Story of Your Life

1. How do aliens in the story using language and communication style different from the human language (oral, pictographic, phonetic, etc.)?

In Story of Your Life, the aliens, called the Heptapods, have a different language system from human language because of the difference in the way we think and view the universe. Language is the reflection of thinking; reversely, thinking can be influenced by language. These linguistic principles set up the basis of this story. 

Heptapod (their language) has several distinctive features:

1. 1. It has two unrelated language systems – Heptapod A (speaking) and Heptapod B (writing).

Unlike human experience events in sequence align with the principle of causality, the heptapods experience all events at once (teleology). That allows heptapods to see the future, and the future becomes just a part of their memories. This means that verbal language is highly inefficient despite their unique thinking process because the spoken language has to be formed in a linear sequence with characters connected with another. While they use verbal language, the speaking speed might be similar to human speech. However, their writing system can be much more efficient. A human might use 60 seconds to write 100 words; they might use 2 seconds to finish the task with their unique writing system that matches their teleologic thinking system. The example here explains why heptapods use writing more than speech.

1. 2. The written language (Heptapod B) is a non-linear arrangement of visual representation.

The human writing system uses a linear expression that aligns with our causal, linear thinking process and speaking system. Distinctively, Heptapod B is logographic. The heptapods use “graphemes instead of phonemes” (Chiang, 8) because of their teleologic thinking styles.

1. 3. The written language (Heptapod B) uses one single logogram for one expression.

In Heptapod B, a single logogram can involve meaning that human needs multiple words to express. The story narrated the example that the heptapods display one logogram instead of two separate terms of “the heptapod walks.” That single logogram combines the logogram for “heptapod” with “some extra stokes added to one side or another” (Chiang, 10), which is the verb “walk.” The single logograms express single human words modified (distorted or rotated) and merged to form a larger logogram to display the sentence. Through this way, the writing system may keep up with the thinking.

1. 4. There is no stoppage during the writing process.

In the story, the protagonist observes the heptapods’ writing in-person to see the writing process instead of just seeing the results. That is because the process shows that the heptapods write with no stoppage. After all, while they write, they know exactly everything that will happen afterward. Before writing the next stroke, they already know the entire sentence and the entire logogram. Thus, every single stroke plays a crucial part in the writing during the later progress. This feature is differentiated from the human writing habits of stopping and thinking.

2. How does the physical structure of our body inform the way we communicate? How about the aliens? 

From the perspective of inputting information in communication, the human body transmits sound through the vibration of vocal cords. The sound goes through the mouth, which is on the front of the body, for more direct face-to-face verbal communication. The direct delivery form and the position of the mouth show human’s heavy reliance on spoken language. This reliance comes from the alignment of human’s linear sequenced speech with the causal thinking system. However, the heptapods can only make “a brief fluttering sound” (Chiang, 6) from “a puckered orifice at the top of its body” (Chiang, 6). They cannot create sounds that are as clear as humans. And the position of its vocal organ is not developed for other’s better experience of receiving information. Thus, we can conclude that the heptapods have a weak reliance on speech. 

While inputting information, which is also a crucial step of interaction, human has two eyes positioned on the front side. This is related to the human linear sequenced thinking process. The human can only experience one event at once, including receiving information visually. Unlike human body structure, the aliens have “eyes on all sides; any direction might as well be ‘forward’” (Chiang, 5). The amount of information they receive at once is much larger than humans. That is similar to their logograms that is a large symbol merged with individual small logograms.

Considering physical expression, human has limbs with joints to enable intricate movements. This allows body gestures and hand gestures to support our verbal speech. In contrast, “the heptapod’s limbs conspired to move in a disconcertingly fluid manner” (Chiang, 5). They don’t have fingers or any other delicate physical structure, implying that they do not rely on their physical expression in their communication. 

Human body structure perfectly fits human’s sequential and causal thinking mode, and the alien’s symmetrical body structure also accords to their teleological thinking mode. In conclusion, the thinking mode determines the way of communication, and thus the body structure.

Free Will vs. Foreseeing Future

I found the most interesting part of this story is when the protagonist gains the ability to foresee the future by learning the heptapod’s thinking mode. While knowing the future, I questioned whether she was completely losing her free will. This reminded me of the philosophical dilemma on free will, which led me to ponder the concepts of hard determinism, fatalism, etc. 

As the protagonist gains the ability to foresee the future through learning the heptapod’s thinking mode, the story raises two contradicting notions: knowing the future vs. free will. 

Obtaining the knowledge of the future means that the future cannot be changed, and every single choice we make is predetermined. This calls on fatalism. I also related it to hard determinism, which means that every single event is a product of a stream of unchangeable, causal events. In this case, all of the choices seem meaningless as they are all predetermined. Thus, there is no free will at all. 

Possessing free will means having the maximum capacity of making individual judgments. Then the future is unpredictable because the choices may be made unrelated to any previous events. When there are numerous possibilities of future development, foreseeing the future cannot exist as no one fixed “future” cannot be seen. 

These lead to the result that the two notions of knowing the future and free will can only exist one at a time. Therefore, as soon as the protagonist learns about the future, she loses all her free will. 

Citations

Chiang, Ted. Stories of Your Life. Vintage Books, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2016.