The Future of Language: How Technology, Politics and Utopianism are Transforming the Way we Communicate

by Philip Seargeant

Will language as we know it cease to exist? What could this mean for the way we live our lives?

Shining a light on the technology currently being developed to revolutionise communication, The Future of Language distinguishes myth from reality and superstition from scientifically-based prediction as it plots out the importance of language and raises questions about its future.

From the rise of artificial intelligence and speaking robots, to brain implants and
computer-facilitated telepathy, language and communications expert Philip Seargeant surveys the development of new digital 'languages', such as emojis, animated gifs and memes, and investigates how conventions of spoken and written language are being modified by new trends in communication.

From George Orwell's fictional predictions in Nineteen Eighty-Four to the very real warnings of climate activist Greta Thunberg, Seargeant explores language through time, traversing politics, religion, philosophy, literature, and of course technology, in the process. Tracing how previous eras have imagined the future of language, from the Bible to the works H. G. Wells, and from Star Wars to Star Trek, the book reveals how perfecting language and communication has always been a vital component of utopian dreams of the future.

Questioning the potential ramifications of recent and future developments in communication on society and its ideals, The Future of Language is a no holds barred investigation into the state of civilisation and the impact that changes in language could have on our lives.

Genres: Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

Published November 2, 2023

About the author

Philip Seargeant is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the Centre for Language and Communication, The Open University. He is author of The Idea of English in Japan: Ideology and the Evolution of a Global Language (2009), Exploring World Englishes: Language in a Global Context (2012) and From Language to Creative Writing (with Bill Greenwell, 2013); he is also editor of English in Japan in the Era of Globalization (2011) and English in the World Today: History, Diversity, Change (with Joan Swann, 2012).

Reviews

[Ilya Zverev · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know. The book seemed to be somewhat sketchy in its discussions of various aspects of the topic it deals with. Overall, a good enough read for those not dealing with the topic of language on day-to-day basis

[Aleks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best read of the year.