theory of linguistic relativity, or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis. According to this hypothesis, the structure of a language affects the worldview of its users. When Louise gains knowledge of the nonsequential nature of Heptapod B, time itself begins to appear as simultaneous to her.

However, the text does not wholly subscribe to the view that language precedes reality. Louise notes that when the ancestors of humans and heptapods began perceiving reality, the former looked at events as causal, or as a sequential chain of cause and effect. Heptapods perceived the same events as teleological, or having a set, determined path and purpose. These differing views, in turn, led humans to create sequential language systems and heptapods to create their teleological system.

Chiang’s novella suggests that the answer to this question lies somewhere between language being a precursor to and a reflector of reality. Although language is created to reflect reality, different languages also represent different systems of thought. A person communicating in sign language, a person communicating in Russian, and a person communicating in English do not just use different languages—they also exhibit different systems of thought. 

Further, the text suggests that understanding different languages—and thus different modes of thought—is a key component of empathy. Just as the heptapods cease to be truly alien to Louise once she learns their reality through their language, humans in general can be more empathetic by paying attention to the words of others.

Otherness

One of the more subtle themes in Chiang’s novella is the failure of institutions to confront and respond to otherness. In the text, otherness takes the form of the heptapods, aliens from a distant planet. But the theme can also be extrapolated to refer to the human other, such as minorities or immigrants.

From the very onset, Louise and Gary’s approach to the heptapods differs widely from that of the government and the army. Colonel Weber is wary of the motives of the heptapods and is reluctant to share information with them, lest they steal human technology. The army encampment around the looking glass of the heptapods is covered by three video cameras, so each and every interaction between the academics and the heptapods can be surveilled. While Louise and Gary immediately give the aliens specific and particular names, such as “heptapod” and “Flapper” and “Raspberry,” in an attempt to humanize them, the soldiers maintain a cool distance from the visitors. Gary is often said to roll his eyes when interacting with officials from the military or the State Department when they express a desire to obtain something useful from the heptapods. The scientists are shown to be more interested in learning about the heptapods’ mode of being, whereas the institutions are interested in extracting superior technology. Ironically, the institutions cannot recognize the truly distinctive knowledge the heptapods possess, which is their simultaneous perception and language. Instead, they demand from the heptapods their own notions of technological superiority.

Further, the institutional endeavor to engage the heptapods in a “gift exchange” exercise as a last resort to obtain information from them results in the heptapod’s departure from earth. Since the heptapods already know the events of the future, the gift-giving program serves as a cue for them to begin their exit. Thus, the institution’s blundering, narrow-minded treatment of the heptapods shows the perils of dehumanizing the other and of viewing only a certain kind of knowledge as valuable.