Talking to aliens

When I was at High School we had assembly every day. The whole school assembled in the hall and sang hymns, listened to a Bible reading and joined in prayers followed by the headmistress reading out school notices. I used to sit cross-legged on the floor in my school uniform wondering what it was like in the French schools during assembly and what their school uniforms looked like. What I didn't know was that French schools don't have anything resembling assembly and the children don't wear uniform.

I can't help thinking that when we write science fiction about aliens we are just as blinkered as I was then. Take for example:

At least one species, the Manti, were found to be intelligent. [...] Within several months of first contact, the scientists were able to develop a common language with the Mandi.

(From Conundrum on Titan by Patricia Stewart on 365 Tomorrows.)

I'm not sure that I can believe that if we find creatures that are less intelligent than we are that we will manage to find a common language. We don't seem to have done very well with chimps or bonobos and we certainly don't treat any Earth animals as intelligent beings on a level with ourselves.

If we meet aliens that are more intelligent than us, I wonder if they will treat us as we do the chimps, yet this is assuming that their culture is in many ways similar to ours. Somehow that feels rather like wondering what hymns the French children sing in assembly.

How language affects your thoughts

I've found an easy way to avoid getting lost ever again. All you have to do is to learn the Aboriginal language of the Kuuk Thaayorre and you will always know where you are.

Instead of words like "right," "left," "forward," and "back," which, as commonly used in English, define space relative to an observer, the Kuuk Thaayorre, like many other Aboriginal groups, use cardinal-direction terms — north, south, east, and west — to define space. This is done at all scales, which means you have to say things like "There's an ant on your southeast leg" or "Move the cup to the north northwest a little bit." One obvious consequence of speaking such a language is that you have to stay oriented at all times, or else you cannot speak properly. The normal greeting in Kuuk Thaayorre is "Where are you going?" and the answer should be something like " Southsoutheast, in the middle distance." If you don't know which way you're facing, you can't even get past "Hello."

Taken from: HOW DOES OUR LANGUAGE SHAPE THE WAY WE THINK? by Lera Boroditsky which is a fascinating article that explores the effects of language on the perception of time and colour as well as space.

Beats GPS every time.

Two nations divided...

It was GB Shaw that said that the US and the UK are

Two nations divided by a common language

I've been thinking about this as I enjoy blogs by writers from the US. It's often in the everyday things that we show our differences. Now, I would call top object a purse and the lower one a handbag. I believe that my American friends would call the large black object a purse and the small colourful one a wallet. I suppose it doesn't matter, until one of us talks about a "purse" without giving enough context. I'm pretty sure I couldn't get my mobile phone in my purse. Or should I say my cellphone won't fit in my wallet?

I've noticed that in the UK we tend to expect to find a bath in the bathroom - otherwise it's a toilet. We don't have restrooms but you can sometimes use the toilet in an old-fashioned cloakroom. Although many of our cloakrooms are just places to put coats.

It doesn't have to be confusing. We just need everyone to realise that the UK way is the simplest and best.

Lost in Translation

One book I love is Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's Le Petit Prince. The beginning and the end are sheer beauty. I think part of the attraction for me is that, being a child's book, I can manage the French. I don't enjoy reading it in English in quite the same way, although I have to admit it's easier for me. There are parts where the translation just doesn't cut it. Take:

On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur. L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux.

Wikiquote offers a number of English translation but they all come up short.

It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

one sees well only with the heart. The essential is invisible to the eyes.

The essential things in life are seen not with the eyes, but with the heart.

My preferred translation would be rather a loose one:

You can only really see with the heart. What matters most is hidden from the eye.