Language in Science Fiction and Fantasy: The Question of Style

by Susan Mandala

The language of science fiction, and of fantasy, has a steep challenge: that of the creation of other worlds, societies and characters that are alien to us in diverse and fundamental ways, but still compelling and knowable. This exciting book steps away from the issues of race, gender and politics that have saturated sci-fi and fantasy criticism. Rather, it challenges two widely held but poorly substantiated beliefs circulating about science fiction and fantasy - that they are a) written in plain and unremarkable prose and b) apt to present characters that are flat types rather than fully realised individuals. Mandala draws on traditional syntactic categories of stylistic analysis as well as the relatively more recent pragmatic and sociolinguistic paradigms such that the original analyses here take our understanding of these two genres beyond the usual confines, to consider how language is used to draw alternative words, represent the far future and distant past, and create psychologically believable characters. Covering both British and American fiction and television, this is a wide-ranging and perceptive book.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Linguistics

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 21, 2010

Reviews

[RdWd · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly revolutionary investigation into the way language style can be used in alternative world texts (sci-fi & fantasy) to not only suggest future Englishes and past Englishes, but also to create the real from the unreal and to form well-rounded characters (even if at first glance they're flat). The first half caters more to dialectologists and historical linguists - confirming several linguistic tendencies in fiction that I too notice.

But it was the last section of this book that was eye-opening reading, building upon both syntactic knowledge and discourse analysis (such as speech act theory), to really hammer home the point that authors' linguistic crafting is an overlooked, but very much appreciated, facet of fictional world-building.

The study demonstrates that fantasy and sci-fi texts are rarely taken seriously by literary critics and academics; yet it is time for that attitude to change. Fret not "sci-fantasy" texts, the Linguist has your back.

[Susana789 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great. First, because it was not labeled as "cultural studies". And you need use your brain :-).