The Languages of Pao
by Jack Vance · first published 1958
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2011–2024first – last mentioned
80% recommend20% neutral
Science Fiction. The young heir must escape his father's assassination and seek refuge on another planet. Later, he will return to effect change for his planet, for good or ill.
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Side note: I'd like to point out one of the very few science fiction novels about linguistics: The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance [1]. The novel is clearly inspired by the Sapir-Whorf concept that language shapes thought [0]. BTW: Another candidate would be 1984. Though not the main these, that novel introduces…
on “Languages That Could Change the Way You See the World (2015)” ↗The Languages Of Pao by Jack Vance is another classic science fiction novel that explores the impact of language on anthropology (the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis). For example, the warrior caste speak a dialect that encourages…
on “Two women recall coming of age in Victorian London (1970) [video]” ↗In the Scifi category, I'd recommend "The Languages of Pao" [1] by Jack Vance, which is inspired by the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis [2]. I've re-read it five times now, which means this book deserves the space it occupies in my bookshelf. Books that are only worth…
on “Ask HN: What do you read?” ↗For a vintage SF treatment with the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis at its center, read The Languages of Pao by Jack Vance. It's been a while since I last read it, but I have fond memories.
on “Our language, our world” ↗"It’s the old trope, echoed by Philip K. Dick for one"; I always felt that Jack Vance got short shrift on this. In the ~1958 "Languages of Pao" he had body augmentation as a major subplot: "... The anti-gravity mesh was laid into the bottom of the feet and connect to the processors in the calves by means of flexible tubes thrust up from…
on “In the basement with transhumanism’s DIY cyberpunks” ↗