Fantasist's Scroll

Well, I actually finished this book sometime ago, but just got to writing the review.

Hey, it’s been a busy month! In any case, Aliens and Linguists: Language Study and Science Fiction by Walter Earl Meyers is a really good book and worth hunting up in the used book market. Published in 1980, it’s a little out of date and very out of print, but still a good look at some of the way linguistics has been used, and abused, in science-fiction. Of course, there is also the prerequisite discussion of the most famous conlanger of all, J.R.R. Tolkien. But, mostly this book focuses on science-fiction.
A fair part of the book is spent criticizing the lack of good language use in science-fiction. Highlights include aliens that all speak our language. Or find it ridiculously easy to learn. But, also, the lack of language variation is hammered home as well as other similar errors. Another area of criticism is the lack of up-to-date use of theories and linguistic science in current, at the time, science-fiction. Linguistics, as well as the other so called “soft-sciences” were just getting their hooks into science-fiction at the time.
But, Meyers finds plenty to be happy about, as well. Sure, most writers took the Worf-Saphir theory way too far, but at least they were aware enough of it to use it. There are other good examples of linguistics in science-fiction as well.
Most interesting to me, was Meyers discussion of how aliens might approach language. First, there is every reason to believe that they will have language. It takes a lot of communication to get off a planet! Second, Meyers indicates that, while that language may be wildly different from our own, there’s a good possibility that we can learn it, eventually. Meyers also explores alternate methods of using language, including how telepathy might work from a linguistic point of view.

In all, it was a great read. Especially if you want to write fiction about a “realistic” created world. Language is a part of every culture that we know of, so it must be part of a created culture, as well. A completely enjoyable book and a fascinating subject.

life was born!

At least, according to this article on MSNBC, that’s what scientists think. The current theory is that microbes, from which all life on Earth sprang, started in the hot primordial soup found swirling around undersea volcanoes.
Every couple of years, someone comes up with a new twist on how life started, but no one really will ever know for sure. I think we’ll have a better idea of what it really takes to create life when we finally find it on other planets and can examine their ecosystems and so on. So, bascially, I’ve reconciled myself to not knowing that answer ever because, unless something miraculous happens, I don’t expect us to get to life-bearing alien planets in my lifetime.
Still, it is interesting to speculate about….

Well, it’s going to be banned in Malaysia.

At least, according to this article on Australia IT, it’s going to be banned. Malaysia is a very Islamic country and, in their religious tradition, a man can divorce his wife by saying “I divorce you” to her three times in a public place. Well, apparently, an Islamic Sharia court ruled that sending a text message via a cell phone counted! Obviously, a number of groups were quite upset by this and that’s what prompted the legislation.
But, it interests me because someone thought to do this in the first place. It seems obvious to me that the intent behind the tradition is to announce to the community that the couple are divorced, but that would be circumvented by using the cell phone. It just goes to show that people will use technology in very unexpected ways for a lot of different reasons.
So, here’s some speculation for you… How does technology effect your world? Would something like divorce via text-messaging be allowed? Would people in your fictional world be offended? I think it’s an interesting aspect of culture that’s worth exploring.

This is too fascinating to pass up!

According to this article on Scientific American, blue crabs have two skeletal systems. The first, which is familiar to us all, is their shell. But, when they molt, they use another kind of skeletal system which relies on hydrostatic pressure to get around.
This leads me to imagine an intelligent alien that has a second, invisible, “back-up” skeleton, for emergencies. Or perhaps to make them flexible in some way. Imagine a shelled creature that escapes from a jail by shedding its shell and slithering out an air vent. Or, a humanoid wrestler or warrior who’s neck can’t be “broken”. Really, the possibilities are endless.
Just think about them some, then write about them!

An odd, little item that caught my attention…

In this commentary from the Guardian, a couple of interesting sociological phenomena were brought to my attention.
First, the clever way of dealing with armed robbery in a restraunt. It seems that in certain “unruly” neighborhoods in Honduras, women always order red wine. The reason being that it’s easier to hide their jewelry in their red wine than in white wine. Apparently, they’ve discovered that hiding their jewels in their drinks is an effective way of foiling the robbers.
Second, the whole culture of Americans essentially buying a trophy wife in Latin American countries. Middle-aged men are apparently offering younger women from Latin American countries security in exchange for, well, whatever middle-aged men get from having a trophy wife.

What got me thinking about these two things, though, was how odd it seems to my American way of thinking. So, if my culture skews my vision on this, what else does it do that I’m not aware of? How does that effect my description of a created culture? Sure something to think about as we create our unique, fantasy worlds.

Well, maybe not so mighty, but I think it’s cool!

So, I finally did it. I went and made myself an on-line sound changer. It’s based on The Sound Change Applier by Mark Rosenfelder and utilizes the Lingua::SoundChange module from CPAN. Other than that, though, I did the whole thing on my own, just using the examples and the Internet. So, I’m really proud of this one.
As far as I know, there’s not another one like it on the web, so enjoy it. And, now, I’ll be taking a break from doing any programming for the site. So don’t ask!

(The poem from which I stole my title, BTW, is Ozymandius by Percy Bysshe Shelley.)

Here’s a follow-up story to yesterday’s post.

It’s on MSNBC. The article is all about the expedition that produced the lovely website that I posted about yesterday. Apparently, the whole discovery of new species was a product of serendipity.
These folks went out to study a totally different feature of the ocean floor, had trouble with that, then quickly revamped their mission and made some good progress. The interesting thing, to me, though, is that the article really illustratres how little we know about our oceans. The Earth is 2/3 ocean, but we have almost no idea how their ecosystems work or how much of an impact we have on that ecosystem. I know it’s been done to death, but the ocean really is the last frontier on Earth.
Of course, the list of science-fiction books with the ocean as a major component are almost limitless, too. And, I think, there’s still plenty of room for more.

…found deep in our own oceans.

I recall reading a book about writing science-fiction once that said, basically, any crazy, wild, “different” idea for a creature a writer can think of has already been out-done by Mother Nature. And, I have to say that I’ve found that to be a Universal Truth. One of the things I love about National Geographic, for instance, is the strange beasties that it brings me almost every month. Insects and plants that I never dreamed existed in their natural habitat in full-color photographs. Simply amazing.
Here’s another simply amazing collection of photos. In this case, of deep sea creatures, but sea creatures like I’ve never seen before. Twelve pages of fantastic creatures with names like long-nose chimera, lantern shark, and goblin shrimp. What a great place for a fantasy writer to use as source material for other-worldly oceans. Take the time to check out at least some of the pictures. You won’t be dissapointed.