paraicNov 26, 2022

@bookstodon @linguistics A question prompted by a post I saw: what are the best #ScienceFiction #scifi books where #languages play an important part?

There’s 1984, obviously. Even more obviously, The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance. The Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie has some interesting language features in terms of gender identity, power and mutual intelligibility.

I’m sure there are loads more - this is ‘off the top of my head’ - what others would you recommend?

Show threadMarek

@paraic @bookstodon @linguistics

There are a few Ted Chiang short stories ("Story of your life" > "Arrival" being the most obvious, but "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling" also).

China Miéville's "Embassytown"

Similarly off the top of my head. Interesting question, will be pondering this one.

Nov 26, 2022 at 11:09amWeb
Show threadNiall O'CallaghanNov 26, 2022
@wildenstern @paraic @bookstodon @linguistics Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time series has some interesting takes on interspecies communication. I second the shout for Embassytown - language is actually the foundation of that one.
Show threadparaicNov 26, 2022
@linguistics @wildenstern @bookstodon @nocalla interesting. I have only read Elder Race by Tchaikovsky but that also fits the criteria! I’ve also only read The City and The City by Miéville but even that is an adjacent idea
Show threadAnatol StefanowitschNov 26, 2022
@wildenstern @paraic Yes, “Embassytown” is spectacular, not least because it takes the possibility of fundamentally incompatible minds/languages seriously! Another novel that does this is C.J. Cherryh's “Forty Thousand in Gehenna”.
Show threadparaicNov 26, 2022
@stefanowitsch @wildenstern thanks - I’m not familiar with either!
Show threadparaicNov 26, 2022
@bookstodon @linguistics @wildenstern I don’t know Ted Chiang’s work and have only read Miéville’s The City and The City - thanks!
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDNov 26, 2022
@paraic @bookstodon @linguistics @wildenstern Story of your life is recommended.
Show threadparaicNov 26, 2022
@linguistics @wildenstern @bookstodon @martinvermeer Thanks! Is that Ted Chiang, Martin?
Show threadMartin Vermeer FCDNov 26, 2022
@paraic @linguistics @wildenstern @bookstodon Yes.
Show threadgan6nei4 @ 絮言・狂想Nov 26, 2022
@wildenstern @paraic @bookstodon @linguistics Love Ted Chiang’s worldbuilding. I love Seventy-two Letters and The Lifecycle of Software Objects.