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Chapters (86)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright
  3. Dedication
  4. Acknowledgments
  5. Chapter One
  6. Chapter Two
  7. Chapter Three
  8. Chapter Four
  9. Chapter Five
  10. Chapter Six
  11. Chapter Seven
  12. Chapter Eight
  13. Chapter Nine
  14. Chapter Ten
  15. Chapter Eleven
  16. Chapter Twelve
  17. Chapter Thirteen
  18. Chapter Fourteen
  19. Chapter Fifteen
  20. Chapter Sixteen
  21. Chapter Seventeen
  22. Chapter Eighteen
  23. Chapter Nineteen
  24. Chapter Twenty
  25. Chapter Twenty-one
  26. Chapter Twenty-two
  27. Chapter Twenty-three
  28. Chapter Twenty-four
  29. Chapter Twenty-five
  30. Chapter Twenty-six
  31. Chapter Twenty-seven
  32. Chapter Twenty-eight
  33. Chapter Twenty-nine
  34. Chapter Thirty
  35. Chapter Thirty-one
  36. Chapter Thirty-two
  37. Chapter Thirty-three
  38. Chapter Thirty-four
  39. Chapter Thirty-five
  40. Chapter Thirty-six
  41. Chapter Thirty-seven
  42. Chapter Thirty-eight
  43. Chapter Thirty-nine
  44. Chapter Forty
  45. Chapter Forty-one
  46. Chapter Forty-two
  47. Chapter Forty-three
  48. Chapter Forty-four
  49. Chapter Forty-five
  50. Chapter Forty-six
  51. Chapter Forty-seven
  52. Chapter Forty-eight
  53. Chapter Forty-nine
  54. Chapter Fifty
  55. Chapter Fifty-one
  56. Chapter Fifty-two
  57. Chapter Fifty-three
  58. Chapter Fifty-four
  59. Chapter Fifty-five
  60. Chapter Fifty-six
  61. Chapter Fifty-seven
  62. Chapter Fifty-eight
  63. Chapter Fifty-nine
  64. Chapter Sixty
  65. Chapter Sixty-one
  66. Chapter Sixty-two
  67. Chapter Sixty-three
  68. Chapter Sixty-four
  69. Chapter Sixty-five
  70. Chapter Sixty-six
  71. Chapter Sixty-seven
  72. Chapter Sixty-eight
  73. Chapter Sixty-nine
  74. Chapter Seventy
  75. Chapter Seventy-one
  76. Chapter Seventy-two
  77. Chapter Seventy-three
  78. Chapter Seventy-four
  79. Chapter Seventy-five
  80. Chapter Seventy-six
  81. Chapter Seventy-seven
  82. Chapter Seventy-eight
  83. Chapter Seventy-nine
  84. Chapter Eighty
  85. Readers Guide
  86. About the Author

Yes, aphasia is very real. When the human brain suffers trauma, and language faculty is impaired, it is called aphasia, from the Greek “a-,” meaning “not,” and “phanai,” meaning “speak.” There are many different manifestations of aphasia. The one I use in Vox is Wernicke’s aphasia, also called “fluent aphasia.” Instead of struggling to speak, an individual with this type of linguistic impairment will actually speak quite fluidly, although that speech can often sound like a pretty interesting sort of linguistic soup. For more information on aphasia, I’ll refer you to the excellent people at the National Aphasia Association at www.aphasia.org.

Questions for Discussion

  1. We speak more than sixteen thousand words a day—and the women in this book speak only one hundred words. What would it be like for your right to speak to be taken away? How would you voice your thoughts? How would you use your daily quota of words?

  2. Humans differ from other members of the animal kingdom since we have language. If we take away language, what separates us from other animals? Would we be capable of rational thought? Would we survive?

  3. Our learned behavior is patterned after what we witness. This is exemplified by the drawing that Sonia makes—her father and her brothers are depicted as much larger than she or her mother is. What other things do we learn to do unconsciously?

  4. Do you blame Steven for his actions? Tell us how you felt about him. Did you feel remorse for him after he realized what he had done and went in search of his girlfriend, Julia?

  5. Were you surprised by Patrick? Is it true that sometimes we don’t know the person we think we should know best?

  6. How did the restructuring of the children’s education make you feel? Do you think home economics is beneficial to both boys and girls?

  7. Sharon comments that because of her skin color, she will be “next.” How do you think society would have progressed if the ending of Vox were different? Do you think people of color would have been treated like the LGBTQ community?

  8. Did reading this book inspire you as a parent? As a citizen of your country? As your (preferred) gender? How?

  9. Were there any ideas of the Pure Movement you agreed with? Why?

  10. Up until about six years old, children learn language with few problems. Later, language learning becomes increasingly difficult—think about how hard it is for most adults to learn a foreign language. What would be the risks to Sonia and other young girls if the situation in Vox persisted?

  11. Jean gives up her voice long before the Pure Movement comes to power by declining to use it. Are there ways in which we voluntarily silence ourselves?

About the Author

Photo © B Dalcher

Christina Dalcher earned her doctorate in theoretical linguistics from Georgetown University. She specializes in the phonetics of sound change in Italian and British dialects and has taught at several universities.