Do the alien crew members speak English?

[Ethros]

With the Universal Translator always in play in Star Trek it can be misleading as to whether alien characters are actually speaking English, or are speaking in their own language which is been translated for the benefit of Picard/Sisko/whoever and most importantly us the audience.

Say a scene where Picard is talking to some Klingons; we hear them in English, but are they actually speaking it or are they really speaking Klingon but the UT is translating for them, and from their point of view Sisko is speaking Klingonese?


So I wondered for all the main alien crew characters in Trek, which ones speak in their native tongues and which speak English.

ENT-
T'Pol- Noted various times she speaks fluent English
Phlox- I'm assuming the same as above

TOS-
Spock- I imagine some as intelligent as Spock surely learned to speak English

TNG-
Worf- A Klingon, but raised by Human parents I believe Worf would speak English
Troi- Again, one human parent, probably speaks English just as well as Betazoid

DS9-
Kira- I would assume throughout the series Kira was speaking Bajoran from her POV
Quark- Like above, I'd say Quark spoke in Ferengi
Odo- Interesting, perhaps a mix of Cardassian & Bajoran, probably learnt English too
Jadzia/Ezri- Native Trill or would they have learnt English?

VOY-
Tuvok- Like Spock, could easily speak English I presume
Torres- Raised in a more human than Klingon environment so again, English
Neelix- Surely speaking in Talaxian
Kes- As above but with Ocampan



Jadzia & Ezri is a debatable one. Do you think most people who joined Starfleet would try and learn English, or would it not be a big thing? (not that I think it would be a requisite)

 

[Nerys Myk]

Dont most Starfleet officers speak "Federation Standard"? Isn't that the "official" language of the UFP?

 

[Sector 7]

Dont most Starfleet officers speak "Federation Standard"? Isn't that the "official" language of the UFP?

I have been waiting for someone to bring this up in the recent language threads.
While we are hearing and reading English for television purposes, logic would dictate that English is not the standard for interplanetary communication. Federation standard would make much more sense.

 

[Ziz]

Well, air traffic controllers and airline pilots that don't speak English are required to learn it even if they're not operating in the US because the system overall operates in English and was developed by the US and the English speaking world. If, for example, the Wright Brothers had lived in Germany and that country developed flight first, then pilots and ATCs would have to learn German.

By that logic, I tend to think Starfleet personnel, human or alien, would be required to learn English as Starfleet is based on Earth where English is the native language. Beyond that, it would be a matter of preference on the part of that planet, race or individual.

 

[Cuhl]

Quark- Like above, I'd say Quark spoke in Ferengi

I bet Quark spoke Federation Standard. It would make smart business sense to learn the international language that's spoken where you're running your business.

 

[T'Girl]

In the ep where Quark and his brother time travel the year 1947, it's made very clear neither speaks any english. And it being 200 years in the future how do we know Kirk, McCoy or Spock are speaking english. Maybe Scotty is speaking gaelic, Sulu japanese. The one time we see Uhura speaking swahili (ki-Swahili) it's made clear she was switching languages.

 

[C.E. Evans]

I think Federation Standard is English (albeit now peppered with technobabble). After all, Starfleet signage and monitor displays are in English. The universal translator is one thing for spoken words, but we have seen numerous untranslated alien languages in Trek, including those that are from within the Federation like Vulcan. I think the only exception to that in Starfleet may be on the dedication plaques to the ships with names that aren't English...

 

[RyuRoots]

I don't think it's unreasonable that Starfleet officers would learn it if it wasn't their native. That way they can still communicate even if technology fails. IIRC, wasn't the UT broken at first in "Gravity"? If so, then it proves Tuvok is fluent.

 

[Shawnster]

Dont most Starfleet officers speak "Federation Standard"? Isn't that the "official" language of the UFP?

I have been waiting for someone to bring this up in the recent language threads.
While we are hearing and reading English for television purposes, logic would dictate that English is not the standard for interplanetary communication. Federation standard would make much more sense.

This thought works - except when it doesn't

Think of "The Omega Glory" for example. Kirk reads from the Yang's "Holy Words" of the US Constitution. Now, either he was just quoting from memory or he was really reading it.

People have commented that the Universal Translator takes care of all of the language issues yet we've seen a number of episodes where language should have been an issue yet wasn't. One example from TOS is "Bread and Circuses." Kirk, Spock and McCoy are stuck on the Roman like world and had all their equipment confiscated yet they had no problem communicating with the natives. "Gamesters of Triskellion" might be another example.

Apparently they all know English. The entire Enterprise crew were transported back to 20th century Earth on three occasions and never had any difficulty communicating with anyone. Well, except for Chekov who kept looking for the "Nuclear Wessels."

 

[Geckothan]

The TARDIS translates everything for them.

 

[Timo]

Confiscation of equipment shouldn't really be a problem. Most probably, the UT machinery is an implant anyway. The Ferengi canonically have theirs as an ear implant; the humans probably have something comparable, too.

This implanted UT would take care of known or common languages. It wouldn't help in deciphering a previously unknown alien language (as in, say, VOY "Basics"), but it would keep the heroes conversant in each other's languages (as in, say, VOY "Basics") or in the languages of enemies already encountered when more complicated external UT equipment was still in the possession of the heroes (as in, say, VOY "Basics").

I'm not convinced that for example Picard speaks English when we hear him speaking English. Could be French, rather. But I'm pretty sure Picard knows English, and could switch to it if needed. The OP's list I agree with: those people probably know or don't know English just as outlined. Although the two Dax hosts probably did learn English, what with both being Starfleet officers.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Red Ranger]

I think the writers wisely avoided the issue. However, in novels, the writers often will refer to Standard but not identify what language it is. So it is reasonable to assume there is a lingua franca for the Federation, and it may be English, and then again, it may be some kind of polyglot language. And remember, the signs are in English because the show is produced in a country where English is the main language.

Kirk certainly speaks English. There are many examples, such as in Space Seed, when Khan says he heard someone speaking English. Also, in Spectre of the Gun, when the Melkotian speaks, they all hear his thoughts in their native tongue. Kirk says, it's English, while Spock hears Vulcan, Chekov Russian, and Uhura Swahili.

So there is strong evidence that Standard may be English. I kind of like the idea that a few centuries from now, there'd be a polyglot language developed for a unified Earth and Federation.

Red Ranger

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

Worf- A Klingon, but raised by Human parents I believe Worf would speak English

Actually, there's a fair chance that Worf is fluent in Russian or even Belarusian. "Minsk."

This means that Worf speaks at least three or four different languages.

 

[GSchnitzer]

Khan: "English! I thought I dreamed hearing it!"

 

[Timo]

...Of course, it might be that the UT has the default output setting of English, even if Kirk speaks Yiddish as his native tongue.

Now, does the UT do text and graphics? Our heroes are awfully fluent in alien computer panels, even though the camera never shows these translated while the microphone always plays the dialogue translated. We know the UT isn't a simple microphone-computer-loudspeaker setup, or we'd hear two languages whenever a translation happens. We have reason to believe that the audience is equipped with its own UT, yeah, but it still makes sense to assume that the UT works within the brain, not between the brain and the senses. The UT could then plausibly translate the input of one's eyes and not just of one's ears.

"Reading Klingon, now that's hard", says Scotty - and still reads Klingon...

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Confiscation of equipment shouldn't really be a problem. Most probably, the UT machinery is an implant anyway. The Ferengi canonically have theirs as an ear implant; the humans probably have something comparable, too.

Probably not during ST VI, since Kirk and McCoy's translator was confiscated by the Klingons. They probably couldn't have done that if it was an implant.

 

[Ensign_Redshirt]

When Picard said "Merde" in early TNG episodes, why didn't the UT translate it?


"Shit!"

"Captain!"

"What?"

"I didn't expect that kind of language from you!"

"Where I come from that's the way people talk."

 

[JarodRussell]

Data once said French was an "old, obscure language", yet Picard is some sort of traditionalist who still speaks it (know your history to understand your future). And it was hinted at that Federation Standard was an artificial mix of major languages.

 

[mythme]

T'Pol was working as attache to the Vulcan ambassador. It's probably a prerequisite that she know English. Plus Vulcans are pretty smart so they probably catch on pretty quickly (Spock, Tuvok, Sarek, etc.)

Same pretty much for Phlox; being assigned to the Consulate in S.F. Although perhaps, not as fluent. But Phlox did always seem eager to familiarize himself with as much of humanity as he could.

Worf was practically raised his entire life by humans. Although he probably retained a lot of Klingon from his very early childhood, he probably had to re-learn and practice it. So with Worf, its kinda an inverse thing. But as said above, he probably knew Russian as well as English.

Troi could talk telepathically to Riker (at least in the pilot). I think this would be impossible if she didn't know English. And, as said above, her father was human.

The aliens on DS9 are another matter. Kira probably had very little contact with humans and therefore spoke Bajoran. And since she was raised during the occupation was probably fluent in Cardassian.

Jadzia herself probably didn't know much english. However, the Dax symbiot most likely did, especially from Curzon. We also know that Emony and Torias had contact with humans, so any host to Dax probably learns from default.

Odo is tricky. He certainly learned Bajoiran from Dr. Mora and cardassian too. With Changlings ability to mimic, I would assume they catch on to languages very quickly, probably like Hoshi did in Enterprise. Odo probably know a variety of languages.

Quark most likey knew Cardassian (since he was surrounded by them on Terok Nor and was in love with Natima Lang) and a good amount of Bajoran since he employed them during the occupation. But if Little Green Men is an indication, he couldn't speak/understand English without the UT.

I'm certain that no Delta quadrant alien spoke English. Although Kes would have picked it up very quickly.

 

[T'Girl]

After all, Starfleet signage and monitor displays are in English. The universal translator is one thing for spoken words...

If the UT alters what you hear in your own head, is it possible it does the same for what you're seeing. That would handle Kirk reading an alien constitution! It would make sense because not all communication is verbal. And McCoy could have injected Khan with a UT, as a standard measure for anyone (human) who didn't already have one.