Universal Translators

[Wishfire 2]

First off, if this subject has already been brought up, feel free to bump the original up front. I'd like to see it.

 

Here's the thing... I can understand that universal translators work be translating an alien language into the user's native language. And I can understand the fact that two people who speak different languages can understand each other if they both have universal translators. But how does it work both ways if only one person has a translators and the other can't understand the first person's language?

 

In the DS9 episode "Little Green Men", where Quark, Rom, and Nog end up at Roswell, New Mexico, we see that the universal translators are inside the ear (Rom used something to find and press the reset button on Nog's translator, which was in the ear). All of a sudden, when the buttons were pressed, they were all speaking English! How does the translator translate their words to other people who don't have translators?

 

Also, every time an enitrely new race in encountered, the translators for some reason know the language. How is that?

 

I think it would be more realistic if at least a few aliens had difficulty communicating because of new languages. The only one of those I can think of was the TNG episode, "Darmok."

 

What do you people think?

[scaleman 0]

Well, I think the asertion that 2 or more are needed applies more to when different races had primitive UT technology, and as it improved they were able to slowly dissolve the need to have a bare minimum of 2 systems.

 

As for how they translate so quickly, it has to do with a basic route dialect pattern that is used by most alien races, although early on they may not know this.

 

And yeah, there really should be more races with which translation takes a while.

[WEAREBORG4102 0]

I read somewhere the Ut wroked on the basis of reading brain patterns, syntax, and roots of the languages.

[ussacclaim 0]

There was a race in Ds9 in the episode "Santuary" I think called the Skiians (sp?).

 

With them it took the Universal Translators some time to decifer their language.

 

*Added question*

In "The Jem'Hadar" it looked like Sisko and Quark didn't have UT's but were able to speak to the Jem'Hadar and Eris. Does that mean that maybe the Jem'Hadar or Eris had a UT on them?

[Wishfire 2]

Who knows? I can understand the UTs stranslating words into its wearer's ear, but how does it change the vocalizations of the wearer?

 

And if "Little Green Men" is any indictation, people only wear a UT in one ear. Does that mean that they hear they language in one ear, and the speaker's language in the other? Or do you suppose that there's actually two UT, one in each ear.

[scaleman 0]

I don't know if anyone caught this, but on 60 minutes i watched some of a segment on Google and they mentioned that in their future plans they had instant web page language translation on their minds.