Adapting to language: Anthony Burgess’s and Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange

Sf frequently suggests a self-conscious and sophisticated interrogation of language systems. This has provided cinematic adapters of sf novels with unique challenges. In this article I will first position the role of linguistics in sf in relation to the genre’s broader practices and theory, and how these relate to adaptation concerns. I will then examine the role of language in Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange (1962) and how Stanley Kubrick uses filmic techniques to reflect upon this in his 1971 adaptation.