Nineteen Eighty-Four: Difference between revisions

'''''Nineteen Eighty-Four''''' or '''''1984''''' is a dystopian novel by {{w|George Orwell}}. In the book, a totalitarian surveillance superstate (Oceania) enforces '''{{w|Newspeak}}''', a simplified controlled language with a limited vocabulary, to suppress free and critical thinking. Hasty comparisons to ''Nineteen Eighty-Four'' are very common,<ref group="lower-alpha">In general, but also about Toki Pona specifically.</ref><ref>{{cite roundtable |page=26&ndash;27}}</ref> to the point that {{a category|owe}} {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/nimi sin|nimi sin]]}}, '''{{tp|owe}}''' ("Orwellian"), has been coined to [[Special:MyLanguage/Joke words|joke]] about it. Whether Newspeak portrays government propaganda realistically in the first place is debatable. The {{w|Linguistic determinism|strong}} [[Special:MyLanguage/Sapir–Whorf hypothesis|Sapir–Whorf hypothesis]] is generally discredited, and [[Special:MyLanguage/Toki Pona|Toki Pona]] calls into question whether a language can be used to constrain expression.

* Newspeak has a continually diminishing vocabulary. Toki Pona's vocabulary has expanded since (and even <em>with</em><ref>{{cite web|url=//amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R2Q6HW5A6Q94IQ|title=Customer Review|author=Clifford, John E.|username=|date=August 21, 2014|website=Amazon|publisher=|access-date=2024-04-06|quote=}}</ref>) the publication of the book {{pu|en}}. [[Special:MyLanguage/nimi sin|Words made and revived by the community]] have entered widespread use. 17 such words, the {{tp|[[Special:MyLanguage/nimi ku suli|nimi ku suli]]}}, are officially endorsed in the {{ku|en}}.