1984

           Oragain,ifyouwantastrongerversionof"good", whatsenseisthereinhavingawholestringofvagueuselesswordslike"excellent"and"splendid"andalltherestofthem? "Plusgood"coversthemeaning,or"doubleplusgood"ifyouwantsomethingstrongerstill. Ofcourseweusethoseformsalready. butinthefinalversionofNewspeakthere’llbenothingelse. Intheendthewholenotionofgoodnessandbadnesswillbecoveredbyonlysixwords—inreality,onlyoneword. Don’tyouseethebeautyofthat,Winston? ItwasB.B.‘sideaoriginally,ofcourse,’headdedasanafterthought. 

           AsortofvapideagernessflittedacrossWinston’sfaceatthementionofBigBrother. NeverthelessSymeimmediatelydetectedacertainlackofenthusiasm. 

           ‘Youhaven’tarealappreciationofNewspeak,Winston,’hesaidalmostsadly. ‘Evenwhenyouwriteityou’restillthinkinginOldspeak. I’vereadsomeofthosepiecesthatyouwritein"TheTimes"occasionally. They’regoodenough,butthey’retranslations. Inyourheartyou’dprefertosticktoOldspeak,withallitsvaguenessanditsuselessshadesofmeaning. Youdon’tgraspthebeautyofthedestructionofwords. DoyouknowthatNewspeakistheonlylanguageintheworldwhosevocabularygetssmallereveryyear?’ 

           Winstondidknowthat,ofcourse. Hesmiled,sympatheticallyhehoped,nottrustinghimselftospeak. Symebitoffanotherfragmentofthedark-colouredbread,cheweditbriefly,andwenton: 

           ‘Don’tyouseethatthewholeaimofNewspeakistonarrowtherangeofthought?