NOLLOPINGUISTICS

“…there is now a shortage: not nearly enough six- to seven-year-youngs to write sentences” (Dunn, 2001, p. 125)

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Denotation: This hyphenated construction to indicate age indicates how old a person is using the first two words to indicate how long a person has been alive, i.e. seven years, and the last word as an adjective to indicate that the description relates to age, i.e. young. Together, the three parts form a hyphenated noun representing a person of this age – a “seven-year-young,” which is then pluralized by adding the inflectional suffix -s to the end of the word.     

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In English, the more common way to express this is “seven-year-olds,” indicating how old a person is. Because the letter “d” is outlawed at this point in the story, the word “old” has been replaced with “young,” since both are adjectives relating to age. Objectively, the substitution is synonymous. 

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Connotation & Pragmatics: In practical usage, the substitution of the word “old” with “young” when describing a person’s age is a euphemism for the person being of advanced age, i.e. “she is seventy-years-young,” because the word “old” implies more than just chronological age. Using the word “old” can indicate a presupposition that the person being described is not young. Therefore, the substitution of the word “young” for “old” is usually an intentional attempt to counteract this presupposition as euphemism or outright flattery. In the novel, this substitution becomes humorous because it is being used to describe children.

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“To Mr. Little: (“Little” is permissible now, no? Let me no iph ewe prepher some other name it its stet.)” (Dunn, 2001, p. 179)

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Denotation: On the surface, this is just a substitute spelling for the man’s last name, Lyttle, because the letter “y” has been outlawed. Phonetically, both Lyttle and Little are pronounced /lɪtl/. “Little” means small in size.

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Connotation & Pragmatics: Ella, a young woman (or teenager, technically), is addressing this correspondence to someone who is her “superior” in both age and position, as Mr. Lyttle is a council member. Her request to know if her misspelling of his name due to circumstance is “permissible” reflects the social convention of using appropriate titles for people to indicate rank and respect. When he responds that she may call him “Little,” there is a double implication. First, it has the feeling of a “nickname,” because it is a playful substitute for a person’s actual name and implies familiarity between the parties. Use of a nickname connotes a friendly and peer-like relationship between persons, which is a noticeable departure from the hierarchical relationship between Ella and Mr. Lyttle prior to this. Second, the change in Lyttle’s name to “Little” itself connotes smallness in stature, further highlighting the demotion of Mr. Lyttle in his social standing as social conventions crumble.

 

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“…the Council has put crepuscular-to-auroric house arrest upon all” (Dunn, 2001, p. 125)

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Denotation: “Crepuscular” means “relating to twilight,” and “auroric” derives from the word “aurora,” which originally meant “dawn.” Thus, these serve as a synonyms for a “dusk-to-dawn” curfew. 

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Connotation & Pragmatics: This is one of the endless examples of increasingly obscure synonym use to replace simple words with outlawed letters. While on the surface the usage can sound sophisticated and poetic, it is further indicative of the way that language restriction is breaking social conventions. Language is designed for both expediency and elaboration depending on context. When someone is overly-elaborate when the context calls for conversational simplicity, it can sound forced and unnatural.

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Just trying to say “day”… Other examples of the many ways characters struggle just to say “day” are “I will soon have to miss one meal every sun-to-sun” (p. 137), and the renaming of the days of the week as Sunshine, Monty, Toes, Wetty, Thurby, Fribs, and Satto-gatto (p. 70).

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“…Miss Pea, (may I appell you Ella?)…” (Dunn, 2001, p. 151)

 

Denotation: “Appell” means “call” in French (root spelled “appel”) with respect to names, as in “Je m’appelle Ella,” meaning “I call myself Ella” or “My name is Ella.” The use here is a substitution of the English word “call” by borrowing the word “appell” from French, so it acts as a loanword or an example of nonce borrowing (O’Grady et al., 2017, p. 502).

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Connotation & Pragmatics: In context, the substitution of “call” with “appell” reflects a common idiosyncrasy observable in speakers of a second language. They will often substitute words from their native language or mix languages within one phrase. The connotation here is that the residents of Nollop, native English speakers, are becoming non-native speakers of their own language. They are becoming “foreigners” – to one another, and even themselves.

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There is also a deeper political implication in the word “appell,” which is also German for “roll call” and is associated with the roll call of prisoners in holocaust concentration camps. The use of the word “appell” contributes to the totalitarian undertones of the novel.

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“Insane woman name Ella: Retreat is what we want. Go away. Let we alone. – Anonymess”  (Dunn, 2001, p. 156)

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Denotation: This is a phonetic spelling of the word “anonymous,” representing the pronounced /məs/ as “-mess.” 

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Connotation & Pragmatics: While “-mess” functions phonetically as a bound morpheme on the surface, it also connotes the free morpheme “mess,” the word meaning a state of confusion. In this manner, “anonymess” actually acts as a blended word here describing the person signing the letter: they are signing the letter anonymously, but they are also in a confused state and sounding increasingly insane.  

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“Nollopians: G go tonite at midnight. No more “G.” So long “G.” – Penta-priests” (Dunn, 2001, p. 187)

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Denotation: The five Council members of Nollop are signing this decree as the “penta-priests” for lack of the ability to use their own names. They are using the bound prefix “penta-,” meaning five, and the word “priests” to indicate their leadership positions.

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Connotation & Pragmatics: Both words allude to the religious themes at the heart of the novel. The High Council reveres Nevin Nollop as a god, and they act as his “priests” in enforcing the religious dictates which they believe are coming straight from the will of Nollop. The use of “penta-“ for five, despite being literally correct, in a religious context also brings to mind the “pentagram.” While originally a Christian symbol, the pentagram has been distorted and inverted to represent Satan. This is an intentional conflation by the author of Nollop’s council members as priests over a distorted religion, where Nollop has replaced God and citizens worship language.

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“No money? No got to worry . . . I use to possess relations . . . all those near to me, gone. I am alone” (Dunn, 2001, p. 147)

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Denotation: These sentences are literally trying to say: “You do not have any money? You do not have to worry . . . I used to have relatives . . . all those who are near to me are gone. I am alone.” This is an example of agrammatism, or the omission of function words and affixes (O’Grady et al., 2017, p. 475).

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Connotation & Denotation: Agrammatism, and more broadly aphasia, is a dysfunction of linguistic ability – literally, a loss of language – caused by brain damage. While grammatical errors can occur simply due to lack of linguistic competency and fluency, as in the case of children or second-language learners, it is employed here to purposely allude to more foundational damage. The residents of Nollop have progressed from sounding like foreigners, to sounding like children, to sounding and feeling like they have lost their functioning minds as their language disintegrates.

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The feeling which results from this progression is summed up in the last three words, “I am alone.” This loss of connection and community is indicative of what can happen without language.

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