Hi,
This is my first post here and I specifically joined because I just needed to have a discussion about this as it's been bugging me way more than it should! lol I'm rewatching the series and being overly critical, which is unavoidable the second time around when all the newness and wonder has faded...
Ok, so: communication with pre-warp aliens. How did they do it, if we can assume that those species definitely did not have a universal translator chip or whatever implanted into their ears? For instance, thinking about the Mintokans (sp?) episode of season 3 (those Bronze Age Vulcan-like aliens). Remember how Number 1 and the counselor go to visit them and pretend they're "travelers?".
They're like: "hey we're travelers, what's up?". I'm sorry, but how are they being understood? Clearly they're not speaking English, but let's say they have their comm badges on them and the translator is throwing a translation for them... exactly why aren't the Mintokans terrified that another voice is talking over, translating? That would be my first reaction, I would be like: "who is talking?? And why are you speaking a different language?"
And what about the times they don't have the comm badges to translate because those get taken away so often by mean guys. How exactly do they keep communicating? Other species like the Ferengi have chips but not Starfleet as far as I am aware. Also there was a Voyager episode where Janeway explains the comm badges do the translating so how do they communicate when those are taken away? Seen multiples instances of this happen.
Also final question related to all this: why doesn't the translator automatically translate foreign convos like for times when Klingons start blurting out stuff in their native language and there's a starfleet person in the room... I'm not thinking one off words like "Q'pla" or whatever idioms. Sometimes they have legit full convos. Thinking of a Voyager episode where Belana's daughter has to translate for Janeway, like why? Why does she have to translate anything to her? She has her badge on, they all do, the UT should have taken care of it. Someone give me something reasonable for that please.
Discuss.
This is my first post here and I specifically joined because I just needed to have a discussion about this as it's been bugging me way more than it should! lol I'm rewatching the series and being overly critical, which is unavoidable the second time around when all the newness and wonder has faded...
Ok, so: communication with pre-warp aliens. How did they do it, if we can assume that those species definitely did not have a universal translator chip or whatever implanted into their ears? For instance, thinking about the Mintokans (sp?) episode of season 3 (those Bronze Age Vulcan-like aliens). Remember how Number 1 and the counselor go to visit them and pretend they're "travelers?".
They're like: "hey we're travelers, what's up?". I'm sorry, but how are they being understood? Clearly they're not speaking English, but let's say they have their comm badges on them and the translator is throwing a translation for them... exactly why aren't the Mintokans terrified that another voice is talking over, translating? That would be my first reaction, I would be like: "who is talking?? And why are you speaking a different language?"
And what about the times they don't have the comm badges to translate because those get taken away so often by mean guys. How exactly do they keep communicating? Other species like the Ferengi have chips but not Starfleet as far as I am aware. Also there was a Voyager episode where Janeway explains the comm badges do the translating so how do they communicate when those are taken away? Seen multiples instances of this happen.
Also final question related to all this: why doesn't the translator automatically translate foreign convos like for times when Klingons start blurting out stuff in their native language and there's a starfleet person in the room... I'm not thinking one off words like "Q'pla" or whatever idioms. Sometimes they have legit full convos. Thinking of a Voyager episode where Belana's daughter has to translate for Janeway, like why? Why does she have to translate anything to her? She has her badge on, they all do, the UT should have taken care of it. Someone give me something reasonable for that please.
Discuss.
