Alien Languages

Programming 4 (Westminster 2)

Saturday October 6, 2018 - 1:00 pm to 1:50 pm


Language is an evolutionary miracle – Universal Grammar only evolved once on Earth – and could explain the Fermi Paradox. Human languages are built with phonemes (consonants, vowels and tones) and use word order (the syntax of a well-formed sentence) to aid understanding. Xenolinguistics – the study of non-human language – will likely require new techniques. Alien language may not be constrained by the sound vibrations or even use words. On example is language in the radio spectrum (meat radio), an exaptation of electric shock and sensing organs. Another is a Cantative (musical/tonal) language: instead of word order syntax, pitch order is employed. Another example is blinking light language, where meaning is encoded in pulse codes and patterns. Other language options will be explored, based on Darwinian evolution in alien environments.


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