What Happened to the French?

[Mr. Laser Beam]

That accent belonged to "Jules" and that's not who he is anymore.

Didn't the mirror Bashir (who is probably still Jules, since there's no way that humans of that universe would have access to the kind of genetic engineering that Julian did) speak with the same accent that Julian had?

 

[eyeresist]

Either the hearer chooses if and how they hear an accent (leading to comedy gold) or the Federation (in an attempt to avoid sillines) requires a standardised version for all accents which forces a homogenised standard English language AND standardised English accent on everyone. This would surely piss off everyone whose first language (and accent) isn't English.

Why would a non-English speaker care about the accent the UT imposed, unless it was comical? They probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway.

 

[Grendelsbayne]

That accent belonged to "Jules" and that's not who he is anymore.

Didn't the mirror Bashir (who is probably still Jules, since there's no way that humans of that universe would have access to the kind of genetic engineering that Julian did) speak with the same accent that Julian had?

If he's still Jules, why does he still seem to be just as smart as regular Bashir?

 

[hux]

Either the hearer chooses if and how they hear an accent (leading to comedy gold) or the Federation (in an attempt to avoid sillines) requires a standardised version for all accents which forces a homogenised standard English language AND standardised English accent on everyone. This would surely piss off everyone whose first language (and accent) isn't English.

Why would a non-English speaker care about the accent the UT imposed, unless it was comical? They probably wouldn't notice the difference anyway.

Because you're inflicting an homogenised English voice on the entire planet. People would grow up never hearing the sounds of other languages being spoken, never hearing accents belonging to non-English speakers attempting to speak some English.

You would think that this would also have an impact on the amount of people being inspired to learn a new language. If you never hear them then do they exist at all?

Imagine you went on holiday to Italy. Everyone you speak to has a bland, personality lacking English voice. Wouldn't that be horrible?

 

[JesterFace]

French language & Picard, that combination always makes me wonder, why is it such a big deal that French Picard talks with an English accent. That topic comes up surprisingly often.

Maybe it's not a big deal for me, being Finnish...

Maybe Picard moved from France to UK and picked up the local accent...

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

That accent belonged to "Jules" and that's not who he is anymore.

Didn't the mirror Bashir (who is probably still Jules, since there's no way that humans of that universe would have access to the kind of genetic engineering that Julian did) speak with the same accent that Julian had?

If he's still Jules, why does he still seem to be just as smart as regular Bashir?

Didn't look that way to me...I thought MU Bashir sounded like a thug, really. And like I said, there's no way humans of that universe could have access to any kind of genetic engineering, so that pretty much HAD to have been Jules.

 

[UssGlenn]

Didn't the mirror Bashir (who is probably still Jules, since there's no way that humans of that universe would have access to the kind of genetic engineering that Julian did) speak with the same accent that Julian had?

If he's still Jules, why does he still seem to be just as smart as regular Bashir?

Didn't look that way to me...I thought MU Bashir sounded like a thug, really. And like I said, there's no way humans of that universe could have access to any kind of genetic engineering, so that pretty much HAD to have been Jules.

It's possible that in the MU young Bashir had been experimented on by the Alliance in their own eugenic experiments. Test things out on the slaves before trying it on a Bajoran or Klingon. The resulting intelligence level and temperament doesn't have to be the same as our Bashir, then at some point he escapes.

 

[Locutus of Bored]

Didn't the mirror Bashir (who is probably still Jules, since there's no way that humans of that universe would have access to the kind of genetic engineering that Julian did) speak with the same accent that Julian had?

If he's still Jules, why does he still seem to be just as smart as regular Bashir?

Didn't look that way to me...I thought MU Bashir sounded like a thug, really. And like I said, there's no way humans of that universe could have access to any kind of genetic engineering, so that pretty much HAD to have been Jules.

Why would a spacefaring race (even one whose society was shattered) who could build a copy of the Defiant in months not be able to have access to genetic engineering techniques that didn't seem much different or improved from Khan's time in 1996? Especially since many of the ethical barriers that restricted such research in the Federation of the Prime Universe would not have existed in the MU, so legal genetic engineering might have been quite common in the MU prior to the fall of the Terran Empire, and recorded on their surviving databanks for future reference.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

^ It's not a matter of ethics. It's a matter of MU Terrans being a slave race - anyone caught having anything to do with them would most likely have been severely punished, if not outright destroyed, by the Klingon/Cardassian Alliance. So no one would take the kind of risks involved in providing them with the kind of genetic tinkering that RU Bashir benefited from.

Remember, humans in the 24th century of the MU are as close to absolute pariahs as you can get. Nobody would dare help them. Not even the most neutral of parties.

It's possible that in the MU young Bashir had been experimented on by the Alliance in their own eugenic experiments. Test things out on the slaves before trying it on a Bajoran or Klingon. The resulting intelligence level and temperament doesn't have to be the same as our Bashir, then at some point he escapes.

Hmmm. Good idea. That does make sense.

 

[eyeresist]

You would think that this would also have an impact on the amount of people being inspired to learn a new language. If you never hear them then do they exist at all?

Imagine you went on holiday to Italy. Everyone you speak to has a bland, personality lacking English voice. Wouldn't that be horrible?

This would be an inevitable consequence of the availability of a Universal Translator. The benefits are tangible, the cultural downside is unmeasurable. As a modern-day parallel, one could talk about the decline of letter writing in the age of the internet. There are doubtless lots of subtle and interesting things being lost in the transition, but the benefits are such that only a crank would refuse to use email.