Episode 23: Jess Norledge, Dystopian Language, and the Language of Dystopia

In this episode, we speak with Jess Norledge, an Assistant Professor in Stylistics at the University of Nottingham.

Our conversation with Jess centres on the relationship between language and dystopian fiction, drawing on her work at the intersection of linguistics and literary studies. We explore why language so often functions as a tool of control in dystopian worlds, from Nineteen Eighty-Four and The Giver to more contemporary texts such as Tender Is the Flesh and Vox. Along the way, we discuss the crucial (and sometimes uncomfortable) link between language, voice, and power, considering how dystopian narratives both silence individuals and enable resistance through linguistic agency.

We also turn our attention to the stylistic machinery of dystopia: how language shapes immersion, drives reader response, and underpins world-building. From constructed languages in A Clockwork Orange to the cognitive and emotional effects of dystopian storytelling, Jess offers fascinating insights into how these texts linger in the mind. Our discussion further examines narrative perspective, the role of the “social mind,” and the evolving boundaries of the genre.

Finally, we explore the concept of “paratopia” and the increasing prevalence of dystopian narratives that feel uncomfortably close to our present moment, alongside Jess’s ongoing work on gender, climate fiction, and contemporary dystopian forms.

You can find out more about Jess and her work here, and you can find out more about The Language of Dystopia (Palgrave, 2022) here.

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