Samuel R. Delaney

Linguistics has an intrinsic connection to science fiction stories given the nature of the genre and its frequent use of alien settings and cultures. As mentioned in Aliens and Linguists: Language Study and Science Fiction by Walter E. Meyers, science fiction is almost always concerned with the idea of communication, such as communication with aliens and machines, or communication using dead languages and evolved languages of the future. Authors at times use linguistics and its theories as a tool for storytelling, as in Jack Vance's 1958 novel Languages of Pao, although technical terms are rarely used, and authors only go into as much detail as the average reader will understand.
While linguistics is used by science fiction authors, not all uses are accurate to actual linguistics and its theories. Nevertheless, there still exists the lingering presence and use of linguistics (even if inaccurate) in such cases. As mentioned by Walter E. Meyers, the ability to make a story seem more unfamiliar and exotic, and an alien seem less of a costumed human who merely differs in physical appearance, is only possible through the use of language. It is this ability that appears to draw the boundary between great works of science fiction and those lesser so. As such, linguistics, the scientific study of language, comes to hold an important role in the genre of science fiction.