science

Unspeakable Sentences

Unspeakable Sentences is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Unspeakable Sentences rather than just read about it. In short: Unspeakable Sentences: Narration and Representation in the Language of Fiction is a study of sentences in free indirect speech and its limitations, published in 1982 by American literary expert and linguist Ann Banfield. Further reading Christine Brooke-Rose: "Ill locutions", in: Poetics Today 11 (1990), S. 283–293, also included in: Stories, theories and things, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991, ISBN 0-52…

Key takeaways

Unspeakable Sentences belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Unspeakable Sentences to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Unspeakable Sentences from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Unspeakable Sentences: Narration and Representation in the Language of Fiction is a study of sentences in free indirect speech and its limitations, published in 1982 by American literary expert and linguist Ann Banfield.

Further reading Christine Brooke-Rose: "Ill locutions", in: Poetics Today 11 (1990), S. 283–293, also included in: Stories, theories and things, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1991, ISBN 0-521-39181-4, S. 63–80.

External links Unspeakable sentences: narration and representation in the language of fiction. Routledge. 1982. ISBN 978-0-7100-0905-0.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Unspeakable Sentences

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Unspeakable Sentences claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Unspeakable Sentences before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Unspeakable Sentences ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Unspeakable Sentences

In research: Unspeakable Sentences appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Unspeakable Sentences in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Unspeakable Sentences is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics English grammar books, Grammar stubs, Linguistics book stubs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Unspeakable Sentences outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Unspeakable Sentences in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Unspeakable Sentences means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Unspeakable Sentences out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Unspeakable Sentences in simple terms?

Why does Unspeakable Sentences matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Unspeakable Sentences?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Unspeakable Sentences.