ExploringtheRedPlanet:AnIntroductiontoMartianEnglish
Mars,thefourthplanetfromthesun,haslongbeenasourceoffascinationforhumanity.Whileitonceseemedlikeanimpossibledream,theideaofexploringthisdistantworldisnowwithinourgrasp.AswepreparetosendourfirstmissionstoMars,it'simportanttoconsiderhowwewillcommunicatewithanylifeformswemayencounterthere.Inthisguide,wewillexplorethebasicsofMartianEnglish,includingitshistory,grammar,andvocabulary.
ABriefHistoryofMartianEnglish
WhilewehaveyettoencounteranyactualMartians,theideaofaraceofalienbeingshasbeenastapleofsciencefictionfordecades.Overtime,variousportrayalsofMartianlanguageandculturehaveemerged,fromthewarlikeMartiansofH.G.Wells'\"TheWaroftheWorlds\"tothefriendlytelepathicaliensofRayBradbury's\"TheMartianChronicles.\"
Despitethesefictionalportrayals,wehavenoideawhat,ifany,formsoflanguageexistonMars.However,it'sreasonabletoassumethatanyMartianlanguagewouldbevastlydifferentfromEarthlanguages,giventheplanet'svastlydifferentenvironment,culture,andhistory.
TheGrammarofMartianEnglish
AssumingtheexistenceofaMartianlanguage,whatmightitsgrammarlooklike?It'sdifficulttosayforcertain,butwecanmakesomeeducatedguessesbasedonwhatweknowaboutlinguisticevolutionandthewaythatlanguagesdevelopovertime.
OnepossibilityisthatMartianEnglish,ifitexists,wouldfeaturecompletelydifferentgrammaticalstructuresfromEarthlanguages.Forexample,ratherthanrelyingonverbsandnouns,MartianEnglishcoulduseentirelydifferentcategoriestoconveymeaning.
AnotherpossibilityisthatMartianEnglishmightsharesomesimilaritieswithEarthlanguages,butstillbedistinctenoughtoposesignificantchallengesforcommunication.Forexample,itmightusedifferentpronouns,verbconjugations,ortensesthanarefoundinanyEarthlanguage.
TheVocabularyofMartianEnglish
ThefinalaspectofMartianEnglishwewillconsiderisitsvocabulary.GiventhatwehavenoideawhatMartianculture,technology,orenvironmentmightbelike,it'simpossibletopredictwhatkindofwordswouldbeusedinaMartianlanguage.However,wecanspeculateonsomebroadcategoriesofvocabularythatMartianEnglishmightinclude.
Forexample,MartianEnglishmightincludealargenumberoftechnicalorscientifictermsrelatedtospacetravel,giventhatthesewouldbecriticallyimportanttoanyMartiansociety.Alternatively,itmightfeatureawiderangeofvocabularyrelatedtoclimateandweather,giventheharshandunpredictableconditionsontheplanet'ssurface.
Ultimately,untilwemakecontactwithanypotentialMartianlifeformsandcanstudytheirlanguageindetail,wehavenowayofknowingwhatMartianEnglishmightlooklike.However,byconsideringthepossiblefeaturesofaMartianlanguage,wecanbetterprepareforthechallengesofinterplanetarycommunicationandensurethatweareabletounderstandandconnectwithanyalienlifewemayencounter.
