The Analytical Language of John Wilkins
First edition of Otras Inquisiciones (1937–1952), published by Sur (Buenos Aires) in 1952 | |
| Author | Jorge Luis Borges |
|---|---|
| Original title | El idioma analitico de John Wilkins |
| Genre | Criticism, linguistics |
| Published in | La Nación |
Publication date | 1942 |
| OCLC | 6362491 |
"The Analytical Language of John Wilkins" (Spanish: "El idioma analítico de John Wilkins") is a short essay by Argentine writer Jorge Luis Borges, first printed in La Nación on 8 February 1942 and subsequently published in Otras Inquisiciones (1937–1952). It is a critique of the English natural philosopher and writer John Wilkins's proposal for a universal language and of the representational capacity of language generally. In it, Borges imagines a bizarre and whimsical fictional Chinese taxonomy later quoted by Michel Foucault, David Byrne, and others.