| Xen: Ancient English Edition by D. J. Solomon |
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Third Place $100.00 scholarship & matching award to school
The English language can be extremely confusing. Xen: A Novel from the Future,
written by D.J. Solomon, is exceptional for its use of higher-level vocabulary words and
writing conventions in order to convey the complexity of the English language. The
book provides explanations and descriptions that explore English and poke fun at
written communication.
The "Semifinal Note on the Edition" introduces English as being abstract, and states
that this abstractness will be played upon: "There will be occasions when several words
will be used to convey a concept, English being a salubrious abstraction with many
pictures of the same subject being painted quite differently."
Communication-problems or rifts in understanding can be considered motifs, and their
mention provides an underlying basis for humor. By the end of the book, it is clear that
in the future, English and all other languages have been destroyed, replaced by a new,
universal tongue. Of this it is stated: "Innuendo and ambiguity will also survive, but
language impediments will no longer be a source of friction in the family of Mankind."
(p. 179). The phrase "No longer" acknowledges that such impediments must have
existed at some point in the past. Because it can be concluded (from a similar
assumption) that "language impediments" once caused conflict among people, the
reader may assume these impediments to be misunderstandings in communication,
from which conflicts pertaining to language frequently arise. "Impediments" are defined
as obstacles, and when applied to language, these obstacles signify shortcomings that
lead to miscommunication; they are rules and conditions of English that promote
obscurity. In this way it is brought to attention that problems with current languages
stand in the way of a perfect world.
Furthermore, it is common when reading Xen to notice contradictory statements in
which the second statement corrects a misunderstanding posed by the first:
"After seemingly uncountable Rotations... " (p. 2)
"Actually, they are countable, being a billion, plus or minus, for the sake of simplicity
and in order to define our terms, say an even billion; a seemingly large number until
one considers... " (p. 2).
At first, the narrator states that one billion seems like a large number. ("Seemingly
uncountable" implies largeness by signifying an amount that is too large to be
counted.) No exceptions are mentioned, and the reader is left with the impression that
the amount of Rotations is always "seemingly uncountable." However, the following
sentence states that the number is close to one billion, then says that one billion
seems large at first, but actually is not. The diminishment in size-perception is implied
by the phrase "until one considers," signifying that under a certain condition occurring
in the future (one's consideration), the previous state ("a seemingly large number") will
cease to apply. The negation of "seemingly large" is "not seemingly large;" and the
reader can conclude that after this consideration has occurred, what formerly seemed
like a large number will no longer appear so. Thus, the second sentence makes it
apparent that there does not seem under all conditions to be a large (or "seemingly
uncountable") number of Rotations. The first and second sentences oppose each
other, with the second serving to fix the first.
Another example of two contradictory statements is:
"... Unless she is comparing herself to her even more preposterous sister with the red
hair? Sister your ass; they're related as your beagle is to the poodle next door. " (p.
18).
Here, the narrator uses the word "sister," to compare two women. (He is probably
making fun of black slang.) In the next sentence, however, he states that the women
mentioned are obviously not sisters. "My ass" is a term commonly used to express
one's conviction that a previously-mentioned concept is false, therefore, using it in
reference to the word `sister' implies that they are not sisters at all. After the semicolon,
a simile compares the blood-relationship between the two women to one between two
obviously unrelated dogs of different breeds, emphasizing the heterogeneity present in
both situations and further implying that they are not sisters because they have no
familial relationship.
Sometimes within Xen, lengthy descriptions or multiple sentences are used to clarify
the exact meaning of one particular sentence. ("After seemingly uncountable
Rotations... " is an example of such.) This is also the case with the first two paragraphs
of the book:
"It was a dark and stormy night ... Actually, it wasn't stormy in the traditional sense, as
will soon be apparent. Wind was howling over Earth in a particular rampage. " (p. 1).
Because the narrator is translating to English from a future language, one can view
these sentences as an attempt by someone of a more succinct language to state his
exact purposes in one that is less succinct. He is not familiar with the connotations
understood by modern Americans or the assumptions of modern Americans as to what
certain sentences mean; therefore, he does not imitate the American style of speaking.
(Many sentences can have several meanings, but will be read only a certain way and
applied a single interpretation by those accustomed to a language such as English.)
Words with more than one definition, as well as words and abbreviations adopted in the
future, are marked with a double-asterisk and are denoted in a lexicon stating the exact
meaning of the word within the context. The double-asterisks does not always serve as
a tool for the reader. In many instances of its usage, he or she is already familiar with
the word's meaning and is simply made aware of a double-entendre that otherwise
might not have been noticed. For example, the double-asterisks follows the word
"soda" (p. 18) on one occasion. `Soda' has several applications, but when spoken of in
a casual, every-day context, most Americans assume it is referring to a drink.
One must also keep in mind that the fictitious audience is a population accustomed to
concise language and probably even less advanced in English than the "translator"
himself is. These fictional people would be even less aware of English conventions and
would require more clarification in order to comprehend the text.
Besides relating to the plot and theme, advanced language is used in order to provoke
humor. Many readers take amusement at the narrator's tendency to elaborate upon
simple subjects or to excessively correct minor errors.
By understanding the reason for the narrator's lengthy narrations, one can observe
that English is often ambiguous and provokes many misunderstandings. The reader
can frequently find interest in this ambiguous style of writing. Xen explores the great
depth of English, probes into its clichés, and satires its tendency to confusion, fostering
much insight into the subject.
The English language can be extremely confusing. Xen: A Novel from the Future,
written by D.J. Solomon, is exceptional for its use of higher-level vocabulary words and
writing conventions in order to convey the complexity of the English language. The
book provides explanations and descriptions that explore English and poke fun at
written communication.
The "Semifinal Note on the Edition" introduces English as being abstract, and states
that this abstractness will be played upon: "There will be occasions when several words
will be used to convey a concept, English being a salubrious abstraction with many
pictures of the same subject being painted quite differently."
Communication-problems or rifts in understanding can be considered motifs, and their
mention provides an underlying basis for humor. By the end of the book, it is clear that
in the future, English and all other languages have been destroyed, replaced by a new,
universal tongue. Of this it is stated: "Innuendo and ambiguity will also survive, but
language impediments will no longer be a source of friction in the family of Mankind."
(p. 179). The phrase "No longer" acknowledges that such impediments must have
existed at some point in the past. Because it can be concluded (from a similar
assumption) that "language impediments" once caused conflict among people, the
reader may assume these impediments to be misunderstandings in communication,
from which conflicts pertaining to language frequently arise. "Impediments" are defined
as obstacles, and when applied to language, these obstacles signify shortcomings that
lead to miscommunication; they are rules and conditions of English that promote
obscurity. In this way it is brought to attention that problems with current languages
stand in the way of a perfect world.
Furthermore, it is common when reading Xen to notice contradictory statements in
which the second statement corrects a misunderstanding posed by the first:
"After seemingly uncountable Rotations... " (p. 2)
"Actually, they are countable, being a billion, plus or minus, for the sake of simplicity
and in order to define our terms, say an even billion; a seemingly large number until
one considers... " (p. 2).
At first, the narrator states that one billion seems like a large number. ("Seemingly
uncountable" implies largeness by signifying an amount that is too large to be
counted.) No exceptions are mentioned, and the reader is left with the impression that
the amount of Rotations is always "seemingly uncountable." However, the following
sentence states that the number is close to one billion, then says that one billion
seems large at first, but actually is not. The diminishment in size-perception is implied
by the phrase "until one considers," signifying that under a certain condition occurring
in the future (one's consideration), the previous state ("a seemingly large number") will
cease to apply. The negation of "seemingly large" is "not seemingly large;" and the
reader can conclude that after this consideration has occurred, what formerly seemed
like a large number will no longer appear so. Thus, the second sentence makes it
apparent that there does not seem under all conditions to be a large (or "seemingly
uncountable") number of Rotations. The first and second sentences oppose each
other, with the second serving to fix the first.
Another example of two contradictory statements is:
"... Unless she is comparing herself to her even more preposterous sister with the red
hair? Sister your ass; they're related as your beagle is to the poodle next door. " (p.
18).
Here, the narrator uses the word "sister," to compare two women. (He is probably
making fun of black slang.) In the next sentence, however, he states that the women
mentioned are obviously not sisters. "My ass" is a term commonly used to express
one's conviction that a previously-mentioned concept is false, therefore, using it in
reference to the word `sister' implies that they are not sisters at all. After the semicolon,
a simile compares the blood-relationship between the two women to one between two
obviously unrelated dogs of different breeds, emphasizing the heterogeneity present in
both situations and further implying that they are not sisters because they have no
familial relationship.
Sometimes within Xen, lengthy descriptions or multiple sentences are used to clarify
the exact meaning of one particular sentence. ("After seemingly uncountable
Rotations... " is an example of such.) This is also the case with the first two paragraphs
of the book:
"It was a dark and stormy night ... Actually, it wasn't stormy in the traditional sense, as
will soon be apparent. Wind was howling over Earth in a particular rampage. " (p. 1).
Because the narrator is translating to English from a future language, one can view
these sentences as an attempt by someone of a more succinct language to state his
exact purposes in one that is less succinct. He is not familiar with the connotations
understood by modern Americans or the assumptions of modern Americans as to what
certain sentences mean; therefore, he does not imitate the American style of speaking.
(Many sentences can have several meanings, but will be read only a certain way and
applied a single interpretation by those accustomed to a language such as English.)
Words with more than one definition, as well as words and abbreviations adopted in the
future, are marked with a double-asterisk and are denoted in a lexicon stating the exact
meaning of the word within the context. The double-asterisks does not always serve as
a tool for the reader. In many instances of its usage, he or she is already familiar with
the word's meaning and is simply made aware of a double-entendre that otherwise
might not have been noticed. For example, the double-asterisks follows the word
"soda" (p. 18) on one occasion. `Soda' has several applications, but when spoken of in
a casual, every-day context, most Americans assume it is referring to a drink.
One must also keep in mind that the fictitious audience is a population accustomed to
concise language and probably even less advanced in English than the "translator"
himself is. These fictional people would be even less aware of English conventions and
would require more clarification in order to comprehend the text.
Besides relating to the plot and theme, advanced language is used in order to provoke
humor. Many readers take amusement at the narrator's tendency to elaborate upon
simple subjects or to excessively correct minor errors.
By understanding the reason for the narrator's lengthy narrations, one can observe
that English is often ambiguous and provokes many misunderstandings. The reader
can frequently find interest in this ambiguous style of writing. Xen explores the great
depth of English, probes into its clichés, and satires its tendency to confusion, fostering
much insight into the subject.
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| Erin Nemeth North Royalton High School North Royalton, OH Analysis of the English Used in Xen: a Novel from the Future |
