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The question arises, then, exactly how alien can an alien language get? If it's used by StarfishAliens it may even require anatomical structures humans don't get -- but that doesn't mean it won't have those universals. Even the strangest StarfishLanguage may well be more normal than we think.
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The question arises, then, exactly how alien can an alien language get? If it's used by StarfishAliens it may even require anatomical structures humans don't get -- but that doesn't mean it won't have those universals. Even the strangest StarfishLanguage may well be more normal than we think.think.
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Linguists have identified a number of "universals," features found in every language (though most of the are conditional: "any language that has foo will also have bar," which doesn't mean a large percentage of languages will have foo). But are they universal? We have nothing to compare human languages to, after all.
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Linguists have identified a number of "universals," features found in every language (though most of the them are conditional: "any language that has foo will also have bar," which doesn't mean a large percentage of languages will have foo). But are they universal? We have nothing to compare human languages to, after all.
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Linguists have identified a number of "universals," features found in every language (though most of the are conditional: "any language that has foo will also have bar," which doesn't mean a large percentage of languages will have foo). But are they universal? We have nothing to compare human languages to, after all.
Of course, if one includes any or all of these universals in one's definition of "language," [[ShapedLikeItself you will indeed find that every language has them]]. Indeed, that's why "language" should be defined based on characteristics -- perhaps, "a symbolic system deliberately generated by sentient beings, capable of conveying information and used for that purpose, and regarded by those generating it as a language."
The question arises, then, exactly how alien can an alien language get? If it's used by StarfishAliens it may even require anatomical structures humans don't get -- but that doesn't mean it won't have those universals. Even the strangest StarfishLanguage may well be more normal than we think.
Of course, if one includes any or all of these universals in one's definition of "language," [[ShapedLikeItself you will indeed find that every language has them]]. Indeed, that's why "language" should be defined based on characteristics -- perhaps, "a symbolic system deliberately generated by sentient beings, capable of conveying information and used for that purpose, and regarded by those generating it as a language."
The question arises, then, exactly how alien can an alien language get? If it's used by StarfishAliens it may even require anatomical structures humans don't get -- but that doesn't mean it won't have those universals. Even the strangest StarfishLanguage may well be more normal than we think.
