Theories on why everyone speaks English?

[Commander Zelix]

One logical explanation would be to have some form of universal translator technology possessed by aliens and humans which would have the ancient language in its database. So the translator would translate Alien language to Ancient. While the human universal translator would translate from ancient to english (or other earth languages). Beside the tech being speculative, its not less plausible that the consciousness transferring LRC stones. Even aliens in the SGU galaxy could have had access to the Ancient language in some way.

[Coco Pops]

I know it's an OLD, OLD question but howcome everyone speaks English including the aliens in a galaxy far, far, away from Earth?

Other shows have addressed this issue and Farscape and HHGTTG both handle it in a very unique way but it's never addressed in Atlantis..

[Coco Pops]

Also why is architecture on alien planets, millions of light yeas from Earth almost the same?

And for that matter the way they dress and technology almost as if some of the planets are just around the corner neighbours......

[Brother Freyr]

I know it's an OLD, OLD question but howcome everyone speaks English including the aliens in a galaxy far, far, away from Earth?

There can be no rationale for alien humans speaking a modern english that didn't exist when their ancestors were kidnapped*. It's just a plot device, a contrivance, one of the things for which we must suspend our disbelief if we're to enjoy the show. TPTB decided to make the stories more accessible and to focus our attention elsewhere. If you own the German version of Stargate, everyone speaks German. French version, everyone speaks French.

Your question does raise one of my pet-peeves. I dislike it when the script focuses on a word or two that an off-worlder doesn't doesn't understand (while they're fluent with everything else). The universal language is a fragile conceit. Returning our attention to it shatters our suspension of disbelief and pulls our consciousness out of the make-believe world. I usually found those moments to be sloppy writing.


* We can't even ascribe the spread of modern English (or German or French) to the goa'uld, since they abandoned earth thousands of years ago (with several brief exceptions).


Edit: I browsed backward into this thread several pages. The question was probably discussed ad nauseum, but this is one of the posts I saw:

Well when it comes to the writers of the series, as mentioned earlier it is just plain easier for the inhabitants of the planet just to speak English, if they didn't speak English then about over 50 percent of the show would be basically trying to translate the language itself then no plot would be able to unfold, or it would be very rushed that is basically why every planet tends to speak English.

[Brother Freyr]

And for that matter the way they dress and technology almost as if some of the planets are just around the corner neighbours......

The real reason is its easier to produce the series but since we try to find plausible in-world explanations, I'm going to suggest that humans, being the same species, prefer similar sorts of dress. Perhaps they follow similar lines of technological advancement. As for architecture, SG teams enounter everything from huts to yurts to mud brick to skyscrapers to geodesic domes. Nothing that we'd consider truly alien, but then again, humans aren't (biologically) alien. (Hey, look, I'm not trying to argue, I'm just searching for an explanation.)

[Coco Pops]

The real reason is its easier to produce the series but since we try to find plausible in-world explanations, I'm going to suggest that humans, being the same species, prefer similar sorts of dress. Perhaps they follow similar lines of technological advancement. As for architecture, SG teams enounter everything from huts to yurts to mud brick to skyscrapers to geodesic domes. Nothing that we'd consider truly alien, but then again, humans aren't (biologically) alien. (Hey, look, I'm not trying to argue, I'm just searching for an explanation.)

It's all cool. I just think it's fun to discuss things like this.

[Krisz]

Maybe it's a result of things that have been forgotten, being re-invented, forgotten and re-invented again over eons. There's some kind of genetic memory within all humanoid species to create a certain language, technology, clothing and architecture.

Having said this though, it's more due to ease of storytelling as mentioned already. We as viewers can only really relate to the familiar. Spending a whole episode of Daniel trying to talk to Chaka for example would have been irritating without any explanation or understanding on the viewers' part at some point as to what is actually being achieved by it.

I found the moments in SGU's 'Space' where Young ends up in the blue alien's body and meets the others, then Rush trying to communicate with him interesting. Something was communicated even with not really saying anything. It was funny that two people who could speak English couldn't fully communicate with each other as one, (Young) couldn't vocalise in his own language! It certainly put a new twist on the 'alien' speaking English, it couldn't even though it knew it!