Orwell on the road

The Dictionary of American Regional English will publish its fifth volume next year, completing a massive 45-year effort to document the eccentricities of American speech.

Complete with maps, the dictionary documents words such as “pitch-in” or “scramble” used in place of “potluck dinner.” It explains what President Bill Clinton meant when he said an opponent didn’t know him “from Adam’s off ox.” 

Discussing non-standard speech is nothing new. George Orwell wrote his famous 1946 essay “Politics and the English Language” to address the argument that English “must inevitably share in the general collapse” of our culture. 

In a world of text messaging and online chat, we have more reasons than ever to discuss the ways our language is changing. Does modifying and simplifying English always serve us well?

Spending 48 hours on the road this spring break, I saw more than a few grammatically questionable road signs. Among institutions, gas stations particularly defy traditional English usage.

Stylistically misspelling common words is probably their most common offense. Attached convenience stores become “Kwik Korners.” Sometimes the entire gas station is in need of rebranding, as the name of the chain “Kum & Go” doesn’t give potential customers a very accurate idea of what services the business offers.

Orwell’s essay identifies this lack of precision as a primary problem in English usage. He wrote: “The writer either has a meaning and cannot express it, or he inadvertently says something else.” 

In addition to general linguistic incompetence, Orwell identifies cliches as a major contributor to imprecision. He protested substituting “phrases tacked together like the sections of a prefabricated henhouse” for words chosen for “the sake of their meaning.”
In a small South Dakota town, I passed the “Mustard’s Last Stand” diner. 

The name is a classic case of what Orwell describes as prefabricated strands of words expressing a feeling rather than a thought. Instead of providing readers with a descriptive, accurate name, the diner evokes the general sentiment of being a Western establishment by rhyming its name with the infamous General Custer’s name. 

A passersby might chuckle at the allusion. Thoughtful readers, on the other hand, are right to be confused by the message. The link between food service and the death of a general who fought to force native people onto reservations is unclear at best and otherwise just plain offensive. 

Unlike the rich geographical variation documented by the Dictionary of American Regional English, imprecise gas station and diner signage doesn’t help people make sense of their local surroundings. Many of us have clearly forgotten that the purpose of language is conveying our meaning to others.

As students, we need to be especially aware that “Kwik Korner” and “Kum & Go” are not the only examples of vague, unhelpful writing. Excessively dressing up language and adding obscure academic jargon can be even more distracting to readers than intentional misspellings. 

That’s no small concern. Our relations with other people are rooted in successful communication. After all, if we can’t express ourselves, no one will be able to tell us from Adam’s off ox.