--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Most people who bother with the matter at…" description: "\"Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by cons..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg" --- # Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit… ![“Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg) > “Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The English language is deteriorating, and people think they cannot intentionally improve it. **In simple terms:** Language is getting worse and people feel powerless to fix it. Key Takeaway Recognize agency in shaping language. Themes language decay responsibility communication Mood concerned reflective Type critical analytical When to use this quote - education reform - writing workshops - media standards - public discourse Key Concepts sociolinguistics prescriptivism cultural criticism Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals influence language trends? - What role do institutions play in language preservation? A Different Perspective Change requires collective effort, not just individual action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Action](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) [English language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/english-language/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [The people I've met -- obviously, the people I'm going to meet after concerts are people that bother to hang around and there's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dean-bradfield/the-people-i-ve-met-obviously-the-people-i-m-going-to-meet-after/) [James Dean Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dean-bradfield/) > [When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying to get your divine attention and your blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/when-people-bother-you-in-any-way-it-is-because-their-souls-are/) [Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/) > [Life doesn't exist inside language: too bad for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/life-doesn-t-exist-inside-language-too-bad-for-me/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [If music goes out of language, then you are in bad trouble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/if-music-goes-out-of-language-then-you-are-in-bad-trouble/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [Very few people ever bother to find out what other people really think. They are willing to accept whatever they are told about anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/very-few-people-ever-bother-to-find-out-what-other-people-really/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that many records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-people-why-i-bother-to-carry-on/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [If you are gonna act like you dont know me when you're with a certain group of people you might as well not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-gonna-act-like-you-dont-know-me-when-you-re-with-a-certain/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Telling people her name was always a bother. As soon as the name left her lips, the other person looked puzzled or confused.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/telling-people-her-name-was-always-a-bother-as-soon-as-the-name-left/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Has it ever occurred to you,’ he said, ‘that the whole history of English poetry has been determined by the fact that the English…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/has-it-ever-occurred-to-you-he-said-that-the-whole-history-of-english/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [A man may take to drink because he feels himself to he a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/a-man-may-take-to-drink-because-he-feels-himself-to-he-a-failure-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Nevertheless . . was a word, certainly, but much more than a word, it was a concept. "Nevertheless" was what you said when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brunonia-barry/nevertheless-was-a-word-certainly-but-much-more-than-a-word-it-was-a/) [Brunonia Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brunonia-barry/) > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [“The first phase of modernism, which so far as the English language goes we associate with Pound and Yeats, Wyndham Lewis and Eliot and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-kermode/the-first-phase-of-modernism-which-so-far-as-the-english-language/) [Frank Kermode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-kermode/) > [These men of many nations must be taught American ways, the English language, and the right way to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/these-men-of-many-nations-must-be-taught-american-ways-the-english/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [“Fine’s a funny word, don’t you think? I don’t think there’s another like it in the English language that says so much while actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-chase/fine-s-a-funny-word-don-t-you-think-i-don-t-think-there-s-another/) [Emma Chase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-chase/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Action quotes > [I always say there are two things to be successful. The first is decide exactly what you want - set your goals - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/i-always-say-there-are-two-things-to-be-successful-the-first-is/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [You'd be surprised how hard it can often be to translate an action into an idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/you-d-be-surprised-how-hard-it-can-often-be-to-translate-an-action/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Gratitude isn't just a feeling, it's an action. Expressing gratitude by writing in a journal, taking a photo, or shooting a video creates a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janice-kaplan/gratitude-isn-t-just-a-feeling-it-s-an-action-expressing-gratitude-by/) [Janice Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janice-kaplan/) > [Nothing is so powerful as an insight into human nature... what compulsions drive a man, what instincts dominate his action. If you know these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bernbach/nothing-is-so-powerful-as-an-insight-into-human-nature-what/) [William Bernbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bernbach/) > [Every thought I have imprisioned in expression I must free by my deeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kahlil-gibran/every-thought-i-have-imprisioned-in-expression-i-must-free-by-my-deeds/) [Kahlil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kahlil-gibran/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [Every action that helps us manifest our divine nature more and more is good; every action that retards it is evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-vivekananda/every-action-that-helps-us-manifest-our-divine-nature-more-and-more/) [Swami Vivekananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-vivekananda/) > [As you begin changing your thinking, start immediately to change your behaviour. Begin to act the part of the person you would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/as-you-begin-changing-your-thinking-start-immediately-to-change-your/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [For comedy action, I must know the language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sammo-hung/for-comedy-action-i-must-know-the-language/) [Sammo Hung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sammo-hung/) > [Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/believing-with-you-that-religion-is-a-matter-which-lies-solely/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [“Action is a powerful thing. When you smile through your sadness, it can completely change your outlook. Try it! Smile :) Now hold onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leticia-rae/action-is-a-powerful-thing-when-you-smile-through-your-sadness-it-can/) [Leticia Rae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leticia-rae/) > [I reject criticism because the last thing I wanted was to sit there and look at people talking. I think people are conditioned to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-tyrnauer/i-reject-criticism-because-the-last-thing-i-wanted-was-to-sit-there/) [Matt Tyrnauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-tyrnauer/) > [“I take my actions because of my passion not because of compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/i-take-my-actions-because-of-my-passion-not-because-of-compulsion/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-reeve/when-the-first-superman-movie-came-out-i-was-frequently-asked-what-is/) [Christopher Reeve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-reeve/) [Browse all 14,940 Action quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/action/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-at-all-would-admit-that-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Action" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-at-all-would-admit-that-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/150/george-orwell-57_action_most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-a_2811818.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it…” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Most people who bother with the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-at-all-would-admit-that-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-at-all-would-admit-that-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```