The Degredation of English

             Most people in today's society identify politicians with liars or crooks "men unconnected with ordinary life, masters of manipulative language. George Orwell shares this opinion, especially with reference to totalitarian dictators. Orwell identifies many flaws in the English language as it is spoken and written today, and believes politics to cause its dilapidation. Through rhetorical devices such as diction and tone, Orwell successfully convinces his readers of the importance of the lingual dilemma, calling them to action to repair the damage in the language. .
             Orwell begins his essay by identifying many current problems found in the English language today. He initiates his essay with a critically, and must gain the reader's favor by producing concrete examples of such thoughtless writing, and specifically identifying its flaws. His tone is of subdued loathing, much like that of an exasperated teacher, for he detests the present state of the written word, yet he writes to repair the habitual flaws. This is exemplified when Orwell states, "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- (482). His diction, while critical, remains respectful as he explains that his examples "have not been picked out because they are especially bad but because they illustrate carious of the mental vices from which we now suffer- (482). When regarding the samples that he has researched, he claims, " quite apart from avoidable ugliness, two qualities are common to all of them. The first is staleness of imagery: The other is lack of precision- (483). Here, Orwell deliberately calls educated men's words ugly, bringing in a new tone that could be called disrespectful; however, one must consider that his purpose for being somewhat disrespectful is to educate his reader. As such, his tone is perceived by the reader to be slightly softened.