How to Understand the ‘Nadsat’ Argot in “A Clockwork Orange” (2024)

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Understand what Nadsat is. Analyze each sentence. Translate a sentence from the book. Compile your own glossary of Nadsat-to-English translations. Mentally replace the Nadsat words with English. Expert Q&A Tips Things You'll Need You Might Also Like About This Article Did this article help you?
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IN THIS ARTICLE

1Understand what Nadsat is.

2Analyze each sentence.

3Translate a sentence from the book.

4Compile your own glossary of Nadsat-to-English translations.

5Mentally replace the Nadsat words with English.

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Tips and Warnings

Things You'll Need

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Last Updated: June 16, 2022

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A Clockwork Orange, written by Anthony Burgess, is a compelling novel about morality and free will. Unfortunately, it can be a difficult read, especially the first few chapters, as much of the book is narrated in the fictional argot known as Nadsat (the "teenage" language). Read on to better comprehend this “subliminal penetration,“ which will consequently allow you to enjoy the book much more.

  1. Nadsat is a fictional language mainly derived from Russian words, but with an Anglicized twist. For example, the Russian word “golova” (which translates into something along the lines of “head”) is written as “gulliver” in the book. While the words are spelled differently than their Russian counterparts, many words (such as "gulliver") still retain the original Russian meaning.

    • There are words of other origins as well, such as French, German, and even some that Burgess invented.

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2

Analyze each sentence.

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  1. Don’t just read it—comprehend it! Dissect the meaning and emotion behind the Nadsat lingo. Some of the more common words like “viddy,” “droog,” and “tolchock” will be easy to grasp, while some of the less common ones like “yeckat,” “zoobies,” and “vareet” will require a bit more contextual analysis. Use context clues to help you extrapolate your own definition.

3

Translate a sentence from the book.

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  1. Here's an excerpt from Part 1, Chapter 1. "There was a doddery starry schoolmaster type veck, glasses on and his rot open to the cold nochy air." From this sentence, we'd be able to immediately deduce a few things: we know that it mentions an old school professor ("schoolmaster" should give that away), he has glasses on, and some part of his body is open to the cold air (not many parts of the body can open or close, so it'd be either the eyes or the mouth (and for the sake of brevity, it's the mouth)).

    • Here's what that same sentence would look like in normal English: "There was a strange old school professor, glasses on and his mouth open to the cold night air."

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4

Compile your own glossary of Nadsat-to-English translations.

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  1. Write your interpretation on a piece of paper for future reference. Go back after you’ve finished the chapter and see if still makes sense.

5

Mentally replace the Nadsat words with English.

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  1. Reread the book while using your glossary. Once you can read the book without thinking what the words mean, you've mastered the language!

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      Tips

      • Read, reread, and then reread again if necessary.

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      • The word usage is consistent throughout the book, so the meanings of many commonly used words should become evident to you the more you read.

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      • It helps to know some Russian words before reading the book.

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      Things You'll Need

      • A copy of Anthony Burgess's book A Clockwork Orange.
      • A pen/pencil and paper.
      • A lot of free time.
      • Patience.
      • Persistence.

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      About This Article

      wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, volunteer authors worked to edit and improve it over time. This article has been viewed 63,351 times.

      45 votes - 70%

      Co-authors: 7

      Updated: June 16, 2022

      Views:63,351

      Categories: Fictional Languages

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      How to Understand the ‘Nadsat’ Argot in “A Clockwork Orange” (2024)
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