to Connolly in the Harrow History Prize , had his work praised by the school's external examiner, and earned scholarships to Wellington and Eton . But inclusion on the Eton scholarship roll did not guarantee a place, and none was immediately available. He chose to stay at St Cyprian's until December 1916, in case a place at Eton became available. In January, Blair took up

3366-486: The Petit Larousse . Like any slang, the purpose of verlan is to create a somewhat secret language that only its speakers can understand. Words becoming mainstream is counterproductive. As a result, such newly common words are re-verlanised: reversed a second time. The common meuf became feumeu . Neologism development may be spurred, or at least spread, by popular culture. Examples of pop-culture neologisms include

3468-586: The 8th Earl of Westmorland . His grandfather, Thomas Richard Arthur Blair, was an Anglican clergyman. Orwell's father was Richard Walmesley Blair, who worked as a Sub-Deputy Opium Agent in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service , overseeing the production and storage of opium for sale to China. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair ( née Limouzin), grew up in Moulmein , Burma, where her French father

3570-533: The Esperanto movement. The Westropes were friendly and provided him with comfortable accommodation at Warwick Mansions, Pond Street . He was sharing the job with Jon Kimche , who also lived with the Westropes. Blair worked at the shop in the afternoons and had his mornings free to write and his evenings free to socialise. These experiences provided background for the novel Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936). As well as

3672-775: The First World War , the family moved 2 miles (3 km) south to Shiplake , Oxfordshire, where Eric became friendly with the Buddicom family, especially their daughter Jacintha . When they first met, he was standing on his head in a field. Asked why, he said, "You are noticed more if you stand on your head than if you are right way up." Growing up together, Buddicom and Blair became idealistic adolescent sweethearts, reading and writing poetry together, and dreaming of becoming famous writers. Blair also enjoyed shooting, fishing and birdwatching with Jacintha's brother and sister. While at St Cyprian's, Blair wrote two poems that were published in

3774-563: The International Brigades and advised him to get a safe-conduct from the Spanish Embassy in Paris. Not wishing to commit himself until he had seen the situation in situ , Orwell instead used his Independent Labour Party contacts to get a letter of introduction to John McNair in Barcelona. Orwell set out for Spain on about 23 December 1936, dining with Henry Miller in Paris on the way. Miller told Orwell that going to fight in

3876-453: The Internet , and word of mouth , including academic discourse in many fields renowned for their use of distinctive jargon , and often become accepted parts of the language. Other times, they disappear from common use just as readily as they appeared. Whether a neologism continues as part of the language depends on many factors, probably the most important of which is acceptance by the public. It

3978-675: The Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture. Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture , and the adjective " Orwellian "—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms , such as " Big Brother ", " Thought Police ", " Room 101 ", " Newspeak ", " memory hole ", " doublethink ", and " thoughtcrime ". In 2008, The Times named Orwell

4080-641: The anarcho-syndicalist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and the Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia (a wing of the Spanish Communist Party ). Orwell was at first exasperated by this "kaleidoscope" of political parties and trade unions. The ILP was linked to the POUM so Orwell joined the POUM. After a time at the Lenin Barracks in Barcelona he was sent to the relatively quiet Aragon Front under Georges Kopp . By January 1937 he

4182-554: The characters of Dickens . Down and Out was modestly successful and was next published by Harper & Brothers in New York. In mid-1933 Blair left Hawthorns to become a teacher at Frays College , in Uxbridge , west London. This was a much larger establishment with 200 pupils and a full complement of staff. He acquired a motorcycle and took trips through the surrounding countryside. On one of these expeditions he became soaked and caught

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4284-618: The pen name George Orwell because "It is a good round English name." The name George was inspired by the patron saint of England , and Orwell after the River Orwell in Suffolk which was one of Orwell's favourite locations. Down and Out in Paris and London was published by Victor Gollancz in London on 9 January 1933 and received favourable reviews, with Cecil Day-Lewis complimenting Orwell's "clarity and good sense", and The Times Literary Supplement comparing Orwell's eccentric characters to

4386-618: The visual arts , and popular culture. Examples of words that were 20th-century neologisms include laser (1960), an acronym of light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation ; robot (1921) from Czech writer Karel Čapek 's play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) ; and agitprop (1930; a portmanteau of Russian "agitatsiya" (agitation) and "propaganda"). Neologisms are often formed by combining existing words (see compound noun and adjective ) or by giving words new and unique suffixes or prefixes . Neologisms can also be formed by blending words, for example, "brunch"

4488-746: The American alt-Right (2010s), the Canadian portmanteau " Snowmageddon " (2009), the Russian parody " Monstration " ( c.  2004 ), Santorum ( c.  2003 ). Neologisms spread mainly through their exposure in mass media . The genericizing of brand names , such as "coke" for Coca-Cola , "kleenex" for Kleenex facial tissue, and "xerox" for Xerox photocopying , all spread through their popular use being enhanced by mass media. However, in some limited cases, words break out of their original communities and spread through social media . " DoggoLingo ",

4590-497: The Burma police for the novel Burmese Days (1934) and the essays " A Hanging " (1931) and " Shooting an Elephant " (1936). In England, he settled back in the family home at Southwold , renewing acquaintance with local friends and attending an Old Etonian dinner. He visited his old tutor Gow at Cambridge for advice on becoming a writer. In 1927 he moved to London. Ruth Pitter , a family acquaintance, helped him find lodgings, and by

4692-715: The Civil War out of some sense of obligation or guilt was "sheer stupidity" and that the Englishman's ideas "about combating Fascism, defending democracy, etc., etc., were all baloney". A few days later in Barcelona , Orwell met John McNair of the Independent Labour Party (ILP) Office. The Republican government was supported by a number of factions with conflicting aims, including the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM),

4794-571: The Communist Party and of Oswald Mosley ("his speech the usual claptrap—The blame for everything was put upon mysterious international gangs of Jews") where he saw the tactics of the Blackshirts . He also made visits to his sister at Headingley , during which he visited the Brontë Parsonage at Haworth . Orwell needed somewhere he could concentrate on writing his book, and once again help

4896-639: The Communist press he was a fascist. After his return to the front, he was wounded in the throat by a sniper's bullet. At 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m), Orwell was considerably taller than the Spanish fighters and had been warned against standing against the trench parapet. Unable to speak, and with blood pouring from his mouth, Orwell was carried on a stretcher to Siétamo , loaded on an ambulance and sent to hospital in Lleida . He recovered sufficiently to get up and on 27 May 1937

4998-525: The Communists, Orwell was still ready to treat them as friends and allies. That would soon change." During the Barcelona May Days Orwell was caught up in the factional fighting. He spent much of the time on a roof, with a stack of novels, but encountered Jon Kimche from his Hampstead days during the stay. The subsequent campaign of lies and distortion carried out by the Communist press, in which

5100-482: The Indian Police Service. For this he had to pass an entrance examination. In December 1921 he left Eton and travelled to join his retired father, mother, and younger sister Avril, who that month had moved to 40 Stradbroke Road, Southwold , Suffolk, the first of their four homes in the town. Blair was enrolled at a crammer there called Craighurst, and brushed up on his Classics, English, and History. He passed

5202-471: The O'Shaughnessy home at Greenwich. He found his views on the Spanish Civil War out of favour. Kingsley Martin rejected two of his works and Gollancz was equally cautious. At the same time, the communist Daily Worker was running an attack on The Road to Wigan Pier , taking out of context Orwell writing that "the working classes smell"; a letter to Gollancz from Orwell threatening libel action brought

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5304-590: The POUM was accused of collaborating with the fascists, had a dramatic effect on Orwell. Instead of joining the International Brigades as he had intended, he decided to return to the Aragon Front. Once the May fighting was over, he was approached by a Communist friend who asked if he still intended transferring to the International Brigades. Orwell expressed surprise that they should still want him, because according to

5406-808: The Party—to be seen as a loyal Party Member. In the novel, for someone to even recognize—let alone mention—any contradiction within the context of the Party line is akin to blasphemy , and could subject that person to disciplinary action and the instant social disapproval of fellow Party Members. According to Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell , doublethink is: To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy

5508-581: The Poor Die ", published in 1946 (though he chose not to identify the hospital). Shortly afterwards, he had all his money stolen from his lodging house. Whether through necessity or to collect material, he undertook menial jobs such as dishwashing in a fashionable hotel on the rue de Rivoli , which he later described in Down and Out in Paris and London . In August 1929, he sent a copy of " The Spike " to John Middleton Murry 's New Adelphi magazine in London. The magazine

5610-701: The United States. Meanwhile, Blair started work on the novel A Clergyman's Daughter , drawing upon his life as a teacher and on life in Southwold. Eventually in October, after sending A Clergyman's Daughter to Moore, he left for London to take a job that had been found for him by his aunt Nellie Limouzin. This job was as a part-time assistant in Booklovers' Corner, a second-hand bookshop in Hampstead run by Francis and Myfanwy Westrope, who were friends of Nellie Limouzin in

5712-797: The act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word—doublethink—involved the use of doublethink. Orwell's doublethink is also credited with having inspired the commonly used term doublespeak , which itself does not appear in the book. Comparisons have been made between doublespeak and Orwell's descriptions on political speech from his essay " Politics and the English Language ", in which "unscrupulous politicians, advertisers, religionists, and other 'doublespeakers' of whatever stripe, continue to abuse language for manipulative purposes." Other concepts derived from Nineteen Eighty Four : Complementary pages George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950)

5814-495: The churches of the Karen ethnic group. A colleague, Roger Beadon, recalled that Blair was fast to learn the language and that before he left Burma, "was able to speak fluently with Burmese priests in 'very high-flown Burmese'." Blair made changes to his appearance in Burma that remained for the rest of his life, including adopting a pencil moustache . Emma Larkin writes in the introduction to Burmese Days : While in Burma, he acquired

5916-549: The city as often as he could, "to browse in a bookshop; to eat well-cooked food; to get away from the boring routine of police life". In September 1925 he went to Insein , the home of Insein Prison . By this time, Blair had completed his training and was receiving a monthly salary of Rs. 740, including allowances. Blair recalled he faced hostility from the Burmese, "in the end the sneering yellow faces of young men that met me everywhere,

6018-506: The clergyman's daughter who worked as a gym-teacher at St Felix Girls' School . Although Salkeld rejected his offer of marriage, she remained a friend and regular correspondent for many years. He also renewed friendships with older friends, such as Dennis Collings, whose girlfriend Eleanor Jacques was also to play a part in his life. In early 1930 he stayed briefly in Bramley, Leeds , with his sister Marjorie and her husband Humphrey Dakin. Blair

6120-655: The coining of a neologism is to disambiguate a term which may be unclear due to having many meanings. Neologisms may come from a word used in the narrative of fiction such as novels and short stories. Examples include " grok " (to intuitively understand) from the science fiction novel about a Martian entitled Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein ; " McJob " (precarious, poorly-paid employment) from Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture by Douglas Coupland ; " cyberspace " (widespread, interconnected digital technology) from Neuromancer by William Gibson and " quark " (Slavic slang for "rubbish"; German for

6222-556: The end of 1927 he had moved into rooms in Portobello Road ; a blue plaque commemorates his residence there. Pitter's involvement in the move "would have lent it a reassuring respectability in Mrs. Blair's eyes." Pitter had a sympathetic interest in Blair's writing, pointed out weaknesses in his poetry, and advised him to write about what he knew. In fact he decided to write of "certain aspects of

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6324-411: The end of June 1932, Moore told Blair that Victor Gollancz was prepared to publish A Scullion's Diary for a £40 advance, through his recently founded publishing house, Victor Gollancz Ltd , which was an outlet for radical and socialist works. At the end of the summer term in 1932, Blair returned to Southwold, where his parents had used a legacy to buy their own home. Blair and his sister Avril spent

6426-632: The exam, coming seventh out of the 26 who passed. Blair's maternal grandmother lived at Moulmein , so he chose a posting in Burma , then still a province of British India. In October 1922 he sailed on board SS Herefordshire to join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. A month later, he arrived at Rangoon and travelled to the police training school in Mandalay . He was appointed an Assistant District Superintendent (on probation) on 29 November 1922, at

6528-523: The fireplace, looking, she thought, "moth-eaten and prematurely aged." Around this time, Blair had started to write reviews for The New English Weekly . In June, Burmese Days was published and Cyril Connolly's positive review in the New Statesman prompted Blair to re-establish contact with his old friend. In August, he moved into a flat, at 50 Lawford Road, Kentish Town , which he shared with Michael Sayers and Rayner Heppenstall . The relationship

6630-537: The first version of Down and Out . On the advice of Richard Rees, he offered it to Faber & Faber , but their editorial director, T. S. Eliot , also rejected it. Blair ended the year by deliberately getting himself arrested, so that he could experience Christmas in prison, but after he was picked up and taken to Bethnal Green police station in the East End of London the authorities did not regard his "drunk and disorderly" behaviour as imprisonable, and after two days in

6732-404: The holidays making the house habitable while he also worked on Burmese Days . He was also spending time with Eleanor Jacques, but her attachment to Dennis Collings remained an obstacle to his hopes of a more serious relationship. "Clink", an essay describing his failed attempt to get sent to prison, appeared in the August 1932 number of Adelphi . He returned to teaching at Hayes and prepared for

6834-407: The homes of Ruth Pitter and Richard Rees, where he could "change" for his sporadic tramping expeditions. One of his jobs was domestic work at a lodgings for half a crown (two shillings and sixpence, or one-eighth of a pound) a day. Blair now contributed regularly to Adelphi , with " A Hanging " appearing in August 1931. From August to September 1931 his explorations of poverty continued, and, like

6936-400: The insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves". He recalled that "I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible". In Burma, Blair acquired a reputation as an outsider. He spent much of his time alone, reading or pursuing non- pukka activities, such as attending

7038-425: The issues relating to the publication of The Road to Wigan Pier before setting out for Spain herself, leaving Nellie Limouzin to look after The Stores. Eileen volunteered for a post in John McNair's office and with the help of Georges Kopp paid visits to her husband, bringing him English tea, chocolate and cigars. Orwell had to spend some days in hospital with a poisoned hand and had most of his possessions stolen by

7140-447: The naturalization method is most often used. The most common way that professional translators translate neologisms is through the Think aloud protocol (TAP), wherein translators find the most appropriate and natural sounding word through speech. As such, translators can use potential translations in sentences and test them with different structures and syntax. Correct translations from English for specific purposes into other languages

7242-451: The next five years, returning home only for holidays. Although he knew nothing of the reduced fees, he "soon recognised that he was from a poorer home". Blair hated the school and many years later wrote an essay " Such, Such Were the Joys ", published posthumously, based on his time there. At St Cyprian's, Blair first met Cyril Connolly , who became a writer and who, as the editor of Horizon , published several of Orwell's essays. Before

7344-477: The north was The Road to Wigan Pier , published by Gollancz for the Left Book Club in 1937. The first half of the book documents his social investigations of Lancashire and Yorkshire , including an evocative description of working life in the coal mines. The second half is a long essay on his upbringing and the development of his political conscience, which includes an argument for socialism. Gollancz feared

7446-518: The pay of Rs. 525 per month. After a short posting at Maymyo , Burma's principal hill station , he was posted to the frontier outpost of Myaungmya in the Irrawaddy Delta at the beginning of 1924. Working as an imperial police officer gave him considerable responsibility while most of his contemporaries were still at university in England. When he was posted farther east in the Delta to Twante as

7548-460: The place at Wellington, where he spent the Spring term. In May 1917 a place became available as a King's Scholar at Eton. At this time the family lived at Mall Chambers, Notting Hill Gate. Blair remained at Eton until December 1921, when he left midway between his 18th and 19th birthdays. Wellington was "beastly", Blair told Jacintha, but he said he was "interested and happy" at Eton. His principal tutor

7650-517: The political situation in Barcelona had deteriorated and the POUM—painted by the pro-Soviet Communists as a Trotskyist organisation—was outlawed and under attack. Members, including Kopp, were arrested and others were in hiding. Orwell and his wife were under threat and had to lie low, although they broke cover to try to help Kopp. They finally escaped from Spain by train. In the first week of July 1937 Orwell arrived back at Wallington; on 13 July 1937

7752-533: The present that he set out to know" and ventured into the East End of London —the first of the occasional sorties he would make intermittently over a period of five years to discover the world of poverty and the down-and-outers who inhabit it. In imitation of Jack London , whose writing he admired (particularly The People of the Abyss ), Blair started to explore the poorer parts of London. On his first outing he set out to Limehouse Causeway , spending his first night in

7854-569: The process of lexical innovation . Technical subjects such as philosophy, sociology, physics, etc. are especially rich in neologisms. In philosophy, as an example, many terms became introduced into languages through processes of translation, e.g., from Ancient Greek to Latin , or from Latin to German or English , and so on. So Plato introduced the Greek term ποιότης ( poiotēs ), which Cicero rendered with Latin qualitas , which subsequently became our notion of ' quality ' in relation to epistemology, e.g.,

7956-572: The production of other publications— College Days and Bubble and Squeak —and participated in the Eton Wall Game . His parents could not afford to send him to university without another scholarship, and they concluded from his poor results he would not be able to win one. Runciman noted he had a romantic idea about the East , and the family decided Blair should join the Imperial Police , the precursor of

8058-809: The protagonist of A Clergyman's Daughter , he followed the East End tradition of working in the Kent hop fields. He kept a diary about his experiences there. Afterwards, he lodged in the Tooley Street kip , but could not stand it for long, and with financial help from his parents moved to Windsor Street, where he stayed until Christmas. "Hop Picking", by Eric Blair, appeared in the October 1931 issue of New Statesman , whose editorial staff included his old friend Cyril Connolly. Mabel Fierz put him in contact with Leonard Moore , who became his literary agent in April 1932. At this time Jonathan Cape rejected A Scullion's Diary ,

8160-475: The publication of his book, now known as Down and Out in Paris and London . He wished to publish under a different name to avoid any embarrassment to his family over his time as a "tramp". In a letter to Moore (dated 15 November 1932), he left the choice of pseudonym to Moore and to Gollancz. Four days later, he wrote to Moore, suggesting the pseudonyms P. S. Burton (a name he used when tramping), Kenneth Miles, George Orwell, and H. Lewis Allways. He finally adopted

8262-540: The rue du Pot de Fer, a working class district in the 5th arrondissement . His aunt Ellen (Nellie) Kate Limouzin also lived in Paris (with the Esperantist Eugène Lanti ) and gave him social and, when necessary, financial support. He began to write novels, including an early version of Burmese Days , but nothing else survives from that period. He was more successful as a journalist and published articles in Monde ,

8364-504: The second half would offend readers and added a disculpatory preface to the book while Orwell was in Spain. Orwell's research for The Road to Wigan Pier led to him being placed under surveillance by the Special Branch from 1936. Orwell married O'Shaughnessy on 9 June 1936. Shortly afterwards, the political crisis began in Spain and Orwell followed developments there closely. At the end of

8466-480: The second-greatest British writer since 1945. Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903 in Motihari , Bengal Presidency (now Bihar ), British India , into what he described as a " lower-upper-middle class " family. His great-great-grandfather, Charles Blair, was a wealthy slaveowning country gentleman and absentee owner of two Jamaican plantations ; hailing from Dorset , he married Lady Mary Fane, daughter of

8568-677: The staff. He returned to the front and saw some action in a night attack on the Nationalist trenches where he chased an enemy soldier with a bayonet and bombed an enemy rifle position. In April, Orwell returned to Barcelona. Wanting to be sent to the Madrid front, which meant he "must join the International Column", he approached a Communist friend attached to the Spanish Medical Aid and explained his case. "Although he did not think much of

8670-514: The start every kind of lie, including flagrant absurdities, has been circulated in the Communist press." Orwell's experiences in the Spanish Civil War gave rise to Homage to Catalonia (1938). In his book, The International Brigades: Fascism, Freedom and the Spanish Civil War, Giles Tremlett writes that according to Soviet files, Orwell and his wife Eileen were spied on in Barcelona in May 1937. Orwell returned to England in June 1937, and stayed at

8772-673: The thing I care most about is gardening, especially vegetable gardening". He also tested the possibility of reopening the Stores as a village shop. Keep the Aspidistra Flying was published by Gollancz on 20 April 1936. On 4 August, Orwell gave a talk at the Adelphi Summer School held at Langham , entitled An Outsider Sees the Distressed Areas ; others who spoke at the school included John Strachey , Max Plowman , Karl Polanyi and Reinhold Niebuhr . The result of his journeys through

8874-518: The various guests of the Westropes, he was able to enjoy the company of Richard Rees and the Adelphi writers and Mabel Fierz. The Westropes and Kimche were members of the Independent Labour Party , although at this time Blair was not seriously politically active. He was writing for the Adelphi and preparing A Clergyman's Daughter and Burmese Days for publication. At the beginning of 1935 he had to move out of Warwick Mansions, and Mabel Fierz found him

8976-614: The year, concerned by Francisco Franco 's military uprising, Orwell decided to go to Spain to take part in the Spanish Civil War on the Republican side . Under the erroneous impression that he needed papers from some left-wing organisation to cross the frontier, on John Strachey 's recommendation he applied unsuccessfully to Harry Pollitt , leader of the British Communist Party . Pollitt was suspicious of Orwell's political reliability; he asked him whether he would undertake to join

9078-431: Was A. S. F. Gow , Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge , who gave him advice later in his career. Blair was taught French by Aldous Huxley . Steven Runciman , who was at Eton with Blair, noted that he and his contemporaries appreciated Huxley's linguistic flair. Blair's performance reports suggest he neglected his studies, but he worked with Roger Mynors to produce a college magazine, The Election Times , joined in

9180-402: Was a British novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell , a name inspired by his favourite place, the River Orwell . His work is characterised by lucid prose , social criticism , opposition to all totalitarianism (i.e. to both left-wing authoritarian communism and to right-wing fascism), and support of democratic socialism . Orwell

9282-420: Was a commercial flop; it re-emerged in the 1950s, following on the success of Orwell's later books. Neologism In linguistics , a neologism ( / n i ˈ ɒ l ə ˌ dʒ ɪ z əm / ; also known as a coinage ) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered

9384-652: Was assigned to Katha in Upper Burma , where he contracted dengue fever in 1927. Entitled to a leave in England that year, he was allowed to return in July due to his illness. While on holiday with his family in Cornwall in September 1927, he reappraised his life. Deciding against returning to Burma, he resigned from the Indian Imperial Police to become a writer, with effect from 12 March 1928. He drew on his experiences in

9486-541: Was at Alcubierre 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level, in the depth of winter. There was very little military action and Orwell was shocked by the lack of munitions, food and firewood as well as other extreme deprivations. With his Cadet Corps and police training, Orwell was quickly made a corporal. On the arrival of a British ILP Contingent about three weeks later, Orwell and the other English militiaman, Williams, were sent with them to Monte Oscuro and on to Huesca . Meanwhile, back in England, Eileen had been handling

9588-567: Was edited by Max Plowman and Sir Richard Rees , and Plowman accepted the work for publication. In December 1929 after nearly two years in Paris, Blair returned to England and went directly to his parents' house in Southwold , a coastal town in Suffolk , which remained his base for the next five years. The family was well established in the town, where his sister Avril ran a tea-house. He became acquainted with many local people, including Brenda Salkeld,

9690-400: Was first used. The term has grown so that Merriam-Webster has acknowledged its use but notes the term needs to be found in published, edited work for a longer period of time before it can be deemed a new word, making it the perfect example of a neologism. Because neologisms originate in one language, translations between languages can be difficult. In the scientific community, where English

9792-403: Was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of

9894-543: Was involved in speculative ventures. Eric had two sisters: Marjorie, five years older; and Avril, five years younger. When Eric was one year old, his mother took him and Marjorie to England. In 2014 restoration work began on Orwell's birthplace and ancestral house in Motihari. In 1904, Ida settled with her children at Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire. Eric was brought up in the company of his mother and sisters and, apart from

9996-400: Was provided by Aunt Nellie, who was living at Wallington, Hertfordshire in a very small 16th-century cottage called the "Stores". Orwell took over the tenancy and moved in on 2 April 1936. He started work on The Road to Wigan Pier by the end of April, but also spent hours working on the garden, planting a rose garden which is still extant, and revealing four years later that "outside my work

10098-401: Was sent on to Tarragona and two days later to a POUM sanatorium in the suburbs of Barcelona. The bullet had missed his main artery by the barest margin and his voice was barely audible. It had been such a clean shot that the wound immediately went through the process of cauterisation . He received electrotherapy treatment and was declared medically unfit for service. By the middle of June,

10200-561: Was sometimes awkward and Blair and Heppenstall even came to blows, though they remained friends and later worked together on BBC broadcasts. Blair was now working on Keep the Aspidistra Flying , and also tried unsuccessfully to write a serial for the News Chronicle . By October 1935 his flatmates had moved out and he was struggling to pay the rent on his own. He remained until the end of January 1936, when he stopped working at Booklovers' Corner. In 1980, English Heritage honoured Orwell with

10302-563: Was unable to provide him lodging, but suggested that he travel to Wigan rather than Rochdale, "for there are the colliers and they're good stuff." On 31 January 1936, Orwell set out by public transport and on foot. Arriving in Manchester after the banks had closed, he had to stay in a common lodging-house. The next day he picked up a list of contacts sent by Richard Rees. One of these, the trade union official Frank Meade, suggested Wigan , where Orwell spent February staying in dirty lodgings over

10404-413: Was writing reviews for Adelphi and acting as a private tutor to a disabled child at Southwold. He then became tutor to three young brothers, one of whom, Richard Peters , later became a distinguished academic. His history in these years is marked by dualities and contrasts. There is Blair leading a respectable, outwardly eventless life at his parents' house in Southwold, writing; then in contrast, there

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