How do aliens in the story language and communication style different from the human language (oral, pictographic, phonetic, etc.)?
Unlike humans whose language and communication style are exactly the same, aliens’ language style and communication style are different. Human language is linear, composed of words and phrases, and always forms by the logic of cause and effects. But alien language writes like a circle. The change of their strokes represents different meanings. So when we compare the writing of human language and alien language, human language needs to be read line by line while alien language can be regarded as a drawing and be understood immediately.
Their ways to produce sound also vary. Humans produce sound by vocal cords while aliens produce sound by vibration.
For phonetics is closely related to writing, these two languages then vary much more. Humans can speak in the way they write but aliens can’t. For words must be expressed one by one and their writing doesn’t have any sequence, so they try to find the biggest freedom of not using the sequence. Humans’ writing and speaking are complementary while aliens’ speaking can only be a weak substitute for written language.
How does the physical structure of our body inform the way we communicate? How about the aliens?
For human communication organs are formed in a two-dimension way, it is hard for us to form a complete logic before speaking, so we usually speak in a linear way and follow cause and effect. However, aliens have seven limbs and seven eyes, which are formed in a three-dimension way. This makes sure that for them, every direction is front. This enables them to finish thinking about what they are going to say before communication, so their expression is no longer limited to structure and words, and can write whatever they want to express.