#star trek writers accidentally canonized chompskyist universal grammar. thousands of linguists outraged. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

the-oracle-of-the-lost · 10 months ago

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We're all familiar with how most of the Star Trek shows have their dialogue in that somewhat formal stilted manner that plenty of people have poked fun at but also it kind of makes sense in an era of universal translators that people would make a habit of speaking clearly and avoiding slang/metaphors to ensure their points are well translated. I know that was never the intention (and a lot of newer trek shows go for more informal dialogue) but hm. Food for thought.

#like in my (brief) time of giving lectures and formal presentations i would default on clear formal speech to be the most clear #especially for people who have english as a second language #like its very possible that the years of using universal translators for everything just affected peoples' speech processes #(they should still be allowed to swear though)#i have way too many thoughts on the concept of a universal translator and how it functionally works #star trek writers accidentally canonized chompskyist universal grammar. thousands of linguists outraged.#tbh i prefer dw's universal translator better because somehow telepathy is a little more believable than magical mechanical translation #for languages youre just encountering #but its star trek's rules of magic so it gets a pass #star trek #headcanons #my posts

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