The Languages of Pao (1958)

The attempt to remake Pao through specially designed languages turns linguistic difference into a tool of social engineering. Vance makes the resulting changes part of a struggle over who will direct a planet's future. Read it for the political uses of a bold fictional premise, particularly the creation of specialised social groups through speech. Its sweeping language-to-behaviour claims belong to the novel's experiment, with a dated approach to culture and character.