This presentation will contrast Buffyspeak versus Newspeak, the language that  was being developed in the novel 1984.  As evidenced in the structure and enforcement of these two languages, the populous can be either empowered or enslaved.  Newspeak is an artificial language that's development is fueled by a conscious maligned purpose. Buffyspeak is an organic extension of the native language catalyzed by creativity, adaptability, individuality, and necessity.

Newspeak was created with the singular intent of eliminating the ability for thought crime, much less for actual crime, to take place.  Newspeak would effectively squash the creative impulses and new thoughts of all citizens unless approved by the government.  If a feeling or thought cannot be named or vocalized, and no new words are allowed to be generated by the populous, the government in the world of 1984 has essentially enslaved it's citizens.  Worse yet, the citizens are bereft of the knowledge that it is possible to communicate and think more freely as individuals; therefore, they cannot even recognize their  enslavement.

In stark contrast, Buffyspeak empowers its speakers.  This empowerment via creativity and denial of authority, has been well documented in Slayer Slang (Michael Adams, 2003) and "Staking in Tongues:  Speech Act as Weapon in Buffy" (Overbey and Preston-Matto, find date). These citations and others in the literature provide a strong foundation for this claim.  Buffyspeak is so free of grammatical or 'proper' restraint that its speakers can name the unnamed, and take liberties with old ideas to mold them into something that they can understand in a more modern context.

This presentation will cite excerpts from 1984 and  the accumulated body of literature of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as pertinent scholarly works.