Nadsat - the language of violence: from novel to film

Abstract

Nadsat, an artiicial language constructed by Anthony Burgess, is used in his novel, apparently, as means both of immersion, alienation and repulsion of the reader. Kubrick's ilmic adaption of A Clockwork Orange recognizes the paramount role of Nadsat, and gives life to it as a spoken language through the lines of Alex and his droogs in his homonymous production. he aim of the present article is thus to examine the author's artiicial language, its occurrences in the novel as well as in the ilmic adaptation following the contributions of Gualda (2010) and Hutchings (1991) to ilm studies, while tracing the glossopoeia's meanings and efects on the audience, and how both the author and director seem to manipulate the implications of reception theory as formulated by Wolfgang Iser (1978). he questions answered by this article are whether the role played by Nadsat in the novel corresponds to that played in the ilm; and what the implications of Iser's reception theory in the novel and the ilm are. he results will show that without an understanding of Nadsat the reader/viewer will not be able to ill the gaps of interpretation let by Burgess and Kubrick.