I want to open a book in which my main character does not talk and does not even know what language is, I have no idea where to start. I know how to introduce her to language, but I don’t know how to portray her without language.
What an interesting idea, Colleen! I’m really intrigued by this.
It would be really difficult to pull off. Psychologically, if a child never learns to speak a language within the first seven years of life, they’ll never be able to fully learn or conceptualize communication. There have been a couple of studies done on this (it’s very sad, though, as a fair warning. It’s also been a while since I’ve researched this particular topic, so I also recommend a quick Google search with a box of tissues next to you, haha).
The question you’d have to ask is, if the main character does not have a language, how do they communicate and interact with the world around them? Does she have a ‘language’ of her own, or has she never used her voice? Does she use her hands to communicate? Grunting? Her facial expressions? Researching the many different types of communication could help you come up with some ideas to start!
I’d personally look up the history of languages, different cultures, and how they communicate, as well as ASL, for some inspiration to start. 🙂 Hope this helps!
that seven years thing is sad, I’ll look into that and make sure I’m doing it accurately. Thank you!
What if she can read? What if I made her teach herself how to read, yet she couldn’t talk. She would know what combinations of letters meant, just not how to pronounce them. Do you think that would enable me to teach her how to talk when she’s a teenager and still have it be psychologically possible?
Thanks Allie!
Hey Colleen! I think that could work, but I really encourage you to research this topic 🙂 I think perhaps even researching how hard of hearing or deaf children learn to communicate could help! I haven’t researched this in more than five years, so my information may be outdated. But I think that could be a great workaround 🙂
I don’t have an answer, I’m just seconding this question. I’m coming up on a whole chapter where my character is alone! Considering reading Old Man and the Sea just to get some ideas, so if anyone has an answer, please share it quickly to spare me more Hemmingway 😛