PropagandaThe Art of Newspeak, Syntactical

Patterns of Rhetoric, and Propaganda Techniques

Have your rhetoric packet on your desk.

Welcome to Oceania!• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx6oczHss24

Newspeak• Official language of Oceania• Should replace Oldspeak (current English) by 2050.

• A central way of controlling the minds of Party members and making Thoughtcrime (thinking thoughts against the Party) impossible

The A Vocabulary• The business of everyday life”

o getting dressed o going from place to place

• Nouns and verbs were identical in formo “Cut” disappeared, and “knife” became the one word meaning

“knife” (the tool that cuts), and the act of cutting. • “The knifes knife the cake.”

• Adjectives were formed by adding –ful to the noun-verb, so that “knifeful” took the place of “sharp”

The A Vocabulary• Adverbs were formed by adding –wise to the

noun-verbo “Knifewise” takes the place of “sharply.”

• Words were made negative by adding un to the beginning of a word.o “Uncold” replaced “warm”.

• They were made positive by adding plus or doubleplus to the beginning of a word, such as “good” to replace “very good,” “excellent,” and “splendid.”

• Verbs formed their past tense by adding –ed. o “Scraped” would remain the past tense of “scrape”, but the past

tense of “think” became “thinked,” and “spoke” became “speaked.”

• Plurals of nouns were made by adding –s or –es. o “Telescreens” remained “telescreens,” but “men” became “mans” and

“women” “womans.”

The B Vocabulary• Made up of words which had political purposes • Intended to make people respond as the Party wanted them to

• Contained two words joined together to make a “noun-verb”o “Prolefeed” meaning “rubbish entertainment”o “Sexcrime” meaning any kind of sexual misbehavior, including sex

between people enjoying the act for its own sake

The B Vocabulary• Many words did not exist in Newspeak because the Party had removed the living conditions they described.

• Free, Justice, God, Religion• Names of the Ministries and Departments were shortened

• Ministry of Truth to Minitrue• Fiction Department to Ficdep

The C Vocabulary• Consisted only of scientific and technical terms almost never used in everyday speech.

Syntactical Patterns of Rhetoric

1. Anadiplosis2. Anaphora3. Antimetabole4. Antithesis5. Asyndeton6. Chiasmus7. Epanalepsis8. Epistrophe9. Inversion10.Parallelism11.Polysyndeton

Anadiplosis • Repetition device in which the last word or

phrase of one sentence or line is repeated at the beginning of the nexto I crave reward; reward me not

unkindlyoWhen I give, I give myself.o I am Sam; Sam I am.

Anaphora • Repetition device in which the same expression is

repeated at the beginning of two or more lines, clauses, or sentenceso Down fell the tender saplings, down fell

the aging sycamore, down fell the graceful willow, down fell the mighty oak under the battering ram of the storm.

o It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

Antimetabole • The repetition of words in successive

clauses in reverse grammatical orderoOne should eat to live, not live to

eat.oAsk not what your country can do

for you, but what you can do for your country.

Antithesis• The repetition of parallel elements that are

contrastedoOne small step for man, one giant

leap for mankind.oYou’re still the same old brand new

you.

Asyndeton • A condensed form of expression in which

elements customarily joined by conjunctions are presented in series without the conjunctionso I came, I saw, I conquered.o ...and that government of the

people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

Chiasmus • A pattern in which the second part is

balanced against the first but with the parts reversedoFlowers are lovely and love is

flowerlike.o “Do I love you because you’re

beautiful? Or are you beautiful because I love you?”

Epanalepsis • The repetition at the end of a clause of a

word or phrase from the beginningoBlood hath brought blood, and

blows have answered blows.oAlways Low Prices. Always.

Epistrophe • The repetition of a closing word or phrase

at the end of several clauseso I’ll have my bond. Speak not

against my bond. I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond.

o I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Inversion • The placing of a sentence element out of

its normal position either to gain emphasis or to secure a so-called poetic effectoEach other eternally we love.oA jedi you will be.

Parallelism • Repetition of structural similarity, such as the

repetition of a grammatical element like a preposition or verb phrase• It was the best of times, it was the worst

of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.

• Like father, like son.

Polysyndeton • Using conjunctions between words,

phrases, or clausesoHe sinks or wades or creeps or flies.o Let the whitefolks have their money

and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpet, and books, and mostly–mostly–let them have their whiteness.

Propaganda Techniques

• the methods and approaches used to spread ideas that further a cause - a political, commercial, religious, or civil cause.

• Used to manipulate the readers' or viewers' reason and emotions; to persuade you to believe in something or someone, buy an item, or vote a certain way.

Bandwagon • Involves encouraging people to think or

act in some way simply because other people are doing so. o "All your neighbors are rushing

down to Mistri Motors to take advantage of this year-end sale. You come, too!"

Snob appeal • Involves making a claim that one should

act or think in a certain way because of the high social status associated with the action or thought. o "Felson’s Furs – the feeling of

luxury, for those who can afford the very best."

Plain Folks • Shows average-looking, middle-class people using

a product and having a wonderful time. • The message here is that you too should buy the

product because “plain folks” just like you are doing it.

Scientific Claim • Involves promoting or

challenging an opinion by using words address some sort of scientific proof or experiment, very specific numbers or an impressive sounding mystery ingredient.

• Some of the words may be so vague or so poorly defined as to be almost meaningless. o "Try our new and

improved, all-natural product."

Loaded words • Involves using words with

strong positive or negative connotations, or associations.

• Name-calling is an example of the use of loaded words.

• So is any use of words that are charged with emotion. o "No really intelligent

voter would support his candidacy."

Transfer • Involves making an illogical

association between one thing and something else that is generally viewed as positive or negative. o "The American

pioneers worked hard because they cared about the future. If you can about the future of your family, then see your agent at Pioneer Insurance."

Testimonial • An endorsement of a

product, person, or a cause by a famous person.

• Advertisers count on your good feelings about the person to transfer to the product.

• However, the person may be unqualified to endorse the product they are supporting. o Michael Jordan

selling Hanes underwear.

Card Stacking • Comes from stacking a deck of cards in your

favor.• Card stacking is used to slant a message. • Key words or unfavorable statistics may be

omitted in an ad or commercial, leading to a series of half-truths.

• Keep in mind that an advertiser is under no obligation "to give the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiWTcVHdSFo