Newspeak – today’s vulgate Cover Image

Novogovor – vulgata današnjice
Newspeak – today’s vulgate

Author(s): Branko Kuna, Zvonimir Glavaš
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Filozofski fakultet, Sveučilište Josipa Jurja Strossmayera, Osijek
Keywords: Newspeak; Croatian print media; ideologems; manipulation; mystification; ideology; socialism; liberalism

Summary/Abstract: Newspeak is seen as a sociolect of limited politocracy which aims to take over the func-tions of general language. When (any) government speaks language that favors its inter-ests, it can be said that this is a form of Newspeak. This paper seeks to identify, describe and compare patterns of Newspeak recorded in the Croatian journalism in 1971 and in the present. Newspeak and its basic features can be identified in both periods and it may be concluded that it reflects the force movement of dominant power centers. At the same time, Newspeak actively replicates that power in each period. The change of socio-political system brought new linguistic elements, and the interest of the ruling elite in linguistic hygiene, semantic changes of words and mystification of reality has not diminished at all.

  • Issue Year: XV/2014
  • Issue No: 2-3
  • Page Range: 349-371
  • Page Count: 23
  • Language: Croatian