Page:Knight (1975) Past, Future and the Problem of Communication in the Work of V V Khlebnikov.djvu/162

154 efforts was close.

Khlebnikov‘s vision of a "universal language" took, then, a number of different forms. Among these forms, however, some appear to have been less seriously-considered than others. Among these were the ultra—"rational" idea of a "language of numbers", and the notion——suggested in one passage of Khlebnikov's "Artists of the World"-—of a universal language of "silent, graphic signs". In the overwhelming majority of Khlebnikov’s statements on the subject, his "universal language" is identified with his "transrational" linguistic experiments, and in these the emphasis is on the "magic" and the supposedly intrinsic meaningfulness of sounds. The various attributes of Khlebnikov's "transrational language"—and of his language-use in general—can be interpreted, as we have seen, as in large part the embodiment of a revolt against literacy. This can be seen-as Nandel'stam suggests—as the central thrust of Khlebnikov's linguistic efforts, and in this we can see an important parallel with the effects of the invention of Radio, a parallel of which Khlebnikov was to a significant degree aware.

In opposing literacy—or in opposing a certain sort of language——Khlebnikov saw himself as opposing a certain kind of state, as we have seen. His "transrationa1“ attempts were designed to secure a transfer of power—from governments to people, from intellect to feelings. Under existing circumstances, as Khlebnikov saw it, it was the daylight world, the world of everyday business, of the state and of the intellect-it was this world which held all real power. The "twilight" world or "star-world"——the world of childhood, of tribal men, of dreams and of the innermost realms of feeling-was suppressed, along with the Asian or primitive tribal areas of the globe and the peoples of the world. In this light, a large number of implications—psychological, historical, linguistic and geographical-were attached to Khlebnikov's "political" aim, which was, perhaps, the most fundamental of all his aims: