Sci-fi that focuses on understanding (or lack thereof) between species and language limitations are thinner on the ground than they should be
I’m working on it, promise, promise!
Okay for real tho, I have only read the first Chanur novel (hard to come by, here), but the thing that really stuck with me are the aliens that communicate in matrices, and those that don’t really … communicate with the other (mammal-esque, for lack of a better word) at all. I think there’s something about those methane-breathing species that just kind of do their thing and expect everyone to roll with it, and I love it so much!
I’m personally (atm) more interested in the infotech side of things. Transmission and reception (and storage) of information is as important as understanding and imo something a lot of sci fi neglects (even more so than the general reliance on hand-wavey standard translators.) - hence the matrix language being so interesting to me. Most sci fi assumes Aliens to be able of and actually employ some form of verbal, (for lack of a better word) human-language-related data transmission, and communication thus mostly a matter of translation. The way Cherryh’s aliens sometimes just … don’t is so fascinating and even in the genre still rather bold.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2020-12-08 08:18 am (UTC)I’m working on it, promise, promise!
Okay for real tho, I have only read the first Chanur novel (hard to come by, here), but the thing that really stuck with me are the aliens that communicate in matrices, and those that don’t really … communicate with the other (mammal-esque, for lack of a better word) at all. I think there’s something about those methane-breathing species that just kind of do their thing and expect everyone to roll with it, and I love it so much!
I’m personally (atm) more interested in the infotech side of things. Transmission and reception (and storage) of information is as important as understanding and imo something a lot of sci fi neglects (even more so than the general reliance on hand-wavey standard translators.) - hence the matrix language being so interesting to me. Most sci fi assumes Aliens to be able of and actually employ some form of verbal, (for lack of a better word) human-language-related data transmission, and communication thus mostly a matter of translation. The way Cherryh’s aliens sometimes just … don’t is so fascinating and even in the genre still rather bold.