If,I translated the Spanish expression as "This woman has never broken a plate" would an Englishman recognise that what he would say is "butter wouldn't melt in her mouth"? The two appear unrelated but now you know that we mean the same thing, can you see the common idea or a problem?
Darmok is one of the best episodes of TNG for me, because it makes clear the point about potential problems of communications that would occur in the Star Trek Universe.
In most Star Trek stories the Universal Translator allows us to follow the story but it never seems to account for the multiplicity of language even on any single planet. Klingons do speak many dialects but do all Vulcans speak Vulcan?
Here, in Darmok, the idea of metaphor rather than vocabulary is brilliantly recognised as a form of communication that simply cannot be translated and furthermore it is brilliantly executed. We hear only a handful of Tamarian expressions created by the writers as a tiny fragment of what must be a vast library of Tamarian stories and myths and yet Picard is able to understand the problem and partly overcome it.
It is clear what "The River Temarc in winter" means. The river would freeze so it must mean "stop" and we can see that in its right context. And "Mirad, with sails unfurled" Mirad is obviously a ship and what would happen when the sails were unfurled? It would leave.
And it is understood what "Sokath, his eyes open", is meant to convey. "He understands", and so do we thanks to the brilliant writing.
Darmok is one of the best episodes of TNG for me, because it makes clear the point about potential problems of communications that would occur in the Star Trek Universe.
In most Star Trek stories the Universal Translator allows us to follow the story but it never seems to account for the multiplicity of language even on any single planet. Klingons do speak many dialects but do all Vulcans speak Vulcan?
Here, in Darmok, the idea of metaphor rather than vocabulary is brilliantly recognised as a form of communication that simply cannot be translated and furthermore it is brilliantly executed. We hear only a handful of Tamarian expressions created by the writers as a tiny fragment of what must be a vast library of Tamarian stories and myths and yet Picard is able to understand the problem and partly overcome it.
It is clear what "The River Temarc in winter" means. The river would freeze so it must mean "stop" and we can see that in its right context. And "Mirad, with sails unfurled" Mirad is obviously a ship and what would happen when the sails were unfurled? It would leave.
And it is understood what "Sokath, his eyes open", is meant to convey. "He understands", and so do we thanks to the brilliant writing.