2nd most-quoted character in Arrival (2016): in 7 of its 17 quotes
Most scenes with: Dr. Louise Banks (5)
Ian Donnelly's lines
1 quote
Ian Donnelly Unlike all human written language, their writing is symbolic. It conveys meaning, it does not represent sound. Perhaps they view our form of writing as a wasted opportunity, passing every second communications channel. We have our friends in Pakistan to thank for their study on how the heptapods write. Because unlike speech, a hologram is free of time. Like their ship or their bodies. Their written language has no form or no direction. Linguists call this nonlinear orthography. Which raises the question: "Is this how they think?" Imagine you wanted to write a sentence using two hands, starting from either side. You'd have to know each word you wanted to use, as well as how much space they will occupy. A heptapod can write a complex sentence in two seconds effortlessly. It took us a month to make the simplest vocabulary.
Scenes with Ian Donnelly
6 scenes
I don't want to take away from your success, but Dr. Banks, is it really the right approach? Try to teach them how to speak and read? That's gonna take long.
You're wrong! Its faster.
Everything you do here, I have to explain to a room full of men, whose first and last question is how can this be used against us. So you'll have to give me more than that!
In 1770, Captain James Cook's ship ran aground off the coast of Australia and led a party, where they found the aboriginal people. One of the sailors pointed to the animals that hop around and put their babies in their pouch, And he asked what they were. The Aborigines said "kangaroo".
It wasn't until later that they learned that "kangaroo" means "I don't understand". So...I need this so that we don't misinterpret things in there, otherwise it is going to take 10 times as long.
I can sell that for now. But I need you to submit your vocabulary of words before the next session. Remember what happened to the Aborigines. A more advanced race, nearly wiped them out.
Ian Donnelly [Col. Weber leaves]
It's a good story.
Thanks. It's not true, but it proves my point.
Ian Donnelly You know, I was just thinking about you. You approach language like a mathematician. You know that right?
I will take that as a compliment.
Ian Donnelly But it is. And... I watched you steer us around these communication traps that I did not even know existed. What...? I guess this is why I'm still single.
Trust me, you can understand communication and still end up single.
Ian Donnelly How are you feeling?
I need some sleep, but...I am fine.
Ian Donnelly Yeah?
I've been doing a bit of reading about this idea that...What if you immerse yourself into a foreign language...You can actually rewire your brain.
Ian Donnelly It is a hypothesis.
It is a theory that...It is the theory that...The language you speak determines how you think. Yes, it affects how you see everything...
Ian Donnelly I'm curious. Are you dreaming in their language?
I've had some dreams. I don't think that makes me unfit to do this job.
Ian Donnelly What?
It's not a weapon. It's a gift. The weapon is their language. They gave it all to us.
Ian Donnelly So we can learn Heptopod?
If you learn it... really learn it, you get to perceive time the way they do. So you get to see what's to happen. But time, it isn't the same for them. It is not linear.
If you could see your whole life from start to finish, would you change things?
Ian Donnelly Maybe I would say what I feel more often than I... I don't know. [Looks up at the sky] You know I've had my head tilted up to the stars for as long as I can remember. You know what surprised me the most? It wasn't meeting them. It was meeting you.
They have names. But what're we going to call them?
Ian Donnelly I'm thinking "Abbott & Costello".
Other characters in Arrival
