6.657, Linguistics in Science Fiction

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-657. Tue 09 May 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines: 72
 
Subject: 6.657, Linguistics in Science Fiction
 
Moderators: Anthony Rodrigues Aristar: Texas A&M U. <aristar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
 
Assoc. Editor: Ljuba Veselinova <lveselin at emunix.emich.edu>
Asst. Editors: Ron Reck <rreck at emunix.emich.edu>
               Ann Dizdar <dizdar at tam2000.tamu.edu>
               Annemarie Valdez <avaldez at emunix.emich.edu>
 
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1)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 95 09:17:32 EST
From: "Ciecierski, Ande" (ciecierski at routledge.com)
Subject: linguistics in sci/fiction
 
2)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 11:18:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: M J Hardman (afn11122 at freenet.ufl.edu)
Subject: Re: 6.533 Linguistics in Science Fiction
 
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1)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 95 09:17:32 EST
From: "Ciecierski, Ande" (ciecierski at routledge.com)
Subject: linguistics in sci/fiction
 
Content-Length: 1214
 
     I'm surprised no one has mentioned _Woman on the Edge of Time_ by
     Marge Piercy. In it, a woman travels to a future time in which there
     are no more gender-specific pronouns. They use "per" for he and she
     (and his and hers if I'm remembering correctly). It was confusing at
     first, but by the end of the book, I found myself wanting to use it in
     conversation. It was a good read.
 
     Ande Ciecierski
     ciecierski at routledge.com
 
 
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2)
Date: Fri, 28 Apr 1995 11:18:43 -0400 (EDT)
From: M J Hardman (afn11122 at freenet.ufl.edu)
Subject: Re: 6.533 Linguistics in Science Fiction
 
I erlier sent in two titles withou much explanation; they deserve more:
In the Motherland by Elizabeth Vonarburg is a post nuclear holocaust
book. Originally written in Canadian French it is a superb translation
into English, where English is tweaked, beautifully, such that the
feminine is the unmarked and the masculine is the marked. The society
works that way too. Original sin is masculine - playing with metal they
had brought on the holocaust.
 
The other is A Woman of the Iron People by Eleanor Arnason. It is a superb
read. The main character is a linguist, the secondary earthling is an
anthropologist. The main alien character is also a women. We follow the
main character as she actually learns the language, which turns out to be
a trade language. The linguistics is, of course, necessarily simplified,
and learning is amazingly rapid, but very useful as a novel about
fieldwork, and some of the difficulties, conflicts, conundrums, etc.
involved, including interaction with consultants, who they are and why
they are, and what the interaction means on both sides.
 
Also, I don't believe anyone has mentioned Ursula LeGuin's Always Coming
Home and her invention of the Kesh language.
 
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