In response to the 1984 quotation, I don't believe that a shrinking language is inhibiting us from communicating and thinking. Although English is shrinking, it is not for the same reason as in 1984. In the novel, a key part of how Newspeak works is that the population accepts that a word like 'Science' never existed once it has been removed from the language. In real life we can't just remove an everyday word from the English without people remembering it, thus the concepts surrounding it will be retained by the speakers. In English we eliminate words that are redundant or outdated, not because the government is trying to control its populace.
Even though we are lacking words that exist in other languages we can still communicate the meaning of the word. For example, in German, the word 'verschlimmbessern' is a verb that means "to make something worse by trying to fix it". While we don't have a equivalent in English, we are entirely capable of conveying the meaning. The mere fact that we realize that there is no accurate translation shows that we understand the meaning of 'verschlimmbessern's completely, even though we don't have a corresponding word.
Even though we are lacking words that exist in other languages we can still communicate the meaning of the word. For example, in German, the word 'verschlimmbessern' is a verb that means "to make something worse by trying to fix it". While we don't have a equivalent in English, we are entirely capable of conveying the meaning. The mere fact that we realize that there is no accurate translation shows that we understand the meaning of 'verschlimmbessern's completely, even though we don't have a corresponding word.