Note: This review was originally posted to my Epinions account.
One of the big problems with interstellar travel, at least in fiction,
is the issue of language. If you’re going out into the universe, it
would be nice to be able to talk to the people you meet. Star Trek has a
universal translator for just this reason. I’ve never fully understood
how it’s able to derive an entire language based on a few words. You’d
think that once in a while, there would be issues. The translator
never gets a language backwards or screws anything up that badly.
That’s not to say it’s without limitations.
The United Federation of Planets (or, rather, Starfleet) has had limited contact with the Children of Tama. Any ship that has had contact with them has found their language unintelligible. Distinct words can be made out, but it’s impossible to make any sense of what they’re saying. Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise get a taste of this when they respond to a mathematical progression being sent to Earth.
The Tamarian captain tries to speak with Picard, but is just talking nonsense. He keeps saying things like “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.” It makes no sense. Eventually, after a conversation with the first officer, the Tamarian Captain has himself and Picard beamed down to the planet. The Tamarian ship puts up some sort of scattering field that makes communication with or transport of the two captains impossible. At least they can monitor the situation, even if they can’t do anything about it.
On the surface, it’s not much easier on Picard. The Tamarian captain, who’s later revealed to be named Dathon, is still talking in riddles. He’s trying to offer Picard a dagger, which Picard interprets at a challenge. That night, Picard is unable to get his fire going. Dathon helps him. Picard starts to figure out that Tamarians talk in metaphor. “Temba, his arms wide” may mean to either give something or to receive a gift. “"Sokath - his eyes uncovered" is said when someone finally understands something.
Data and Troi come to the same conclusion on the Enterprise. They find out that Darmak and Tanagra are both part of the same planet’s mythology. Regrettably, they don’t go much further than those two terms. With a little effort, they could have decoded the whole conversation. (For that matter, don’t they have someone that specializes in this? You’d think that if they’re going to meet an unintelligible race, they’d bring along someone who could help.)
Eventually, the Enterprise is able to disable the scattering field and beam Picard up. The Tamarian ship starts attacking, but Picard is able to get to the bridge in time to stop an all-out war. He understands enough of the Tamarian language to explain to the first officer what happened. He gives back what appears to be the Captain’s log book and offers a dagger, but the first officer lets Picard keep the dagger. The two races go home with a better understanding of each other.
When I first saw the episode, I remember thinking how odd it was that the Tamarians spoke in metaphor. How would this evolve? Everyone would have to know enough of their culture to understand everyone. It would be as if we used television to explain things. (“It was like that episode of Law & Order…”) The thing is, how do you explain the reference without having specific dialogue? How would someone learn who Darmok and Jalad are if you couldn’t tell the story in the first place? For that matter, how do you build a ship? How would you order a specific number of things?
Another thing that got me was that the ship’s computer had references to the culture to be able to tell who Darmok was and where Tanagra was. How do they know enough about the culture to have this information? Either someone was able to tell them the story or someone else had to figure it out to explain to whoever programmed the computer. Either way, couldn’t they just have fed the conversation into the computer and had it spit out footnotes or something?
Ultimately, the episode is about bonding. It’s about finding a way to come together when words won’t cut it. It seems to work, even if there are some questions. I’m not sure the episode could have happened any other way.
The United Federation of Planets (or, rather, Starfleet) has had limited contact with the Children of Tama. Any ship that has had contact with them has found their language unintelligible. Distinct words can be made out, but it’s impossible to make any sense of what they’re saying. Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise get a taste of this when they respond to a mathematical progression being sent to Earth.
The Tamarian captain tries to speak with Picard, but is just talking nonsense. He keeps saying things like “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra.” It makes no sense. Eventually, after a conversation with the first officer, the Tamarian Captain has himself and Picard beamed down to the planet. The Tamarian ship puts up some sort of scattering field that makes communication with or transport of the two captains impossible. At least they can monitor the situation, even if they can’t do anything about it.
On the surface, it’s not much easier on Picard. The Tamarian captain, who’s later revealed to be named Dathon, is still talking in riddles. He’s trying to offer Picard a dagger, which Picard interprets at a challenge. That night, Picard is unable to get his fire going. Dathon helps him. Picard starts to figure out that Tamarians talk in metaphor. “Temba, his arms wide” may mean to either give something or to receive a gift. “"Sokath - his eyes uncovered" is said when someone finally understands something.
Data and Troi come to the same conclusion on the Enterprise. They find out that Darmak and Tanagra are both part of the same planet’s mythology. Regrettably, they don’t go much further than those two terms. With a little effort, they could have decoded the whole conversation. (For that matter, don’t they have someone that specializes in this? You’d think that if they’re going to meet an unintelligible race, they’d bring along someone who could help.)
Eventually, the Enterprise is able to disable the scattering field and beam Picard up. The Tamarian ship starts attacking, but Picard is able to get to the bridge in time to stop an all-out war. He understands enough of the Tamarian language to explain to the first officer what happened. He gives back what appears to be the Captain’s log book and offers a dagger, but the first officer lets Picard keep the dagger. The two races go home with a better understanding of each other.
When I first saw the episode, I remember thinking how odd it was that the Tamarians spoke in metaphor. How would this evolve? Everyone would have to know enough of their culture to understand everyone. It would be as if we used television to explain things. (“It was like that episode of Law & Order…”) The thing is, how do you explain the reference without having specific dialogue? How would someone learn who Darmok and Jalad are if you couldn’t tell the story in the first place? For that matter, how do you build a ship? How would you order a specific number of things?
Another thing that got me was that the ship’s computer had references to the culture to be able to tell who Darmok was and where Tanagra was. How do they know enough about the culture to have this information? Either someone was able to tell them the story or someone else had to figure it out to explain to whoever programmed the computer. Either way, couldn’t they just have fed the conversation into the computer and had it spit out footnotes or something?
Ultimately, the episode is about bonding. It’s about finding a way to come together when words won’t cut it. It seems to work, even if there are some questions. I’m not sure the episode could have happened any other way.
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