Through the Screen · Arrival · 5 min
One word
In Arrival, a word changes how you see time. Here is a word that changes how billions see God.
Through the Screen · One word
In Arrival (2016), a linguist learns an alien language and, in learning it, comes to see time differently. Ted Chiang, who wrote the original story, thought it “unfilmable”, and was very happy with the film.
Whether the language you speak shapes what you can think is a real question in linguistics. The strong version (language decides thought) is rejected by most linguists; a weaker version is still debated.
Our whole site begins with one word. Hebrew Elohim, Aramaic Alaha, Arabic Allāh: one family of words for God. Each faith also begins with speech. Genesis: “And God said, Let there be light.” John: “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1, WEB). The Qur'an: “the variety of your languages and your colours” is one of God's signs (30:22).
