Heptapod languages

Common card · No. 279249

The Heptapod languages are two constructed fictional languages used in Ted Chiang's novella, "Story of Your Life", as well as its later film adaptation, Arrival. In-universe, they are used by the "heptapods", an alien race that makes contact with humanity. The languages are classified by two separate names, "Heptapod A" and "Heptapod B", as the species uses two separate languages; the former is a spoken language, and the latter a semasiography. These two languages together encapsulate two different concepts of time—Heptapod B presents time as synchronous, while A presents time as sequential, with causality. The two languages are grammatically unrelated. A written form for Heptapod B was developed for Arrival by production designer Patrice Vermette and his wife Martine Bertrand, based on the descriptions in "Story of Your Life".

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