35-723: Speculative fiction is an umbrella genre of fiction that encompasses all the subgenres that depart from realism , or strictly imitating everyday reality, instead presenting fantastical, supernatural , futuristic , or other imaginative realms. This catch-all genre includes, but is not limited to, science fiction , fantasy , horror , slipstream , magical realism , superhero fiction , alternate history , utopia and dystopia , fairy tales , steampunk , cyberpunk , weird fiction , and some apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction . The term has been used for works of literature , film , television , drama , video games , radio , and their hybrids. The umbrella genre of speculative fiction
70-534: A "no Martians " type of science fiction, "about things that really could happen." Speculative fiction is also used as a genre term that combines different ones into a single narrative or fictional world such as "science fiction, horror, fantasy...[and]...mystery". The Internet Speculative Fiction Database contains a broad list of different subtypes. According to publisher statistics, men outnumber women about two to one among English-language speculative fiction writers aiming for professional publication. However,
105-420: A broad category of actions. For example, verbs such as stare , gaze , view and peer can also be considered hyponyms of the verb look , which is their hypernym. The meaning relation between hyponyms and hypernyms applies to lexical items of the same word class (that is, part of speech) , and holds between senses rather than words. For instance, the word screwdriver used in the previous example refers to
140-446: A completely imaginary way or been followed by major new events that are completely imaginary (the genre of alternative history ). Or, it depicts impossible technology or technology that defies current scientific understandings or capabilities (the genre of science fiction ). Contrarily, realistic fiction involves a story whose basic setting (time and location in the world) is, in fact, real and whose events could believably happen in
175-516: A dog, it's a bitch" ("That hypernym Z isn't a hyponym Z, it's a hyponym Y"). The term "autohyponym" was coined by linguist Laurence R. Horn in a 1984 paper, Ambiguity, negation, and the London School of Parsimony. Linguist Ruth Kempson had already observed that if there are hyponyms for one part of a set but not another, the hypernym can complement the existing hyponym by being used for the remaining part. For example, fingers describe all digits on
210-499: A genre term has often been attributed to Robert A. Heinlein , who first used the term in an editorial in The Saturday Evening Post , 8 February 1947. In the article, Heinlein used "Speculative Fiction" as a synonym for "science fiction"; in a later piece, he explicitly stated that his use of the term did not include fantasy. However, though Heinlein may have come up with the term on his own, there are earlier citations:
245-412: A hand, but the existence of the word thumb for the first finger means that fingers can also be used for "non-thumb digits on a hand". Autohyponymy is also called "vertical polysemy ". Horn called this "licensed polysemy ", but found that autohyponyms also formed even when there is no other hyponym. Yankee is autohyponymous because it is a hyponym (native of New England) and its hypernym (native of
280-514: A limitation of science fiction: the need for the story to hold to scientific principles. They argue that "speculative fiction" better defines an expanded, open, imaginative type of fiction than does "genre fiction", and the categories of "fantasy", "mystery", "horror" and "science fiction". Harlan Ellison used the term to avoid being pigeonholed as a science fiction writer. Ellison, a fervent proponent of writers embracing more literary and modernist directions, broke out of genre conventions to push
315-493: A more general word than its hyponym, the relation is used in semantic compression by generalization to reduce a level of specialization . The notion of hyponymy is particularly relevant to language translation , as hyponyms are very common across languages. For example, in Japanese the word for older brother is ani ( 兄 ) , and the word for younger brother is otōto ( 弟 ) . An English-to-Japanese translator presented with
350-590: A piece in Lippincott's Monthly Magazine in 1889 used the term in reference to Edward Bellamy 's Looking Backward : 2000–1887 and other works; and one in the May 1900 issue of The Bookman said that John Uri Lloyd 's Etidorhpa , The End of the Earth had "created a great deal of discussion among people interested in speculative fiction". A variation on this term is "speculative literature". The use of "speculative fiction" in
385-615: Is "An X is a kind/type of Y". The second relation is said to be more discriminating and can be classified more specifically under the concept of taxonomy. If the hypernym Z consists of hyponyms X and Y, then X and Y are identified as co-hyponyms (cohyponyms), also known as coordinate terms. Co-hyponyms are labelled as such when separate hyponyms share the same hypernym but are not hyponyms of one another, unless they happen to be synonymous. For example, screwdriver , scissors , knife , and hammer are all co-hyponyms of one another and hyponyms of tool , but not hyponyms of one another: *"A hammer
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#1732859524808420-441: Is "type of", whereas "instance of" is differentiable. For example, for the noun city , a hyponym (naming a type of city) is capital city or capital , whereas Paris and London are instances of a city, not types of city. In linguistics , semantics , general semantics , and ontologies , hyponymy (from Ancient Greek ὑπό ( hupó ) 'under' and ὄνυμα ( ónuma ) 'name') shows
455-400: Is a hyponym of color . A word can be both a hypernym and a hyponym: for example purple is a hyponym of color but itself is a hypernym of the broad spectrum of shades of purple between the range of crimson and violet . The hierarchical structure of semantic fields can be seen in hyponymy. They could be observed from top to bottom, where the higher level is more general and the lower level
490-431: Is a type of knife " is false. Co-hyponyms are often but not always related to one another by the relation of incompatibility. For example, apple , peach and plum are co-hyponyms of fruit . However, an apple is not a peach , which is also not a plum . Thus, they are incompatible. Nevertheless, co-hyponyms are not necessarily incompatible in all senses . A queen and mother are both hyponyms of woman but there
525-512: Is autohyponymous because "smell" can also mean "to emit a bad smell", even though there is no "to emit a smell that isn't bad" hyponym. Hyperonym and hypernym mean the same thing, with both in use by linguists. The form hypernym interprets the -o- of hyponym as a part of hypo , such as in hypertension and hypotension . However, etymologically the -o- is part of the Greek stem ónoma . In other combinations with this stem, e.g. synonym , it
560-474: Is characterized by a lesser degree of adherence to realistic or plausible individuals, events, or places, while the umbrella genres of realistic fiction or literary realism are characterized by a greater degree of adherence. For instance, speculative fiction may depict an entirely imaginary universe or one in which the laws of nature do not strictly apply (often, the sub-genre of fantasy ). Or, it depicts true historical moments, except that they have concluded in
595-400: Is more specific. For example, living things will be the highest level followed by plants and animals , and the lowest level may comprise dog , cat and wolf . Under the relations of hyponymy and incompatibility, taxonomic hierarchical structures too can be formed. It consists of two relations; the first one being exemplified in "An X is a Y" (simple hyponymy) while the second relation
630-412: Is never elided. Therefore, hyperonym is etymologically more faithful than hypernym . Hyperonymy is used, for instance, by John Lyons, who does not mention hypernymy and prefers superordination . The nominalization hyperonymy is rarely used, because the neutral term to refer to the relationship is hyponymy . Computer science often terms this relationship an " is-a " relationship. For example,
665-416: Is nothing preventing the queen from being a mother . This shows that compatibility may be relevant. A word is an autohyponym if it is used for both a hypernym and its hyponym: it has a stricter sense that is entirely a subset of a broader sense. For example, the word dog describes both the species Canis familiaris and male individuals of Canis familiaris , so it is possible to say "That dog isn't
700-528: Is sometimes abbreviated "spec-fic", "spec fic", "specfic", "S-F", "SF", or "sf". The last three abbreviations, however, are ambiguous as they have long been used to refer to science fiction (which lies within this general range of literature). It is sometimes also known as "the fantastic" or as fantastika , the latter term attributed to John Clute who coined it in 2007 after the term for the genre in some Slavic languages . The term has been used by some critics and writers dissatisfied with what they consider to be
735-535: Is suspected to have displeased his contemporary audiences, as his portrayal of Phaedra was seen as too lusty . In historiography , what is now called "speculative fiction" has previously been termed "historical invention", "historical fiction", and other similar names. These terms have been extensively noted in literary criticism of the works of William Shakespeare , such as when he co-locates Athenian Duke Theseus , Amazonian Queen Hippolyta , English fairy Puck , and Roman god Cupid across time and space in
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#1732859524808770-457: The Fairyland of the fictional Merovingian Germanic sovereign Oberon , in A Midsummer Night's Dream . In mythography the concept of speculative fiction has been termed "mythopoesis", or mythopoeia . This practice involves the creative design and generation of lore and mythology for works of fiction. The term's definition comes from its use by J. R. R. Tolkien , whose novel, The Lord of
805-408: The screwdriver tool , and not to the screwdriver drink . Hypernymy and hyponymy are converse relations . If X is a kind of Y, then X is a hyponym of Y and Y is a hypernym of X. Hyponymy is a transitive relation : if X is a hyponym of Y, and Y is a hyponym of Z, then X is a hyponym of Z. For example, violet is a hyponym of purple and purple is a hyponym of color ; therefore violet
840-478: The semantic relations between a generic term (hypernym) and a more specific term (hyponym). The hypernym is also called a supertype, umbrella term, or blanket term. The hyponym names a subtype of the hypernym. The semantic field of the hyponym is included within that of the hypernym. For example, pigeon , crow , and hen are all hyponyms of bird and animal ; bird and animal are both hypernyms of pigeon, crow, and hen . A core concept of hyponymy
875-503: The social contexts of the stories they portray, are now known. For example, the ancient Greek dramatist, Euripides , ( c. 480 – c. 406 BCE ) whose play Medea seems to have offended Athenian audiences when he speculated that the titular shamaness Medea killed her own children, as opposed to their being killed by other Corinthians after her departure. Additionally, Euripides' play, Hippolytus , narratively introduced by Aphrodite , Goddess of Love in person,
910-586: The Rings , demonstrates a clear application of this process. Themes common in mythopoeia, such as the supernatural , alternate history and sexuality , continue to be explored in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre. The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or ahistorical storytelling , has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction modes since as early as Herodotus of Halicarnassus (fl. 5th century BCE), for his Histories , and
945-456: The United States), even though there is no other hyponym of Yankee (as native of the United States) that means "not a native of New England". Similarly, the verb to drink (a beverage) is a hypernym for to drink (an alcoholic beverage). In some cases, autohyponyms duplicate existing, distinct hyponyms. The hypernym "smell" (to emit any smell) has a hyponym "stink" (to emit a bad smell), but
980-511: The boundaries of speculative fiction. The term suppositional fiction is sometimes used as a sub-category designating fiction in which characters and stories are constrained by an internally consistent world, but not necessarily one defined by any particular genre. Speculative fiction as a category ranges from ancient works to paradigm-changing and neotraditional works of the 21st century. Characteristics of speculative fiction have been recognized in older works whose authors' intentions , or in
1015-451: The context of the real world. One realistic fiction sub-genre is historical fiction , centered around true major events and time periods in the past. The attempt to make stories feel faithful to reality or to more objectively describe details, and the 19th-century artistic movement that began to vigorously promote this approach, is called "literary realism", which incorporates some works of both fiction and non-fiction. "Speculative fiction"
1050-407: The percentages vary considerably by genre, with women outnumbering men in the fields of urban fantasy , paranormal romance and young adult fiction . Academic journals which publish essays on speculative fiction include Extrapolation and Foundation . Speculative fiction may include elements from one or more of the following genres: Umbrella term Hypernymy and hyponymy are
1085-400: The phrase "Red is-a color" can be used to describe the hyponymic relationship between red and color . Hyponymy is the most frequently encoded relation among synsets used in lexical databases such as WordNet . These semantic relations can also be used to compare semantic similarity by judging the distance between two synsets and to analyse anaphora . As a hypernym can be understood as
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1120-652: The relationship between a generic term (hypernym) and a specific instance of it (hyponym). A hyponym is a word or phrase whose semantic field is more specific than its hypernym. The semantic field of a hypernym, also known as a superordinate, is broader than that of a hyponym. An approach to the relationship between hyponyms and hypernyms is to view a hypernym as consisting of hyponyms. This, however, becomes more difficult with abstract words such as imagine , understand and knowledge . While hyponyms are typically used to refer to nouns, it can also be used on other parts of speech. Like nouns, hypernyms in verbs are words that refer to
1155-602: The sense of expressing dissatisfaction with traditional or establishment science fiction was popularized in the 1960s and early 1970s by Judith Merril , as well as other writers and editors in connection with the New Wave movement. However, this use of the term fell into disuse around the mid-1970s. In the 2000s, the term came into wider use as a convenient collective term for a set of genres. However, some writers, such as Margaret Atwood , who wrote The Handmaid's Tale , continue to distinguish "speculative fiction" specifically as
1190-406: The world, and responds to it by creating imaginative , inventive , and artistic expressions. Such expressions can contribute to practical societal progress through interpersonal influences, social and cultural movements , scientific research and advances, and the philosophy of science . In its English-language usage in arts and literature since the mid 20th century, "speculative fiction" as
1225-443: Was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopedic writers like Sima Qian ( c. 145 or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of Shiji . These examples highlight the caveat that many works, now regarded as intentional or unintentional speculative fiction, long predated the coining of the genre term; its concept, in its broadest sense, captures both a conscious and unconscious aspect of human psychology in making sense of
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