Editing Fictional language (section)

==Alien languages==
[[Image:Qapla'.svg|thumb|right|''Qapla{{'}}'' means 'success' in the [[Klingon language]].]]
{{main|Alien language}}
A notable subgenre of fictional languages are [[alien language]]s, the ones that are used or might be used by putative [[extraterrestrial life]] forms. Alien languages are subject of both [[science fiction]] and scientific research. Perhaps the most fully developed fictional alien language is the [[Klingon language]] of the ''[[Star Trek]]'' universe – a fully developed [[constructed language]].<ref name="Prisco 2018 j198">{{cite web | last=Prisco | first=Jacopo | title=How do you design a language from scratch? Ask a Klingon | website=CNN | date=July 3, 2018 | url=https://www.cnn.com/style/article/star-trek-klingon-marc-okrand/index.html | access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref>

The problem of alien language has confronted generations of [[science fiction]] writers; some have created fictional languages for their characters to use, while others have circumvented the problem through translation devices or other fantastic technology. For example, the ''[[Star Trek]]'' universe makes use of a "[[universal translator]]", which explains why such different races, often meeting for the first time, are able to communicate with each other.<ref name="Nast 2011 e234">{{cite magazine | last=Reynolds | first=Eileen| title=Star Trek, Google, and the Dream of Universal Translation | magazine=The New Yorker | date=January 26, 2011 | url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/star-trek-google-and-the-dream-of-universal-translation | access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref> Another more humorous example would be the Babel fish from ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', an aurally-inserted fish that instantaneously translates alien speech to the speaker's native language.<ref name="Edwards 2015 m100">{{cite web | last=Edwards | first=Jim | title=Google's New Language Translation App Is Astonishing | website=Business Insider | date=January 15, 2015 | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/google-translate-babel-fish-from-hitchhikers-guide-2015-1 | access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref>

While in many cases an alien language is but an element of a fictional reality, in a number of science fiction works the core of the plot involves linguistic and psychological problems of communication between various alien species.

=== Visual alien languages ===
[[File:Complex Gallifreyan sentence.svg|thumb|Circular Gallifreyan from ''[[Doctor Who]]'', an example of a visual language. The sentence translates to "Welcome to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can edit."]]
A further subgenre of alien languages are those that are visual, rather than auditory. Notable examples of this type are Sherman's Circular Gallifreyan from [[BBC|BBC's]] ''[[Doctor Who]]'' series<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sherman |first1=Loren |title=How to Write Gallifreyan |url=https://shermansplanet.com/gallifreyan/guide.pdf |website=Sherman's Planet |access-date=22 October 2024}}</ref> and the heptapod's written language, which is distinct from their spoken language, from the 2016 film ''[[Arrival (film)|Arrival]]''.<ref name="Lubin 2016 b848">{{cite web | last=Lubin | first=Gus | title='Arrival' nails how humans might actually talk to aliens, a linguist says | website=Business Insider | date=November 21, 2016 | url=https://www.businessinsider.com/alien-language-in-arrival-linguist-2016-11 | access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Zeitchik 2016 f348">{{cite web | last=Zeitchik | first=Steven | title=Decoding the linguistic geekiness behind 'Arrival's' sci-fi sheen | website=Los Angeles Times | date=November 25, 2016 | url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-arrival-movie-linguist-20161125-story.html | access-date=January 25, 2024}}</ref>