You’re Being Manipulated: The Power of Language

I’m betting that you have at least heard of the classic dystopian novel 1984 by George Orwell, either in school or maybe in some random Twitter discourse. After all, its depressing setting and cult-like depictions of governmental control allow for the exploration of a variety of different themes and issues in society. However, less may be known about the adjective George Orwell brought to life: Orwellian.  

Orwellian is technically a word encapsulating anything that refers to the societal themes that George Orwell often wrote about, but contrary to some popular misconceptions, Orwellian does not directly mean a typical dystopian setting with some form of authoritarianism; there’s a lot more nuance to it. Orwellian refers to the use of propaganda and language among other things to manipulate and control society. As humanitarian subjects are discounted and considered useless and pretentious, George Orwell’s message may be a reminder of the power that language holds.  

What is language, actually? At its core, language is a tool: the collection of words used to communicate our thoughts, feelings, and ideas. Words allow the exploration of topics which may otherwise be left to collect dust. We use words to convey whole ideas, such as war, peace, freedom, and slavery. Language is communication. Language is the basis of how society functions and grows, but that’s what can make it so dangerous – the subtleties in the way it can influence our thoughts more than vaccines or wireless headphones ever could. 

Take euphemisms, for example: when certain words and phrases are considered “too harsh” and so replaced with other phrases. Euphemisms are one of the easiest ways to subtly manipulate what people feel by undermining the actual importance of something.  

For example, genocide is the deliberate targeting and killing of a certain population with the aim to destroy them. It is such a serious topic with grievous consequences, so why do we replace it with the phrase “ethnic cleansing”? Technically, they refer to the same idea. But the use of the word “cleansing” - meaning to get rid of something unpleasant - undermines what the word is supposed to represent. Instead, “ethnic cleansing” – taking the words it is made up of – implies that yes, there are people being targeted based on their ethnicity, but it is ok because it’s “cleansing”. At most, ethnic cleansing is then turned from something that is established and agreed to be outright wrong into something that’s debatable and isn’t an emergency. By creating euphemisms, you are removing the connotations that usually come with the original topic.