Rethinking Xenolinguistics: Interspecies Communication in Ted Chiang’s Short Stories
Öz
This study aims to demonstrate that the issue of extraterrestrial communication has not only linguistic but also ethical and philosophical dimensions by examining Ted Chiang’s stories within the context of xenolinguistics. The possibility of communicating with extraterrestrial intelligence has recently been a significant topic of both scientific and philosophical debate. Xenolinguistics, emerging from this context, stands out as an interdisciplinary field examining possible forms of communication between humanity and extraterrestrial beings. However, xenolinguistic discussions are not limited to technical or linguistic issues; they also raise important philosophical and ethical questions concerning language, cognition, communication, and encounters with the ‘other.’ SF literature offers fertile ground for addressing such intellectual inquiries. Narratives that explore the possibility of communication between different species, in particular, allow for the development of new perspectives on the nature of language, the relationship between thought and language, and the forms of communication humans establish with non-human entities. In this context, Ted Chiang’s short stories, “Story of Your Life” and “The Great Silence,” can be considered important texts that address xenolinguistic discussions from different angles. The former centers on the process of deciphering an extraterrestrial language, opening up a discussion on the relationship between language and cognition and how language can shape our perception of time. In contrast, the latter addresses the issue of communication from an ethical perspective, revealing that while humans search for intelligent life forms in space, they often turn a deaf ear to existing forms of non-human communication on Earth.
Anahtar Kelimeler
xenolinguistics, linguistic relativity, communication ethics, non-human voice, “Story of Your Life” and “The Great Silence, Ted Chiang.
Kaynakça
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