Is big brother watching you? A computational analysis of frequencies of Dystopian Terminology in George Orwell's 1984

摘要

George Orwell's 1984 is considered by many to be a classical work of modern English literature with tremendous influence. It has been translated into many languages and is still one of the most read works to the present day. The word “Orwellian” is used in present-day English language to describe a totalitarian utopia, i.e. dystopia. The terms and literary concepts in the novel have been the subject of a vast critical acclaim, whereas the novel's terminology used by Orwell is still being massively utilised in media, political science, education, popular culture etc. Linguists claim that terms such as “Big Brother”, “thoughtcrime”, “Room 101” and others are in common use since the publication of the novel in 1949. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate, through the use of a computational analysis of frequencies of dystopian terminology in the text of George Orwell's 1984, that it is possible to measure how the Orwellian concept is created, constructed and structured in the novel. Such a computational approach might provide deeper, objective, unbiased and consistent insights into the phenomenon of dystopia in fictional literature.