Journal of Therolinguistics: Design and Nonhuman Languages

In 1974, writer Ursula K. Le Guin published a short story introducing a new (fictional) field of research known as therolinguistics or the study of nonhuman languages (from the Greek “thero” for feral).

In this workshop, we will immerse ourselves in the contemporary world of interspecies communication, from both scientific and poetic perspectives. Together we will attempt to visualize the language of other organisms, such as bacteria, trees, insects, or whales, as an act of decentering language and exploring interspecies kinship. 

We will start by reading some excerpts of the original Le Guin story, followed by a presentation on a contemporary manifesto calling for poetic nonhuman language interpretations. The workshop will culminate in the design and development of unique visual journal “entries,” which will become part of a conceptual 2024 edition of the Journal of Therolinguistics.

Host or Publisher Field Meridians