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A Story of the Days to Come: H.G. Wells and the Language of Science Fiction

University College Northampton, UK, sylvia.hardy{at}atlworld.com

This article argues that, unlike most other science fiction writers, H.G. Wells gives considerable attention to language and language change in his futuristic writing; this is because he was, from the beginning of his career, fascinated by the ways in which language had shaped human lives and cultures. In many of the early scientific romances, particularly The Time Machine and The Island of Dr Moreau, failures in communication play an important part in the events of the story. In the later utopias such as The World Set Free and The Shape of Things to Come, Wells makes English the basis of a new world language, which plays an essential part in establishing social cohesion and extending the cognitive powers of the individual citizen.

Key Words: artificial factor • Basic English • language change • lingua franca • science fiction • utopia • Wells, H.G.

Language and Literature, Vol. 12, No. 3, 199-212 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/09639470030123002


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