Translation and architecturally odd invented languages in science fiction

Almost all invented languages in science fiction have the same architecture as spoken human natural languages. The article discusses six exceptions: languages which appear to be unusable because of the way they handle figures of speech; speech or writing directly connected to thought; speech that is...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inTranslation studies Vol. 17; no. 2; pp. 265 - 281
Main Author Mossop, Brian
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 03.05.2024
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
architectures of language
Constructed languages
Grammar lexicon relationship
intersemiosis
linguistics
Literary translation
Natural language
Rhetorical figures
Science fiction
Science fiction & fantasy
science fiction studies
Semiotics
Speech
Writing
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Summary:Almost all invented languages in science fiction have the same architecture as spoken human natural languages. The article discusses six exceptions: languages which appear to be unusable because of the way they handle figures of speech; speech or writing directly connected to thought; speech that is not linear; writing that is not linear and not a representation of speech; lexicon, syntax and writing but no speech; and impoverished languages. If these odd invented languages existed outside fiction, they would be untranslatable into a human natural language in much the same sense that pictures, or communications to us by non-human animals on Earth, are describable but interlingually untranslatable. The translations provided by science fiction authors to enable their plots to advance are better seen as intersemiotic renderings. The article concludes with some similarities between translation studies and science fiction studies and the benefits of considering architecturally odd languages.
ISSN:1478-1700
1751-2921
DOI:10.1080/14781700.2023.2261943