Even the most traditional Society for Creative Anachronism member prefers indoor plumbing when it's available, refrigeration, and cooking on a stove! (that's a medieval-era re-creation society, btw)
Anyway, on the topic of languages and universal translators:
"Shaka, when the walls fell."
You've got the words, but NO context. Your universal translator is not much help in this kind of situation, and you don't have Deanna Troi handy to tell you what the alien is feeling. Of course we know how the episode turned out, but you've got to admit that most people would have been screwed in that situation.