"THAT DEVICE" Discussion + Appreciation Thread

[Darkstar]

For those of you moving the curser over the thread title before you load the page it is about the famous or rather infamous "Universal Translator".

The Oh so convenient UT was a plot in Startrek that for me I never got in the whole of the Next Gen series TNG DS9 and VOY.

The only episode ever that I can remember that even went into any depth was DS9 "Little Green Men" and was given the impression that it was a device behind the Ear, well how do people get them, does everybody have them? Do they make big money out of selling them and updating them?

[Anubis69]

Memory alpha.

"By 2267, the UT had been miniaturized into a handheld, wand-like device. Captain Kirk of the USS Enterprise used one to communicate with the alien known as the Companion in the Gamma Canaris system. Responding to Zefram Cochrane's question about the theory of operation, Kirk explained that there are certain universal ideas and concepts common to all intelligent life. The translator compares the frequencies of brainwave patterns, selects those ideas it recognizes, and provides the necessary grammar. Kirk further explained that the device speaks with a voice, or the approximation of one, that corresponds to the identity concepts it recognizes. The Companion was revealed to be female because the universal translator detected this facet of its identity from its brainwave patterns, and assigned it a female voice."

That's genius. I've never watched that ep or anything that's gone into a lot of detail so never fully understood it either but if that's how it works that's really cool. Go Team Roddenberry.

[Carl]

Well we know a little:

Enterprise: The Universal translator is run through the computer of the NX-01 by Hoshi, which uses key words from an alien language to set-up the translation matrix which allows Captain Archer to understand the alien speaking English and vice versa for the alien. This is done by finding common marks in the language, the context words to develop a suitable translation for english - in order to do this a number of sentences are required.
There is also a device which can be pinned to someone's chest in order to translate pre-set languages. This is used by the delegates of various planets in Enterprise's "Demons" and the devices can be seen in this picture.

TNG/DS9/VOY: Its commonly accepted that the universal translator is part of the comm badge during this era. It translates languages for both the wearer and the person they are speaking with. Whether this is done via brainwaves or common nouns/verbs hasn't been made clear since TOS but it is most commonly accepted that it is done via brainwaves, enabling both participants in a conversation to understand each other by manipulating their brainwave patterns. The failure of this process is demonstrated in Voyager's "Nothing Human", where the lifeforms are entirely non-human and cannot be understood. Various episodes which briefly mention the UT include:

TNG: "Darmok" - The universal translator is unable to translate the incomprehensible language of the Tamarians. Picard must depend on his own skills at communication and understanding when he and the alien captain are trapped on the planet surface together.

VOY: The 37s - When Janeway and her crew meets the 37s from 20th century Earth the Chinese man mentions that Janeway is speaking Chinese but she corrects him, saying that it is in fact the universal translator.

VOY: The Swarm - A language which appears to be nothing more than garbled noise cannot be translated.

Voyager really should have put a little more emphasis on translation than the others since they were in an entirely new corner of the galaxy.

From Wiki:

In Star Trek, the Universal Translator was used by Ensign Hoshi Sato, the communications officer on the Enterprise in Star Trek: Enterprise, to invent the linguacode matrix in her late 30's. It was supposedly first used in the late 21st century on Earth for the instant translation of well-known Earth languages. Gradually, with the removal of language barriers, Earth's disparate cultures came to terms of universal peace. Translations of previously unknown languages, such as those of aliens, required more difficulties to be overcome. Like most other common forms of Star Trek technology (warp drive, transporters, etc.), the Universal Translator was probably developed independently on several worlds as an inevitable requirement of space travel; certainly the Vulcans had no difficulty communicating with humans upon making "first contact".

The universal translator has been successfully used to interpret non-biological lifeform communication and even natural phenomena. In the Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) episode "The Ensigns of Command", the translator proved ineffective with the language of the Sheliak species, so the Federation had to depend on the alien's interpretation of Earth languages. It is speculated that the Sheliak communicate amongst themselves in extremely complex legalese. The TNG episode "Darmok" also illustrates another instance where the universal translator proves ineffective and unintelligible, because the Tamarian language is too deeply rooted in local metaphor to communicate ideas.

Unlike virtually every other form of Federation technology, Universal Translators almost never break down. Phasers can be rendered inert, communicators blocked, shields broken through, warp cores breached, but through it all, Universal Translators make certain that everyone knows what is going on. Although they were clearly in widespread use during Captain Kirk's time (inasmuch as the crew regularly communicated with species who could not conceivably have knowledge of English), it is unclear where they were carried on personnel of that era. At this time they are also apparently less perfect in their translations into Klingon. Chekov said that they must respond personally, as the klingons would recognize the translator In the sixth Star Trek film, the characters are seen relying on books (print books, no less) in order to communicate with a Klingon military ship. (Actress Nichelle Nichols reportedly protested this scene, as she felt that Uhura, as communications officer, would be fluent in Klingon.)

By the 24th century, Universal Translators are built into the communicator pins worn by Starfleet personnel.

In some episodes of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, we see a Cardassian universal translator at work. It takes some time to process an alien language, whose speakers are initially not understandable but as they continue speaking, the computer gradually learns their language and renders it into English (also known as Federation Standard).

Ferengi customarily wear their Universal Translators in their ears.

[Spacegirlnz]

Ferengi customarily wear their Universal Translators in their ears.

It's easier for them to hide them in their ears though... they just so darn big!

[P-90_177]

It's easier for them to hide them in their ears though... they just so darn big!

lol. true.