Rating: 
Summary: I must disagree
Review: After reading this book I felt that it was wasted in English and was perhaps far more apt for an Arabic nation or Chinese/Islamic. Much of the argument put forth was western logic, western language, and as such, failed to convince this reader of its believability and even modern western validity. I will say the language, the concept and delivery are supurb and the work is a true literary icon, but this is a reprint and the world has changed for us white middle class masses. The ideals in the book will be fine in non western cultures but this book is written as western culture expose. Oppresed women and sympathetic men will enjoy the savagery of the suggestions brought forth in 'Native Tongue' but any intelligent person will also see the dated shallowness of these suggestions in relation to say US or Australian culture. Again I will stress that this books reprinting in another language at the same time would have me altering this review dramatically.This is a good book, but it is wasted with this reprint alone. Translate it into Hindi/Chinese and I may be impressed. The impact will return and the meaning will once again have true worth to the reader. Native Tongue, as it stands, is only good from a historical stand point. If Elgin were to alter this book to absorb cultural and language changes that has already taken place and set the book within oppressed nations then the explossive strength of her words will nce again demand attention. I wait with great expectation. Robert N Stephenson Book Reviewer
Rating: 
Summary: Does language allow us to explain what we percieve? Or-...
Review: Does language interfere with how much of the universe we see/hear/feel? The hoary 'universal translator' (i.e. most authors wouldn't have had a story without this machine..) is finally replaced with a workable system. If you want someone to speak like a native, then they have to grow up speaking the language. The wonder of the ideas expressed are a perfect complement to Janet Kagan's HELLSPARK and Jack Vance's LANGUAGES OF PAO. It's almost unfortunate that the (wonderfull) feminist storyline overshadows some of the other ideas. Still, anyone who would ignore someone's real ability, because 'man was created to be in charge' deserves whatever happens to him. (Yes, I am male.)
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best novels I've ever read
Review: I first read this book about 15 years ago, and I've gone back to reread it every couple of years since. This is one of the best "sci-fi" books I've ever read. It is not often that a book is well written, entertaining and makes you think. The whole dynamic about the importance of language and how it shapes our thoughts, the power/financial relationships of world governments and families that control information & of course the role of women in society are well thought out in a "real-possible" tale. This is what sci-fi is supposed to be.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best novels I've ever read
Review: I first read this book about 15 years ago, and I've gone back to reread it every couple of years since. This is one of the best "sci-fi" books I've ever read. It is not often that a book is well written, entertaining and makes you think. The whole dynamic about the importance of language and how it shapes our thoughts, the power/financial relationships of world governments and families that control information & of course the role of women in society are well thought out in a "real-possible" tale. This is what sci-fi is supposed to be.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginative but dated, better social commentary than sci-fi
Review: I first read this book over 10 years ago. Even then I thought it was a little dated -- the author was clearly reacting against the Reagan era and extrapolating a hypothetical future where women have become chattel (albeit somewhat pampered chattel). This is an "idea" book, and the ideas are fascinating. Laadan, the "women's tongue," (Elgin has actually created and published Laadan books), the power of communication, very alien aliens.. these are all interesting. If you are a linguist, a feminist, or someone who just likes far-out social speculation, this book will be interesting to you. It does have a certain hold on the imagination, such that I still remember it and think about it years later. But as fiction, much less as science fiction, it leaves something to be desired. The entire premise, that the U.S. will become a sort of genteel Protestant patriarchal dictatorship, falls flat. (Some people may argue we are already heading in that direction, but I really can't see the repeal of the 19th Amendment and every man in the country becoming convinced that women have no more intellectual abilities than children.) Technology and space exploration is poorly explained, all the "sci-fi" bits are handwaved and thus there are some notable gaps in my suspension of disbelief. The aliens and the interstellar society exist as a backdrop for Elgin to explore her social views, which is fine if you are reading the book for social/feminist-linguistic theory, but will disappoint if you are reading the book for science fiction. Most annoyingly, every single male character is one-dimensional. All the men are at best condescending egotists, at worst thugs. One is left with the impression that almost spontaneously, American society was taken over by a Protestant Taliban, and not one man ever questions the new social order. Aren't there ANY men who are not chauvinistic troglodytes, with egos so fragile that their world would fall apart if a woman ever demonstrated independence and competence in his presence? Not in this book, and not in many of Elgin's other books either. I also agree with another reviewer; the first book in the Native Tongue trilogy is worth reading. The second book was mediocre and unfocused and didn't seem to come to any resolution. The third book, rather than picking up where the second book left off, did not tie up any of the loose ends from the first two books, and instead seems to be little more than a poorly edited collection of short stories that happen to be set in more or less the same universe.
Rating:
Summary: A very fun read!
Review: I love science fiction, but I am very picky about it. This book was a well-written page turner from beginning to end. The characters are believable and well drawn. Each plot twist left me wondering what was going to happen next, the true definition of a good story. For anyone who doesn't think the world described in the book is likely, I laugh...especially today. Women in the book devise a language of their own, over the course of many years, that the men are totally oblivious to, and it changes the entire nature of who they are and how they relate to men in a way the men are entirely unaware of. What a concept! Many feminists have spent their lifetime finding words for concepts that men were totally and stubbornly oblivious to -- "rape" and "battered women" being the most obvious. Mary Daly is one of the most brilliant strategists in the study of the roots of the English language and how it diminishes women in and of itself. Learning about that process is incredibly empowering, and should not be taken lightly. Elgin takes that concept one evolutionary step further, and in the process makes the step creative, enjoyable and very, very fun. I loved this book!
Rating:
Summary: It inspired me to add Linguistics to my course of study!
Review: I loved this book ... it presented issues relating to prejudice from a national, class and gender perspective. Although it was written in almost a different era, it is still able to portray the enormous difficulties encountered when one is 'different'. .. Jealousies rage where there is truly no justification. .. Individuals are sacrificed for the good of the group. .. Language both empowers and divides. .. The science fiction element is sufficient to enhance the scope of a book that potentially could have been bound by western culture. I have never written to an author before, but I did this time ... and not only that, I have taken up Linguistics in addition to my Psychology studies at University.
Rating:
Summary: incredible
Review: The theory is wonderful and the characters can grab you.
A fully enlightening book.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but don't bother with the rest of the trilogy
Review: This is a great read, and finely crafted SF novel, and an excellent sociological reflection upon the state of the United States in the late 70s and 1980s. After finishing the book I wanted more, and unfortunately, I went and got it. The second two books are truly uninspiring - there is a reason they are out of print - with the third book being truly abysmal. Read Native Tongue, but don't go out of your way to find the final two books. In fact, go out of your way to avoid them.
Rating:
Summary: Great, but don't bother with the rest of the trilogy
Review: This is a great read, and finely crafted SF novel, and an excellent sociological reflection upon the state of the United States in the late 70s and 1980s. After finishing the book I wanted more, and unfortunately, I went and got it. The second two books are truly uninspiring - there is a reason they are out of print - with the third book being truly abysmal. Read Native Tongue, but don't go out of your way to find the final two books. In fact, go out of your way to avoid them.
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