LibriumArcana.Games

I am watching Darmok on Spike right now, and I must say that this is one of TNGs finer moments. The concept of comunication through metaphor is quite good, and the story is done well.

I really like this episode. Did you guys notice the Talmarian captian was Paul Winfield, who played Captian Terrell of the REilant in ST II?

I would love to construct their language and use it with people.

One wonders how that language evolved, though. They can't have always been talking in metaphors, because first they needed the words to formulate them. Plus, if they always talk in metaphors that's one damn bulky language. I'll personally take 'Hand me the catsup, please' over 'Durok, after the shopping-spree to Mavon, to Bigot, in the tavern of Zod, at the hour of yodeling, because his burger was stale' every day.
And that was a simple one. How a simple cookbook is supposed to work that way defies comprehension.
It made for good TV but I doubt it would work as an actual language.

Suggestion: The metaphor language is artifical (no wait, hear me out!). We know that on Earth several languages have been artifically created, usually with the creators trumpheting that they'll replace all other spoken words, unite us in a single language brotherhood and give us whiter teeth.

I suggest that we suppose that the Talmarians, like today have or had many languages and the metaphor lanuage was constructed has a common tounage, a linca fraca for the specis as a whole. If we extend the idea and have the spaceship crewed by different nationals from different lanuage groups, it would explain why the metaphor lanuage is running wild through it. It's the only way the poor slobs know who to communate with each other.

As to why the Captain didn't just Picard his own lanuage, well imagine you're on a Soviet/American spaceship (work with me here) and an artifical lanuage was chosen as the lanauage of the ship. Then it gets out that you've been teaching those nifty advanced aliens to speak with you in English... What are the Soviets gonna think?

Any thoughts?

You mean kind of like Esperanto? Stupid choice of language then if you ask me.

You mean kind of like Esperanto? Stupid choice of language then if you ask me.

Maybe, but I'm not trying to justify their choices just present how they could have made them and maybe a little of why.

frigidmagi wrote:

You mean kind of like Esperanto? Stupid choice of language then if you ask me.

Maybe, but I'm not trying to justify their choices just present how they could have made them and maybe a little of why.

No argument and sorry if that was denigrating. For all we know that stupid metaphor one was the only language they had available.

If it is, it would certainly suggest a shared mythology and religion to me. It would be interesting if the Talmarians main binding element was religious in nature.