LINGUIST List 6.501

Tue 04 Apr 1995

Disc: Linguistics in science fiction

Editor for this issue: <>

Directory

1. Anna Livia Julian Brawn, Re: 6.418 Sum: Linguistics in science fiction

Message 1: Re: 6.418 Sum: Linguistics in science fiction

Sorry I'm late joining this thread, in fact I believe the sleeve has
already been hemmed. I wanted to add one more reference to the list of
science fictional works which deal with some aspect of linguistics.
Jean-Luc Godard's 1965 classic _Alphaville_ is a reworking of the
Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. Words referring to concepts which have been
condemned by the central computer disappear automatically from the
dictionary which, like Gideons' Bibles, may be found in every room. If a
word is not in the dictionary, you cannot say it, nor can you conceive of
its referent. Words which disappear during the course of the film include
robin redbreast, tenderness, and that old staple, love.

Anna Livia