clarity via muddying September 24, 2007
Posted by ocmpoma in : language , trackbackA few weeks back, Overcoming Bias had a post up about clarity of thought and language, referring for support to Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”.
Today, Language Log, in a post about the President’s nominee for Attorney General, pointed out an earlier post decrying the same essay.
Agree to disagree? I’d prefer not to, since I’d probably wind up trying to agree to disagree with myself. I’m a fan of clarity — my loyal readers might notice that my posts tend to be short and to the point. On top of that, I’ve written again recently that it’s what is said, not how it’s said, that matters.
My clear, short take? Orwell had good initiative but poor judgment. Muddy writing may be used in an attempt to obscure sloppy or perhaps even morally despicable thought, but anyone taken in by such a simple ploy as messy language is not so much being played for a fool as playing the role themselves.
Tags for this article: language , politics
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