Story of Your Life
Encyclopedia
Story of Your Life is a science fiction
short story
by Ted Chiang
. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella
as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award. The major themes
explored by this tale are determinism
, language
, and an interesting take on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
.
who initiated first contact
with human
ity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.
The heptapod
s have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded
clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written
language of the aliens, is central to the plot. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure
that a single semagram cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence
.
When writing in Heptapod B, the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the alien's understanding of mathematics
and Fermat's Theory of Least Time
.
Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will
is exercised by not affecting the outcome of events.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang
Ted Chiang is an American speculative fiction writer. His Chinese name is Chiang Feng-nan.He was born in Port Jefferson, New York and graduated from Brown University with a Computer Science degree. He currently works as a technical writer in the software industry and resides in Bellevue, near...
. It was the winner of the 2000 Nebula Award for Best Novella
Nebula Award for Best Novella
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novella. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.-Winners and other nominees:-External links:**...
as well as the 1999 Sturgeon award. The major themes
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
explored by this tale are determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
, language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
, and an interesting take on the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis
Linguistic relativity
The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its speakers are able to conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view...
.
Plot summary
Dr. Louise Banks is enlisted by the military to communicate with a race of radially-symmetrical aliensExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
who initiated first contact
First contact (science fiction)
First contact is a common science fiction theme about the first meeting between humans and extraterrestrial life, or of any sentient race's first encounter with another one....
with human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
ity. Woven through the story are remembrances of her daughter.
The heptapod
Heptapod (alien race)
The heptapods are a fictional alien race featured in Ted Chiang's short story Story of Your Life.-Physiology:The heptapod are radially symmetrical aliens with seven legs. Four legs are used for locomotion while the remaining three are used as arms. Along the top of its barrel-shaped body are seven...
s have two distinct forms of language. Heptapod A is their spoken language, which is described as having free word order and many levels of center-embedded
Center embedding
In linguistics, center embedding refers to the process of embedding a phrase in the middle of another phrase of the same type. This often leads to difficulty with parsing which would be difficult to explain on grammatical grounds alone...
clauses. Understanding Heptapod B, the written
Writing
Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...
language of the aliens, is central to the plot. Unlike its spoken counterpart, Heptapod B has such complex structure
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
that a single semagram cannot be excluded without changing the entire meaning of a sentence
Sentence (linguistics)
In the field of linguistics, a sentence is an expression in natural language, and often defined to indicate a grammatical unit consisting of one or more words that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it...
.
When writing in Heptapod B, the writer knows how the sentence will end. The phenomenon of Heptapod B is explained by the alien's understanding of mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and Fermat's Theory of Least Time
Fermat's principle
In optics, Fermat's principle or the principle of least time is the principle that the path taken between two points by a ray of light is the path that can be traversed in the least time. This principle is sometimes taken as the definition of a ray of light...
.
Dr. Banks's understanding of the heptapods' writing system affects the way she perceives time and suggests a deterministic universe where free will
Free will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
is exercised by not affecting the outcome of events.
Awards
- Winner of the 2000 Nebula for Best Novella
- Winner of the 1999 Sturgeon award
- Short listed for the 1999 Tiptree award
- Ranked 10th on the 1999 Locus poll for best novella
- Nominated for the 1999 Hugo Award for Best Novella
- Nominated for the 1999 HOMer award for best novella
External links
- Story of Your Life at BestScienceFictionStories.com - short story reviews and resources.