"Captain's log, stardate 45047.2. The Enterprise is en route to the uninhabited El-Adrel system, its location is near the territory occupied by an enigmatic race known as The Children of Tama."
In 1991, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation told a story which will change the way you view language forever. Season 5, episode 2: "Darmok".
This episode has caused intense debates amongst fans and linguists for years. As recently as 2014, The Atlantic posted a passionate article about this episode.
However the Federation has repeatedly failed to communicate with an advanced alien civilisation called the Children of Tama. In this episode, the starship Enterprise is approaching the Tamarian home world to apply their skills to this challenge. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is enthusiastic to try and he feels optimistic.
"Rai and Jiri at Lungha. Rai of Lowani. Lowani under two moons. Jiri of Umbaya. Umbaya of crossed roads. At Lungha. Lungha, her sky gray." - Tamarian captain.
"(slowly) Rai and Jiri. At Lungha." - Tamarian captain.
"Shaka, when the walls fell" means "this situation is a failure", presumably because it refers to a legendary story, in which the character Shaka faced failure as the walls of his settlement fell.
As mentioned earlier, this episode has caused a lot of controversy amongst fans.
Firstly, I will address the contention that written language could have bypassed the communication problem. We have every reason to believe that written communication would likely present the same problems. The characters would be easily converted to English through advanced cryptography, but the written output could be exactly the same as their verbal output.
Secondly, I will address the issue of mathematics. The episode does not involve mathematics or numbers so we cannot say for certain how the Tamarians handle these concepts. However, we have no reason to believe that their use of number is any different to ours. They do have nouns, adjectives and verbs. Why would they not have numbers?
Finally, I come to the issue of the practicality of this language. Many people insist that the Tamarians could never have made it into space with such a primitive language. But I have to disagree.
Imagine this: instead of saying "hey can you pass me the smallest screwdriver? I need the one which can screw the smallest slot." You could refer to a situation where someone used such a tool. As quickly as saying "David and John in lab 3, when the battery ran out." The situation you are describing could be incredibly specific or complex and you could detail the whole thing by referring to a past occurrence. If you were trying to describe the first occurrence of a situation, you could build a description from other well-known references.
We actually practice similar conventions in English.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
In 1991, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation told a story which will change the way you view language forever. Season 5, episode 2: "Darmok".
This episode has caused intense debates amongst fans and linguists for years. As recently as 2014, The Atlantic posted a passionate article about this episode.
Spoilers follow
I recommend watching the episode before reading this. It's a classic.
The Plot (in brief)
The United Federation of Planets regularly makes first contact with isolated extra-terrestrial species all over the galaxy. They accomplish this with sophisticated computers and translation software which is capable of converting any language or code into English. Vocabulary and syntax are easily deduced through fast analysis of verbal communications in new languages.However the Federation has repeatedly failed to communicate with an advanced alien civilisation called the Children of Tama. In this episode, the starship Enterprise is approaching the Tamarian home world to apply their skills to this challenge. Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) is enthusiastic to try and he feels optimistic.
"In my experience, communication is a matter of patience, imagination. I would like to believe that these are qualities that we have in sufficient measure." - Picard.
Picard is quickly made to eat his words. Upon making visual contact with the captain of a Tamarian deep-space cruiser, Picard and the captain are able to begin verbally communicating.
Every crew member on the Enterprise looks confused.
Somehow, their language is conveying absolutely no usable information to the Enterprise.
Each crew is unable to understand the other, and they quickly become frustrated. The Tamarian captain laments "Shaka, when the walls fell".
Non-verbal communication is observed. The Tamarian first officer finds the situation amusing but he is cautioned by his captain and falls silent. The Tamarian captain then says something with evokes agitation from his crew but he silences them again.
Suddenly, the Tamarian vessel beams both captains down to the surface of a nearby planet, El-Adrel.
Non-verbal communication is observed. The Tamarian first officer finds the situation amusing but he is cautioned by his captain and falls silent. The Tamarian captain then says something with evokes agitation from his crew but he silences them again.
Suddenly, the Tamarian vessel beams both captains down to the surface of a nearby planet, El-Adrel.
The Enterprise crew are unable to communicate with Captain Picard and unable to get a clear visualisation of him. The Tamarian vessel is actively trying to block them. The Enterprise crew begin analysing the Tamarian language, and they determine two things:
- The universal translator is working. The grammar and vocabulary are perfectly translated.
- Their speech contains many proper nouns. The names of places and people frequently appear in their speech.
Picard's epiphany
On the planet, Picard tries and fails to communicate with the Tamarian captain, Dathon. At first he is scared that the captain wants to duel him as he repeatedly offers a knife saying "Temba, his arms wide." After time passes, Picard realises that the captain does not intend harm, and they share a fire. Dathon, is eventually injured by a wild animal. Picard scares away the animal and attempts to help Dathon. They sit together and talk, as Dathon slowly dies.
Picard realises that the phrase "Temba his arms wide" is associated with offering a gift. He deduces that the Tamarian language uses stories and famous imagery to denote meaning.
"That's how you communicate, isn't it? By citing example... by metaphor! Uzani's army... with fists open..."
"Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" - Picard and Dathon
Picard realises that the phrase "Temba his arms wide" is associated with offering a gift. He deduces that the Tamarian language uses stories and famous imagery to denote meaning.
"That's how you communicate, isn't it? By citing example... by metaphor! Uzani's army... with fists open..."
"Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" - Picard and Dathon
The key to understanding the Tamarian language, is learning their mythology and their history. This is why the translator presented apparent gibberish with perfect grammar.
The climax
As both captains are in danger from local wildlife, and the Tamarians are preventing the Enterprise from interfering, the Enterprise try to communicate. The non-verbal communication of the Tamarians appears very hostile and again, no mutual understanding is reached.
The Enterprise decides to fire on the Tamarian ship in order to disrupt their equipment and give themselves a chance to rescue Captain Picard. This works but now the Tamarian ship has responded to the act of aggression with an act of aggression. Their weapons are far superior to those of the Enterprise. Our heroes are facing death.
Picard enters the bridge. He orders his crew to hail the Tamarians for a verbal exchange. He is ready to perform diplomacy and end the firefight.
Picard informs their first officer of Dathon's success. The Tamarian celebrates and proclaims: "Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" Picard informs him of Dathon's death, and he laments his sacrifice. The Tamarians honour Picard and Dathon with a new phrase: "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel". This is implied to denote "we have come to a shared understanding, we have successfully made first contact."
The Enterprise decides to fire on the Tamarian ship in order to disrupt their equipment and give themselves a chance to rescue Captain Picard. This works but now the Tamarian ship has responded to the act of aggression with an act of aggression. Their weapons are far superior to those of the Enterprise. Our heroes are facing death.
Picard enters the bridge. He orders his crew to hail the Tamarians for a verbal exchange. He is ready to perform diplomacy and end the firefight.
Picard informs their first officer of Dathon's success. The Tamarian celebrates and proclaims: "Sokath, his eyes uncovered!" Picard informs him of Dathon's death, and he laments his sacrifice. The Tamarians honour Picard and Dathon with a new phrase: "Picard and Dathon at El-Adrel". This is implied to denote "we have come to a shared understanding, we have successfully made first contact."
The Enterprise report their findings to the Federation and set up a new era of diplomatic relations between the two civilisations.
The language explained
Firstly, I will address the contention that written language could have bypassed the communication problem. We have every reason to believe that written communication would likely present the same problems. The characters would be easily converted to English through advanced cryptography, but the written output could be exactly the same as their verbal output.
Secondly, I will address the issue of mathematics. The episode does not involve mathematics or numbers so we cannot say for certain how the Tamarians handle these concepts. However, we have no reason to believe that their use of number is any different to ours. They do have nouns, adjectives and verbs. Why would they not have numbers?
Finally, I come to the issue of the practicality of this language. Many people insist that the Tamarians could never have made it into space with such a primitive language. But I have to disagree.
Imagine this: instead of saying "hey can you pass me the smallest screwdriver? I need the one which can screw the smallest slot." You could refer to a situation where someone used such a tool. As quickly as saying "David and John in lab 3, when the battery ran out." The situation you are describing could be incredibly specific or complex and you could detail the whole thing by referring to a past occurrence. If you were trying to describe the first occurrence of a situation, you could build a description from other well-known references.
We actually practice similar conventions in English.
- If you work in medicine, you quickly come across eponymous syndromes. "This man has Addison's disease." This is a fast way of saying "This man has the disease which Dr Addison discovered for the first time."
- We have many saying and idioms. For example, if somebody said to me "this is a great job. it is money for old rope." I know that they are telling me that they are getting paid for an easy job, or they are being paid to do a job which they would be doing even without a financial incentive. The saying comes from public executions by hanging. A criminal would be killed by hanging. The noose which they were hanged from is made of rope. After the execution the audience could buy pieces of the rope as a souvenir. Even though the rope has done its job, it is finding new value. Money for old rope.
I hope you enjoyed this article.
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