On board the privateer's ship, she begins to learn more about Babel-17, and the surprising benefits and dangers it offers to someone who learns to speak it. I think some of my favorite SF/Fantasy stories are the ones that give language a special place in the universe. Bene Gesserit witches commanding people with "the Voice." Wizards in the world of Earthsea practicing magic by knowing something's "true name." Add to that list "Babel-17," a language so analytically precise it can give you telepathic-like abilities. At the heart of this fictional language is the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which (in my crude layman's simplification) is the idea that your language shapes who you are and how you see not only the world, but yourself. This intriguing idea immediately brought to mind the movie "Arrival" from last year, which was based on a SF story with similar themes. Others have noted the same, and view "Babel-17" as a kind of literary seed for such material. So when I saw a copy of Babel-17 in a second-hand bookstore yesterday, I was optimistic. I remembered thinking it was great when I was 14, so why not re-read it? But this time - oh dear. I clearly recalled finding this novel intelligent and sophisticated, but now it was, I hated to say it, naive. The characters were flat. The ending was ridiculous. And, worst of all, the linguistics was all wrong. Since it's a novel where language is absolutely central to the plot, this was a disaster.

A surface reading of this exchange definitely provokes a reaction along the lines of ‘that’s not how language works, you can’t rebuild a whole power plant like that’—and, if you find me in a grumpy mood, maybe even a rant about the importance of redundancy in language—but now I feel that the point goes beyond that interpretation. Didn’t I just express all that information about the protagonist’s sexuality in… a set of words that are definitely smaller and simpler than the ones used to explain the same concepts in the book? Delany’s idea might ultimately be much more interesting and illuminating in terms of social circumstances than about science and technology, or about spy antics. (I found the spy antics ultimately somewhat of a downer, a take on Manchurian Candidate mind-control tropes that were especially popular in the 1960s—though some of the action was wonderfully cinematic.) As general commentary about society, and as a work of art, Babel-17still holds up extremely well…even now that we have the nine words. (Though new ones are always coming!) Delany's style, though, is as elegantly involute, as pregnant with implication, as modernist poetry or the best science fiction that preceded him. This gives this novel its odd tone, combining urban decadence with futurist didacticism, as if Robert A. Heinlein had re-written Nightwood (Delany often claims both Barnes and Heinlein as influences, despite his awareness that their rather different but decisive conservative convictions clash with his own leftism—though both certainly advocate in their fiction for sexual openness). An intergalactic war is being waged. Humans on one side and… humans on the other. Humanity appears to have split in two- the Alliance, who are Earth based and the Invaders who are pretty minimally described, but appear to control one or more other galaxies outside the Milky Way.

Tropes in this novel:

Bio-Augmentation: exotic, alien-looking "cosmetisurgery" is popular with spacecraft crews. Tails and feathers are common, but variety is the key, and some of the changes are quite disturbing. Those who aren't part of the Transport culture find it very distasteful. Poet and linguist Rydra Wong (one of the better SF protagonists and high in the running for best name) is on the trail of assassins and saboteurs and has come across some clues about the language and our space adventure is off. Fun discussion of language with a bit too much going on without investing in character. Love the linguistics, the protagonist, and the style. Interesting discussion of linguistic relativism, cultural relativism, and the odder parts of our social realm.

I just made it up. But what it stands for is quite real, and well worth an article. I don't think they could even comprehend it. But from now on, I shall refer to it as Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavdqx, and there are two of us who know the word now--so it's valid." The film extras portraying migrants in the Mexico shooting were real immigrants hired by the production company. [ citation needed] Funding [ edit ] Just people who can find pleasure with unconventional works and don´t care about writing and genre conventions will be happy with this work, as the effort to read this relatively short book shouldn´t be underestimated, but the impacts it had on Sci-Fi is amazing: The role and exploration of language was consistently developed throughout the book. Subtly, overtly, it was ever-present and consistently used to draw the reader into the frame of mind that language is incredibly important. Many different styles of English language communication were used throughout the book, even the typography was flexed in places to highlight the connections between thought and expression. It's definitely a forward-leaning novel and makes me want to read more Delany to see what other aspects get explored. Overall, I think the book delivered on its main message, but it seemed like were so many other interesting threads that were not explored in this book. Maybe the same universe is used again in his others books. I certainly hope so! Pensar em Babel-17 era como ver de repente todo o trajeto dentro da água até o fundo de um poço que, um momento atrás, você acreditava ter apenas alguns metros de profundidade. Ela cambaleou, tonta”.As an often pulpy product of a very young writer, Babel-17 is not a great novel, nor even exactly a good one: its characters, including Rydra, are very sketchy, and the narrative feels unbalanced because Delany is so taken with almost every aspect of its world except the war on which the plot is ostensibly centered. But all of the countercultural flourishes serve the larger theme. The characters strip to be more honest with each other. Captains watch potential pilots wrestle so they can see how they react during a fight—there isn’t any way to hide behind charm or reputation when you’re naked in a wrestling match. Bordwell, David (2006). The Way Hollywood Tells It: Story and Style in Modern Movies. University of California Press. p.98. Whilst female representation is still too rare in contemporary sf novels (though arguably improved and hopefully still improving compared to the Sixties), I don’t think it’s debatable to say that in decades past worthy female characters were dismally under-represented in sf literature. This makes Wong a refreshing protagonist. What’s more, in a worthy display of diversity it’s clear she is Eastern in ethnicity (as depicted on the very first Ace Books cover, though successive editions have white-washed her), though Delany does use the term ‘Oriental’, which dates the book somewhat. The novel is also ahead of its time in the representation of polyamorous and pansexual relationships as a normal part of society.

Butcher, one of the crew on the privateer, whose early memories are lost completely, but whose history is plainly quite unpleasant. The oldest memories he retains are of robbing a bank and killing several people. It wasn't until he got sent to prison that he begins to wonder why he even did such a thing.

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One Çiribian can slither through that plant and then go describe it to another Çiribian who never saw it before so that the second can build an exact duplicate, even to the color the walls are painted—and this actually happened, because they thought we’d done something ingenious with one of the circuits and wanted to try it themselves—where each piece is located, how big it is, in short completely describe the whole business, in nine words. Nine very small words, too.” Enemy Within: The person who has been sabotaging Wong's mission turns out to be Rydra herself, who had been secretly programmed by simply learning Babel-17, and was completely unaware of any of it. There are a lot of common tropes of SF in Babel 17 that are treated in a way that’s not just unusual for 1966 but which remain unusual now. Wall of Weapons: Baron Ver Dorco at the Alliance War Yards has his own hall of weapons. Of course, he is in charge of the War Yards, but when he takes Wong on a tour, it's clear that his interest is more than just professional, and edging into creepy. At the volleyball match in Tokyo, most of the audience spectators were played by deaf persons. [ citation needed]

Babel". The Numbers. 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008 . Retrieved 25 October 2015.I’m a fan of classic SF, and I expected to like Babel-17. Sadly, I feel this novel hasn’t aged well. He looked at her closely. “I don’t really think you’re going to kill me. You know that. It’s something else. Why don’t I tell you something else that frightened me. Maybe you can see some pattern you will understand then. The brain is not stupid.”