Video Description

Disappointed by the alien languages you see in movies? I have good news! There is a new branch of linguistics—Xenolinguistics—dedicated to imagining what an alien language might actually look like! In this video, I want to explore the weirdness of the forms an alien language could take, using what we know about human language, animal communication, biology, and cognition. Big thanks to my friend Maxwell Domanchich for helping me out with this video! A new handbook on xenolinguistics was just published! Xenolinguistics: Towards a science of extraterrestrial language. Preview available here: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003352174 0:00 – Xenolinguistics 2:04 – How weird is Klingon? 3:38 – Universal grammar 5:33 – The languages of Tlön 7:02 – Language and number 8:20 – Gestural language 10:29 – Chemical signaling 12:09 – Color changing and bioluminescence 15:17 – Electro-communication 17:23 – Magnetoreception 18:46 – How to make an alien language 19:59 – The languages of Star Wars Sources Borges (1940). Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius. Catania (2019). The astonishing behavior of electric eels. Clarke (1973). Rendezvous with Rama. Crook Baddeley & Osorio (2002). Identifying the structure in cuttlefish visual signals. Evans & Levinson (2009). The myth of language universals: Language diversity and its importance for cognitive science. Golston (2018). φ-features in animal cognition. Ligon & McGraw (2018). A chorus of color: hierarchical and graded information content of rapid color change signals in chameleons. Hanlon & Messenger (1988). Adaptive coloration in young cuttlefish (sepia officinalis l.): The morphology and development of body patterns and their relation to behaviour. Holmer (2013). Greetings Earthlings! On possible features of exolanguage. Hopkins (1999). Design features for electric communication. Hunter (1775). An account of the Gymnotus Electricus. Jackson & Ratnieks (2006). Communication in ants. Jeanson et al. (2003). Pheromone trail decay rates on different substrates in the Pharaoh’s ant, Monomorium pharaonis. Jones & Conner (2019). The jamming avoidance response in echolocating bats. Mouritsen & Ritz (2005). Magnetoreception and its use in bird navigation. Musso et al. (2003). Broca’s Area and the language instinct. Osvath (2013). Astrocognition: A cognitive zoology approach to potential universal principles of intelligence. Palmer et al. (2006). Response of female cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda) to mirrors and conspecifics: evidence for signaling in female cuttlefish. Ross (2023). Modification as a universal property of intelligent communication. Ross (2023). A linguistic perspective on the Drake equation. Westby & Conselice (2020). The astrobiological Copernican weak and strong limits for intelligent life. Williams et al. (2019). Dynamic pigmentary and structural coloration within cephalopod chromatophore organs. Wiltschko & Wiltschko (2005). Magnetic orientation and magnetoreception in birds and other animals. Clips: Star Wars (1977) Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan (1982) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) Avatar (2009) Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001) The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) Treasure Planet (2002) Return of the Jedi (1983) Johnny Moses - Winter Water Serpent Song: https://youtu.be/fDfMgUvhpBQ?si=yE815VzG-TzYnIBJ