“English, strictly speaking, is not my first language by the way. I haven’t yet discovered what my first language is so for the time being I use English words in order to say things. I expect I will always have to do it that way; regrettably I don’t think my first language can be written down at all. I’m not sure it can be made external you see. I think it has to stay where it is; simmering in the elastic gloom betwixt my flickering organs.” ― Claire-Louise Bennett
“Imagine my shock as a neurodivergent teen when I first realized that using large vocabulary and eloquent speech doesn’t make you less likely to be misinterpreted, rather it adds an entirely new layer of misinterpretation I had never even realized existed in the form of people thinking you’re being snobbish or condescending when you’re just trying to be specific” https://notthewriteryourelookingfor.tumblr.com/post/759681306752942080
Joyce himself tacitly acknowledged this radically different approach to language and plot in a 1926 letter to Harriet Weaver, outlining his intentions for the book: “One great part of every human existence is passed in a state which cannot be rendered sensible by the use of wideawake language, cutanddry grammar and goahead plot.”
“There is something at the bottom of every new human thought, every thought of genius, or even every earnest thought that springs up in any brain, which can never be communicated to others, even if one were to write volumes about it and were explaining one’s idea for thirty-five years; there’s something left which cannot be induced to emerge from your brain, and remains with you forever; and with it you will die, without communicating to anyone perhaps the most important of your ideas.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Idiot
Babel Tower Climb observations
“dyslexia is a genetic condition. It tends to run in families, meaning a child with a parent who has dyslexia has a higher chance of also developing the condition.” - https://www.dyslexic.org.uk/genetics-of-dyslexia
“difficulties with spelling are common in individuals with autism. Some individuals with autism may produce more spelling errors, particularly in areas like orthographic errors, which involve misspelling the core word stem. This can be linked to their unique ways of processing information and potential difficulties with phonological and orthographic” - https://www.autism-help.org/comorbid-dysgraphia-autism.htm
“Autism can affect how individuals use language and grammar, leading to unique verbal and nonverbal communication patterns. This may include unusual word choice, atypical sentence structure, and difficulties with understanding social cues related to language. While some individuals with autism demonstrate exceptional language abilities, others may face challenges with grammar, vocabulary, and social language use.” - https://www.research.chop.edu/cornerstone-blog/why-words-matter-chop-researchers-study-verbal-patterns-in-children-with-autism
“Children who use idiosyncrasies may also be prone to using neologisms, or made-up words that aren’t part of their native language. A study by Joanne Volden and Catherine Lord (1991) found that children with autism spectrum disorder use neologisms and idiosyncrasies more often than neurotypical kids or mentally handicapped kids. They “were more likely to use words inappropriately that had no phonological or semantic similarity to the intended English word”.” - https://www.autismparentingmagazine.com/idiosyncratic-speech/
“World Salad” is a very common 2025 insult to promote a form of language bigotry against autistic and other neurodiverse atypical patterns. Insulting people for their verbal and written communications efforts is egoism (anti-humanism) of the Tower of Babel metaphor, it is out-group hate, it is promoting eugenics that people with genetic or developmental language disorders are to be bullied and ridiculed for speaking, writing, art work… communications attempts. It is also often used to discriminate against poorer people who do not have access to more powerful computer tools to auto-correct mistakes, a “punching down” on the poor who do not have the latest and most lavish language technology tools. Also those who do not have access to the most exclusive and expensive higher education systems, more “punching down” on people that is part of systems that seek to exploit any perceived human weakness in public spaces, humanism. Also calling out and criticizing irregular use of language is a tool used to encourage anti-immigration, attacking people who are immigrates to nations or social spaces, undesired by many established residents. You will often witness people on social media have to apologize in advance, preface their message, that they are non-native writers and speakers - as they will be attacked and abused by those seeking to dehumanize / language bigotry values.
…
“James Joyce is renowned for his extensive and inventive use of neologisms, or newly coined words, particularly in his novels Ulysses and Finnegans Wake. He experimented with language, creating words that often combined existing words, prefixes, and suffixes to achieve specific effects, such as humor, ambiguity, or symbolic meaning.” !JamesJoyceExperience@lemm.ee