Aim: How does language construct and impact thought?
Do Now: Shakespearean Insults Challenge
For the Do Now, we created insults from a sheet containing three columns of words used during Shakespeare’s time. Afterwards, we had to try to translate the insults we put together. We found that this activity was difficult because we did not know the meanings of the words we were using. Because we were unable to understand the words, we could not ensure that the message was accurate and unhindered. We also found that we were inclined to use simpler words to translate the insults. As a class, we discussed how this connects to 1984. The novel takes place in Airstrip One, a dystopian Britain where Big Brother controls all—people, words, and thoughts. One important concept introduced in the first chapter is Newspeak. Newspeak is the new language of Oceania. It takes Oldspeak words and shortens them or consolidates them. For example, “warm” would be referred to as “uncold” in Newspeak. This ties into the Do Now activity because Newspeak is a device used by Big Brother to limit the thoughts of the people of Oceania. Similar to how the compressed language of 1984 forces people to think simply rather than deeply, the unfamiliar Shakespearean language made us have to think plainly as well.
“How language shapes the way we think”
Then, we watched a TED-Talk by Lena Boroditsky about how language influences how we think. We learned that some languages have more specific words for certain topics than others, and that affects the thoughts of those speaking the languages. For example, people who speak English usually refer to the color blue as just “blue,” while Russian-speakers often differentiate between light blue and dark blue. If speakers of both languages saw the color blue change from light to dark on a screen, Russian-speakers would notice it as a complete change in color while English-speakers would not think of it as such a drastic change. This means that when a language has a smaller vocabulary, it limits the extent that a person can think about a topic.
Taboo—Twisted!
After gaining insight from the video, we tried to do an experiment (of sorts) on ourselves. We played a game called “Taboo.” In this version, we had two rounds. In the first round, we had to describe a concrete object—an iPad—using five words other than the obvious ones provided (tablet, electronic, etc.). While a little creative was required to avoid the given words, this round was not especially challenging. However, in the second round we needed to describe concepts, such as “belief,” “equality,” and “freedom.” This turned out to be very challenging because the ideas were complex, intangible, and abstract.
“Can You Think Complex Thoughts Without Language? | 1984 - George Orwell”
To investigate further, we watched a video that questions whether language affects a person’s ability to think complex thoughts. The video corroborates what the TED-Talk states (that the vocabulary of languages affects the distinctions a person makes), but the video questions the idea that Newspeak can completely suppress complex thought. The video suggests that we think in a mental language, or Mentalese, that we automatically translate into the language we speak in. As a result, even if we cannot describe a concept, we can still feel it. To communicate it, all that is needed is to make up a new word to describe it.
My Thoughts Regarding the Reading:
The first chapter of 1984 by George Orwell transports you to a world where your thoughts are suppressed and what the government says is absolute. Whereas seemingly everyone is easily manipulated by the government—accepting fabricated ideas as truths and concentrating all suspicion towards the supposed enemy of the party—the protagonist, Winston Smith, thinks for himself. I felt that this premise was very interesting. What is especially important is the first-person point of view. Contrary to Animal Farm, which tells the story of the animals from a third-person point of view, 1984 allows you to see the world through Winston’s eyes. The insight into Winston’s feelings of isolation, hopelessness, resentment and paranoia allow the reader to understand the psychological manipulation of a totalitarian dictatorship even deeper than in Animal Farm, in my opinion.
My Experience Learning From Home:
My experience learning from home has been great. Not having to go to and from school gives me much more time to get homework done and this decreases my stress level. Some may say that they miss school activities, but I have been engaging myself in creative activities at home! For example, I learned how to animate a little by myself and was able to create a cartoon based on a comic I made a year ago. Additionally, having longer breaks between classes and three periods a day allows me to give each subject’s work and homework the devotion it deserves without making me stressed out. As a result, I do not feel any inclination to procrastinate and can work efficiently.
Updates in the World/Community Regarding the Virus:
By this point in time, New York Covid-19 hospitalizations have slowly gone down and New York is going to start reopening. New York is going to reopen slowly—in phases. Governor Andrew Cuomo stresses that he does not want to open too fast because the virus cases would increase again and the importance of social distancing would be forgotten. Many places in the United States have already reopened. Some of them limited the businesses that would be opened, such as California, while others, like Alabama, reopened most of their business already. I hope that we do not experience a second wave of the virus in New York, since we are reopening without a vaccine or the ability to test enough people for the virus and antibodies.
Reflection:
Today in class, we learned about the relationship between language and thought. Our first task was to create Shakespearean insults from a variety of words completely unknown to us and then try to figure out what the insults mean. Because of our limited knowledge of the words used in Shakespeare’s time, it was difficult to figure out the meaning of our insults and we tended to use simpler words to describe them. This realization gave us an insight into Winston’s difficulty when trying to write his feelings and opinions in his diary due to the psychological limitations of Newspeak. Big Brother controls his people through Newspeak because people are unable to describe Oldspeak concepts like freedom, democracy, or equality. As the words lose their meaning over time, Big Brother gains a firmer grasp over the minds of his people. We gained a deeper understanding of the psychological impact of language by playing “Taboo.” In the first round, describing physical objects took some creative thinking, but it was doable. However, describing abstract concepts like “belief,” “integrity,” and “pride” proved to be much harder. This allowed us to understand Winston’s struggle to form his own complex thoughts. After these activities, it became apparent that the impact of language on thought is portrayed in Animal Farm as well. In Animal Farm, the pigs were given the highest level of education, so they were able to manipulate the laws and history of the farm. The other animals were mostly illiterate, with some animals having basic language skills. As a result, they felt uneasiness and insecurity as Squealer and Napoleon fed them fabricated histories and lies, but they could not describe their feelings and were forced to accept the pigs’ statements as truth. This is just like the concept of Doublethink (accepting what the party says while knowing the truth) in 1984. As we keep reading 1984, we will use our new understanding of Newspeak’s influence on thought to observe the progression of Winston’s conflict. How will Winston overcome the obstacle of Newspeak? How can he resist a human’s desire to conform and let others think for him? We can relate our experiences in today’s activities to Winston’s struggle in 1984 to gain an even deeper understanding of the novel.
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