1984

The novel uses neologisms, or invented words and expressions, to emphasize the Party’s control over all aspects of its members’ lives. Neologisms in literature aid in world-building, providing insight into the novel’s culture, norms, and time period, especially in science fiction and fantasy. For instance, giving Oceania’s language the name Newspeak, highlights the Party’s desire for ideological control over its population. It is the mouthpiece of Ingsoc (English Socialism), which is really totalitarianism by another name.

Neologisms also aid in fictionalizing the novel’s world and separating from readers’ real-world context. Using the term “doublethink” instead of “hypocrisy” or “lies” distances the concept of misinformation as applying to a fictional society, rather than being a direct criticism the novel’s real-world political system. Even the name Big Brother is created as a euphemism for a police state, making constant surveillance seem like a loving and protective act rather than an oppressive force. Terms like telescreens point to the novel’s distant technological reality and add texture to its embodied world.