{"product_id":"the-future-of-language-how-technology-politics-and-utopianism-are-transforming-the-way-we-communicate-9781350278851","title":"The Future of Language: How Technology, Politics and Utopianism Are Transforming the Way We Communicate","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWill language as we know it cease to exist?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cb\u003eWhat could this mean for the way we live our lives?\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShining a light on the technology currently being developed to revolutionise communication, \u003ci\u003eThe Future of Language\u003c\/i\u003e distinguishes myth from reality and superstition from scientifically-based prediction as it plots out the importance of language and raises questions about its future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom the rise of artificial intelligence and speaking robots, to brain implants and\u003cbr\u003ecomputer-facilitated telepathy, language and communications expert Philip Seargeant surveys the development of new digital 'languages', such as emojis, animated gifs and memes, and investigates how conventions of spoken and written language are being modified by new trends in communication. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom George Orwell's fictional predictions in \u003ci\u003eNineteen Eighty-Four \u003c\/i\u003eto the very real warnings of climate activist Greta Thunberg, Seargeant explores language through time, traversing politics, religion, philosophy, literature, and of course technology, in the process. Tracing how previous eras have imagined the future of language, from the Bible to the works H. G. Wells, and from \u003ci\u003eStar Wars\u003c\/i\u003e to \u003ci\u003eStar Trek, \u003c\/i\u003ethe book reveals how perfecting language and communication has always been a vital component of utopian dreams of the future. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eQuestioning the potential ramifications of recent and future developments in communication on society and its ideals, \u003ci\u003eThe Future of Language \u003c\/i\u003eis a no holds barred investigation into the state of civilisation and the impact that changes in language could have on our lives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePhilip Seargeant\u003c\/b\u003e is Senior Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Open University, UK. His recent publications include \u003ci\u003eThe Art of Political Storytelling\u003c\/i\u003e (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020) and \u003ci\u003eThe Emoji Revolution \u003c\/i\u003e(2019). He has won awards for his short films on language and communication, including the viral series The History of English in Ten Minutes. He is a frequent contributor to publications such as Wired, The New European, Prospect, The Huffington Post, The Washington Post and The Independent.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bloomsbury Academic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50725790155026,"sku":"9781350278851","price":22.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_eb1cacc8-28d9-4c68-bb99-0ed33c9c674a.jpg?v=1768303550","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-future-of-language-how-technology-politics-and-utopianism-are-transforming-the-way-we-communicate-9781350278851","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}