Language as a form of personal expression - Admission/Application Essay Example

or Essay Personal Essay Language: what is Language? Personal expression? Means of communication? Or a Manuscript? Can language just be a form of personal expression and survive if people do not relate to it? What is the use of an art form if it does not reach out to people? When looking at English as a language and its applications in various art forms such as storytelling, Drama, Essays and speech, is there a noticeable increase in demand for it, as the art form itself gets more and more universal and accessible?

George Orwell, in his essay on “Politics and the English Language”(1946) talks but how politics, bad essay writing techniques and the influx of foreign phrases has made English a language something that is attuned in a more fashionable and glamorous sense rather than what it started out to be, which is, a means of communication. His essay brings to light many common mistakes and liberties that are being taken with the language today. However it cannot be ignored that this is the result of the evolution of language as a mode of expression and a means to reach out to people and be understood.

Laws and rules to words cannot bind language as an expression. However it would make sense in a way for an aspiring writer to follow the rules of language that apply to the likes of George Orwell, TS Elliot and many other greats. For those who use English just as a means of communication, explanation or for the sake of record maintenance like a scientist, mathematician or non-literary person, there are many pre-formatted popular phrases and idioms that can be built into to each sentence to express what they are trying to say.

Like Orwell says, “You also don't have to bother with the rhythms of your sentences since these phrases are generally so arranged as to be more or less euphonious” (1946). It is common knowledge that we write and express better in the language we think in, and within that language is the language of expression. Political writers and essay writers write in the language of the people. The political language is filled with over-statements and is a cornucopia of promises geared towards mass appeal.

In that sense they are toeing the line of the current trend without having to bodily involve themselves in it. In this case the reach it has and not the correct usage of it gauges the effectiveness of language. Professional writers will definitely agree that the first draft is the most unedited form of writing. Where there is no restriction to expression, only the connection of thought and output. This does not however refer to spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. The first draft is usually where one writes before analyzing the style or format of the essay or piece of writing.

There is a distinct feel for the subject in hand and the writing is fluid and uninterrupted. It can be a story; an essay; a speech, etc. Often a writer’s best works are those with the initial words and expressions that purges forth on to the paper. A piece, built on a thought that could have occurred in the midst of the busiest day or the most restful hour of sleep. This then develops with careful consideration of what the object of the piece is and then gets rearranged to make a wholesome read.

The core of the subject however never changes; if it does then it is a completely new piece of writing and not based on the original thought of idea. The kind of words that flow uninterrupted is representative of the times we live in. Its not common for one in a modern world to suddenly have an inspired moment to write a completely involuntary work in Shakespearean language or use words that do not have any meaning to the times or to the mind. Pen or keys speak to the paper or computer screen like a speaker would to an audience.

A politician writes for effect, he/she wants to appeal to the people’s insecurities and expectations. But the fact that cannot be ignored is that the paper can get tired. A wise art teacher once told me to stop working over and over again on an idea, as even the canvas can get tired. Over expression and non-clarity in thought and process can do just that. Sometimes simple words and expressions can hit the nail on the head more effectively than an accumulation of “stale phrases that choke the reader like tea leaves blocking a sink” (Orwell, 1964).

A brilliant or just a strong thought however has to have imagery. The human mind needs imagery or a relatibility to express and understand. The use of dramatic text, pathos, metaphors and similes go a long way in creating this image and the rules of application of these have changed over the years and taken on various forms and influences. This essay in its descriptions has used many of the traditional words and succumbed to the influence of modernity and the politics of the language as per the times.

Every user of the language need not be compared to someone whose only aspiration and ambition is to be a writer. When communicating a message, the main objective is to be understood and most often people understand what they are used to hearing and that becomes the language of their thinking. Anything that strikes a chord is appealing and the message or speech at that moment has done its job. Is that not the entire purpose of language, to communicate with a purpose of being heard? Works Cited George Orwell, Politics and the English Language. 1946. 8th February 2012.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12220.htm. Robert W. Stallman. The Objective Correlative of T. S. Eliot . reprinted in Critiques and Essays in Criticism, ed. 1949.