Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Latest By
Category:
Armor
Artificial
Intelligence
Biology
Clothing
Communication
Computers
Culture
Data Storage
Displays
Engineering
Entertainment
Food
Input Devices
Lifestyle
Living Space
Manufacturing
Material
Media
Medical
Miscellaneous
Robotics
Security
Space Tech
Spacecraft
Surveillance
Transportation
Travel
Vehicle
Virtual
Person
Warfare
Weapon
Work
"Real science opens windows for us to look through. We're right at the footsteps of the most interesting scientists around."
- Larry Niven
 |
| Speedtalk | ||
| A constructed language that uses a single sound to stand for a word, achieving great improvements in communication speed. |
In the novella Gulf (published in 1949), Heinlein uses a great literary device to emphasize just how much human beings can achieve if they put their minds to it. He creates the idea of an artificial language called "Speedtalk" that allows the user to both speak and think more quickly and logically.
| ...it was possible to establish a one-to-one relationship with Basic English so that one phonetic symbol was equivalent to an entire word in a "normal" language, one Speedtalk word was equal to an entire sentence. The structure of Speedtalk did not contain the hidden errors of English... The advantage for achieving truth, or something more nearly like truth, was similar to the advantage of keeping account books in Arabic numerals rather than Roman. |
| Technovelgy from Assignment in Eternity,
by Robert Heinlein. Published by Signet in 1953 Additional resources -
|
Artificial languages (also called constructed languages, or conlangs) have been in vogue ever since the not very successful introduction of Esperanto, arguably the most successful of the bunch. Introduced in 1887 by the Polish physician Ludwig L. Zamenhoff, it is spoken by as many as two million people worldwide. Thousands of books are available.
You might also be interested in another artificial language created by a science fiction author - Babel-17, from the 1968 novel of the same name by Samuel R. Delany.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 7 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Assignment in Eternity
More Ideas
and Technology by Robert Heinlein
Tech news articles related to Assignment in Eternity
Tech news articles related to works by Robert Heinlein
| Will Whales Be Our First Contact? |
| NYC/Dublin Portal Fails To Meet 'Guardian Of Forever' Standards |
| Holobox? Who Doesn't Want A Home Hologram? |
| EBS-260 Handjet Free Hand Dot Matrix Printer |
Want to Contribute an
Item?
It's easy:
Get the name of the item, a
quote, the book's name and the author's name, and Add
it here.
| <Previous | Next> |
|
|
|
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Science Fiction Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
|
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
'What would you do,' Eric asked the robot cabdriver, 'if your wife had turned to stone, your best friend were a toad, and you had lost your job?'
'those suits they wear -- call them 'stillsuits' -- that reclaim the body's own water...'
'Now, except for weight and heat, the same conditions prevail in this chamber as in space.'
'there were so many worms and counterworms loose in the data-net...'
'Now, look, let's start with the three fundamental Rules of Robotics...'
'..the synthetic intellects at the Place of Knowledge had far outstripped the minds of men.'
'But after washing and drying clothes had to be smooth - free from fine lines and wrinkles ...'
