Alien Language - Science Fiction

Science Fiction

The first alien language in a work of science fiction may have been Percy Greg's Martian language in his 1880 novel Across the Zodiac. As the science fiction genre developed, so did the use of alien languages. Sometimes these are explicitly detailed, as in Greg's work, at other times they are implicit.

Some science-fiction works operate on the premise that alien languages can be easily learned if one has a competent understanding of the nature of languages in general. For example, the protagonist of C. S. Lewis's novel Out of the Silent Planet is able to use his training in historical linguistics to decipher the language spoken on Mars. Others work on the premise that languages with similarities can be partially understood by different species.

In some cases, authors avoid linguistic questions by introducing devices into their stories that seamlessly translate between languages, to the point that the concept of different languages can largely be excluded from a franchise. Notable examples include Douglas Adams's babel fish, the TARDIS from Doctor Who, the translator microbes in Farscape, and the universal translator from Star Trek. In other cases, the question of language is dealt with through the introduction of a universal language via which most, if not all, of the franchise's species are able to communicate. In the Star Wars universe, for example, this language is known as Basic and is spoken by the majority of the characters, with a few notable exceptions.

Some fictionalized alien species take advantage of their unique physiology for communication purposes, an example being the Ithorians of the Star Wars universe, who use their twin mouths, located on either side of their neck, to speak in stereo.

In some franchises this universal language is an intermediary language; one that different species can easily translate to and from their own languages, thus allowing simple communication between races. Examples of this approach include Interlac from the Legion of Super-Heroes, and later Babylon 5.

In the Uplift Universe, the numerous sapient species use at least twelve "Galactic" languages; each version is used in communication between species that can articulate it, and that find it useful in expressing their concepts.

Not all of these universal/intermediate languages take the form of spoken/written languages as is recognized in the human world. In the film and book Close Encounters of the Third Kind scientists use Solresol, a language based on musical tones, while in the film and book Contact, aliens send the instructions to build a machine to reach them using mathematics, which the main character calls "the only universal language". Similarly, in Stargate SG-1, the protagonists encounter a galactic meeting place where different races communicate with one another using a language based on atomic structures which is "written" in three dimensions rather than two.

A number of long-running franchises have taken the concept of an alien language beyond that of a scripting device and have developed languages of their own. Examples include the Klingon language of the Star Trek universe (a fully developed constructed language created by Marc Okrand), the Zentradi language from the Macross Japanese science-fiction anime series and the DC Comics Kryptonese (for which there exists an alphabet and language glossary). For his 2009 science-fiction epic film Avatar, creator and director James Cameron constructed the fictional Na'vi language (with the aid of college professor Paul Frommer) for his fictional alien Na'vi race in the film.

The existence of alien languages and the ease or difficulty of translation is used as a plot device or script element in a number of franchises, sometimes seriously, and sometimes for comedic value. In the film Mars Attacks!, the language spoken by the Martians appears to consist only of the words "ack!" and "rack!" spoken at different pitches and volume. The film's universal translator consistently translates these as being offers of friendship despite the fact that the aliens' actions are anything but friendly. Also in Dragon Ball Z, Bulma speaks in her usual language (Japanese) and thereby involuntarily activates some functions of an alien starship, as her words are identified by the ship's computer as Namekkian orders.

C. J. Cherryh's Chanur series of books relies heavily on linguistic and psychological problems of communication between various alien races. Some examples include usage of obscure languages and cultural references to conceal information from others, imperfections of computer translation, use of pidgin and linguistic barriers, psychological concepts which do not have matches in other races' languages, and a race so alien that it cannot be understood at all without a translation by another race which itself can barely be understood due to manifold meanings in each message. In the Foreigner universe, Cherryh explores the interface between humans and atevi, whose language relies on numerical values, causing the main character, Bren Cameron, to constantly calculate as he speaks the atevi language, Ragi. Conversely, in the Simpsons the fact that English is mutually understood by the show's human and alien characters is noted as being "an astonishing coincidence".

Some stories, however, have alien beings speak near-unpronounceable tongues. Clark Ashton Smith, in one tale, has the sorcerer Eibon struggle to articulate the name of an alien, Hziulquoigmnzhah.

Still other science-fiction stories imagine communication through telepathy. There is for example the Vulcan mind meld in Star Trek. In the science-fiction novel Ender's Game, the "Buggers" are an alien species in which their queen can telepathically communicate with every member of her species, but no humans except Ender. The inability of the two species to effectively communicate serves as a critical element of the novel's plot.

Sheila Finch published a collection of short stories about first contact and alien communication, The Guild of Xenolinguists, (Golden Gryphon Press), in 2007.

In 2008, the game Dead Space introduced a form of alien language known as Unitology, for the religion that mainly uses it. Unitology is only shown to be written with no example or indication of a verbal dialect.

In Futurama, a language exists called Alienese, which originates from an unspecified extraterrestrial source. At least one character has achieved an academic degree in exolinguistics, which gives her the apparently rare skill of knowing how to translate between English and Alienese.