A Guide to Newspeak

What better way to control people and completely destroy all evidence of history than to create a new language? “Newspeak”, as it is referred to, replaces “Oldspeak” and claims to be a minorly updated version of the language. No harm done, right? Well, for starters it conveniently eliminates some words that the Party would prefer people don’t use such as “Mrs”. The Party mandates people to address one another as Comrade, that way there is no connotation of love or marriage or, dare I say, sex, for pleasure and spiritual fulfillment are forbidden. Think about this for a moment, if there isn’t a word to express a certain feeling or idea in the language, then won’t that suppress people from pondering it or at least expressing it? That’s the Party’s logic- control of language equals control of minds equals control of actions. Here’s a mini-dictionary I’ve compiled using words common to this society. This reference will come in very handy as you adjust to some of the quirky terms they use. As I get further into the book, I will be sure to update the list, because I’m sure there is more to come!

*Update: At the very end of the book there is an Appendix titled The Principle of Newspeak. It outlines how sentences are constructed, declares which words will be entirely phased out by 2050, and details the existing words in the Newspeak vocabulary. The language is broken down into three vocabulary sets: A, B, and C. A vocabulary contains words for "the business of everyday life," B vocabulary consists of words deliberately constructed for political purposes," and C vocabulary includes "scientific and technological terms."


Places:

Oceania - one of the super-states comprised of the Americas, the Atlantic islands including the British Isles, Australasia and the southern portion of Africa, Ingsoc philosophy

Eurasia - one of the three super-states comprised of the northern European and Asiatic land-mass from Portugal to Bering Strait, always at war with Oceania, Neo-Bolshevism philosophy

Eastasia - one of the three super-states comprised of China and the countries to the south of it, the Japanese islands, Mongolia, Manchuria, and Tibet, an ally to Oceania, Death-Worship philosophy

Malabar - front where war battles constantly take place

Airstrip One - formerly called England, third most populous province of Oceania

Minitrue - nickname for The Ministry of Truth, handles education, entertainment, news, and fine arts, also where Winston works; actually creates lies

Minipax - nickname for The Ministry of Peace, deals with war; actually facilitates war

Miniluv - nickname for The Ministry of Love, maintains law and order; actually concerned with torture

Miniplenty - nickname for The Ministry of Plenty, handles economic affairs; actually encourages starvation

Pubs - where the Proles hang out, gamble, drink beer, and play darts

Community Centre - a communal place where Party followers are expected to spend their free time participating in social, recreational activities

Room 101 - a location in the Ministry of Love where people are tortured using their greatest fears

Recdep - Records department, where Winston works

Ficdep - Fiction department, where Julia works

Teledep - Tele-Programmes department


Technology:

Telescreen - device used for privacy invasion in almost every location, someone watches you from the screen and monitors your every movement

Speakwrite - device that translates words into writing, the catch is that it has the ability to store and filter what you say, so you better be careful


People and groups:

Big Brother “B.B.” - the omniscient ruler whose face is plastered everywhere you look, cigarettes, posters, banners, books covers, etc

The Party - corrupt ruling class

Thinkpol - Thought Police who monitor everyone at any given moment, making sure they are loyal to The Party

Brotherhood - rebellious group that opposes The Party

Junior Anti-Sex League - group that advocates celibacy, The Party discourages sexual intercourse and the pleasure and interpersonal connection associated with it

Comrade - how people are to address one another, replaces Mr. and Mrs. 

Proles - working class known as Proletarians, not required to demonstrate loyalty, "Proles and animals are free"

Pornosec - sub-section of Records Department filled with the lowest pornography that only workers there can see

Unperson - someone who ceases to exist through having their records expunged and bodies vaporized

Junior Spies - children used to spy on adults and turn them in for committing crimes against the society


Ideals and Rituals:

INGSOC - English Socialism, form of political system

Two Minutes Hate - a daily showing of traitor Emmanuel Goldstein photo’s accompanied by obnoxious noises meant to spark loyalty to The Party

Physical Jerks - daily morning spasm that leads to a coughing fit followed by a stretching routine

Vaporization - the act of removing someone from society and extirpating their existence by destroying all files and records, usually occurs after breaking societal rules

Artsem - short for artificial insemination, how children are to be begotten as advocated by the Junior Anti-Sex League

Hangings - frequent, gruesome executions of people who have broken the rules, many enjoy attending, especially children

Doublethink - holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously and accepting both of them

Thoughtcrime - the crime of thinking thoughts that the society forbids

Facecrime - the crime of not portraying a certain expression appropriate to the given situation by The Party’s standards

Crimestop - stopping short, as though by instinct, at the threshold of any dangerous thought

Duckspeak - quacking like a duck, can be abuse or a praise depending on who you use it with

Goodthink - naturally orthodox, incapable of thinking a bad thought

Times - news update frequently re-written and re-issued to always be "accurate"

Ownlife - individualism and eccentricity, discouraged by the Party

Blackwhite - impudently claiming black is white and contradicting plain facts; loyal willingness to say, believe, and know black is white

Bellyfeel - blind, enthusiastic acceptance

Goodsex - chastity

Sexcrime - sexual misdeeds including fornication, adultery, homosexuality, and normal intercourse practiced for its own sake

Joycamp - forced-labor camp

Comintern - a tightly-knit organization; well-defined body of doctrine

Miscellaneous:

Plus + word - intensifies meaning of a word

Doubleplus + word - further intensifies meaning of a word

Un + word - creates the opposite of a word, i.e) ungood instead of bad

Victory + object - used in combination with cigarettes, gin, coffee, etc; puts positive connotation with addictive objects that can have adverse effects