Think Speak

In George Orwell’s novel 1984, ‘Think-Speak’ is the name of a universal language of permissible word usage in a dismal dystopian future, whose purpose is to convey a structured monologue of the goings-on of daily life, with the goal of having everyone be aligned on thought while eliminating all emotion during the course of communication.

My Definition of ‘Think Speak’, unlike Orwell’s, retains emotions and is the act of condensing a more complete, comprehensive thought process that one has just broken down (analyzed) into its constituent parts within their mind. This summary is stated as a quote, cliche, or perhaps an abbreviated ‘short line’ they have just coined themselves.

For example, one has been thinking extensively about how they have spent their life’, or, they have just completed breaking down all the aspects of a particular issue or situation. All of a sudden, a ‘Think Speak’ pops into their head, so they summarily utter something peculiar such as “Life’s Been Good So Far”, or “You can never go back” (i.e. you burned the bridges), etc.

Again, when they realize that they have exhausted the issue, a remembered phrase or quote may come to mind that nicely ‘sums’ up everything that was just pondered over. For them, it is like giving the mental work a title.

While this ‘Think Speak’ summarizing makes perfect sense to the one who worked through the thought process, it is apt to sound or appear (if written) to another, as ambiguous or confusing. It might be construed as a parable or quote that doesn’t fit within the present conversation. It may indeed seem that the one doing the ‘Think Speak’ has simply lost their mind.

The caveat of ‘Think Speak’ is that the recipient simply can’t read the thinker’s mind, although the thinker falsely assumes that the recipient’s mind is one with theirs so it must be a ‘given’.

Footnote:
‘The result of using ‘Think Speak’ is somewhat analogous to the humorous, well worn defining of the word ‘Assume’. To Assume, can oftentimes make an ‘Ass of You and Me’.