01-26-2017, 02:23 PM
I could swear I've read your summary in some SF story or other. Google didn't recognize it, though.
There's also the problem(?) that language shapes how one thinks and what one can think about: if you don't have the necessary vocabulary, it's awfully hard to express an idea. I read somewhere that Navaho has no concept of time, for example. And then there's the current propensity for people to use present tense when they should be using past. I actually find that rather stressful when watching some PBS Nova programs.
FWIW Babel-17 by Delany is an entertaining story about the effects of language on future society.
There's also the problem(?) that language shapes how one thinks and what one can think about: if you don't have the necessary vocabulary, it's awfully hard to express an idea. I read somewhere that Navaho has no concept of time, for example. And then there's the current propensity for people to use present tense when they should be using past. I actually find that rather stressful when watching some PBS Nova programs.
FWIW Babel-17 by Delany is an entertaining story about the effects of language on future society.
Selden