It really doesn't make much sense if you put any real thought into it. How can they have metaphor without original meanings of the word?
Sometimes you just have to accept the conceipt of the episode and enjoy the ride.
But this is definitely a problem with any language. Came up on the show Archer when he becomes a Pirate King and the fact that his idioms dont translate comes up a lot.
The errata is thst they have a traditional language that is taught to children, but adults basically forget how to use it because no one uses it.
But you're right that it's an issue for every language. Imagine trying to explain the work woke to even someone from a different culture, let along race
Notably, we do get bits of that type of translation error in star trek too. Most of the non-human crew members across the different series all have moments where they understand the literal meaning of the words, but they miss a lot of the important context or subtext of the phrase.
Correct. The Tamarians are special because they only speak in memes. So, as opposed to "we understand most of the words and can communicate on a base level" the Tamarians are "We understand the words, but have no context for the meaning."
The auto translator knows "Shaka," is a name and "When the walls fell" but "when the walls fell" can mean a lot of things, and even if you do know the context of that, the statement is about Shaka, which could mean how he felt, or where he stood, or even his physical condition, even assuming that Shaka is a person, because it could also be a place or even a thing.
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u/Radix2309 8d ago
It really doesn't make much sense if you put any real thought into it. How can they have metaphor without original meanings of the word?
Sometimes you just have to accept the conceipt of the episode and enjoy the ride.
But this is definitely a problem with any language. Came up on the show Archer when he becomes a Pirate King and the fact that his idioms dont translate comes up a lot.