How realistic is Star Trek’s Tamarian language? - Darmok and Jalad
How realistic is Star Trek’s Tamarian language? - Darmok and Jalad
I thought this video was absolutely fascinating throughout, even the ad.
The main thrust of it is about how natural Earth languages make use of idiom and metaphor frequently, and how Tamarian is subtly different from this. But we do also make use of a similar direct literary allusion, to different degrees in different languages. Mandarin has a number of examples, but we can also point to "crossing the Rubicon" as an example in English.
More recently, the use of memes has taken on a very Tamarian-like role.
The thing that confuses me about this wonderful concept is how did the Tamarians ever get to the point of building wooden ships if they only spoke in meme and metaphor? How could they have created a culture that speaks only in references if their references couldn't happen without culture existing to make note of the referenced events?
I saw an amazing post on the alien site a while ago—I think it was in Daystrom, but I’m not sure—that suggested the Tamarians may have 2 or 3 different "modes" of speaking. This would explain both how their language’s function words exist and how children might acquire language.
I think this probably happened the other way round. They had a separate more traditional language until they struck out and discovered other civilizations that spoke other languages. An allegorical language that can be modified with context under observation would actually be a fairly good way to relate and then exchange languages using tamarian as sort of a Rosetta stone.
Maybe they have a less flowery and a purely functional language for those situations.
When I first saw this episode of TNG, I thought that such a language was impossible. Without even thinking about how often I hear and use phrases that likely make zero sense to someone who doesn't know the same context as myself. Like dealing with someone who lies all too often, "they are the boy who cried wolf" gets used. Meaning, one of these days they are going to tell the truth but no one will believe them. Or saying, "we need to touch base" to someone who isn't familiar with baseball. Sometimes I understand the meaning of a phrase, like "the proof is in the pudding," without knowing what that phrase originally meant. I still wonder what pudding? every time I hear it. So, yes. I can believe the Tamarian language. Because context is important.
I don't think the Tamarian language as a whole is represented in the episode. I can't imagine "Temba, his arms wide"-ing a way to warp capabilities. I think of the Tamarian language shown as a universal shorthand for the Tamarians. Like their society has different languages, but the Tamarian we hear is the common language. That Tamarians specializing in a field of study have their own words and phrases, much like on Earth of today. For example, if I listen to a lecture on biochemistry, I wouldn't understand most of it because I don't speak (understand) biochemistry. I have no context.
I think the Tamarian language is fascinating, and possible.
I can’t imagine “Temba, his arms wide”-ing a way to warp capabilities.
There's a fan theory that they use a distinct music-based writing system for math and technology.
There was an episode of The Magicians where Elliot and Margot used this to communicate while being spied upon. I immediately thought of this episode of Star Trek.
I remember that. The Magicians was wild and I loved it.
The Magicians were one of those books where I hated most of the main characters but loved the series. The TV series was great even though they deviated from the books.
I haven't seen The Magicians, but I remember something similar happening in one of the Austin Powers movies that make me think of this episode. Austin was talking to his dad in I think English slang. Without the subtitles if you are not culturally familiar with what they were saying it just sounded like nonsense
This was always my favorite episode of the series, just due to the novel concept of communication. Upon a rewatch years later, I realized the episode was just ahead of its time. I mean we always had phrases like this, but with the huge rise of memes in the last 20 years the amount of phrases like this has grown exponentially.