Language can be a very tricky thing, even though it is the key to communication and the most effective medium to enable it. While most of us need Google translator to help us decipher a language we don’t understand, the crew ofStar Trek: The Next Generationhad no such issues, since their ship had a universal translator that could instantaneously recognize and translate any alien language — that is until they meet Dathon, in Season 5.
The episode was titled"Darmok,“and it has fascinated linguistic experts ever since. This was mostly down to the intriguing language portrayed by the alien race it featured, and whether such a language could actually exist outside of fiction.
If you’ve ever seen or know of this episode, it might seem like a stretch that the language from it could have any real world application. After all, it seems like nothing more thanan imaginative conceptthat made for a cool episode from a franchise known for such futuristic ideas. That was until language experts analyzed its viability and pointed out that as a society, we actually use, understand, or are exposed to such a language every day in modern times — in the form ofmemes.
What Happened in “Darmok”?
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Often regarded asone of the best episodes ofStar Trekin the entire franchise, the “Darmok” episode saw the crew of theEnterprisemake contact with a Tamarian ship while it was orbiting the planet El-Adrel. The Federation and the Tamarians, an alien race, had previously tried communicating without success.
The universal translator was able to translate their words, but the meaning behind the words could not be established, since they appeared to speak in allegories and metaphors that alluded to references in their history and mythology.
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The Tamarian captain, Dathon, transports himself and Picard to the surface of El-Adrel and blocks further transporter signals by casting a scattering field. He says the phrase “Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra” as he tosses Picard a dagger. He also performs strange rituals, and says other odd phrases like “Shaka, when the walls fell,” but none of it makes any sense to Picard.
The two commanders stay with each other and end up battling a beast together, fighting for their lives. This leads to a breakthrough that allows Picard to begin understanding a bit ofDathon’s strange languageafter he references an allegory they could both use as a way to win the fight against the beast.
Dathon is injured and later succumbs to his wounds, but not before Picard learns that Darmok and Jalad were two warriors who once fought a beast together on an island named Tanagra, before becoming friends as Dathon and Picard do before Dathon’s death.
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How Tamarian Language Connects to Memes
Between explanations provided by Counselor Deanna Troi from the show and linguistics experts in real life who also weighed in on the Tamarian language, it became clear that such a language could not reasonably exist in reality. The reason for this is that it relies entirely on a cultural understanding of the events, people, places,and mythological storiesthe words reference.
However, in order for that to occur, one would first have to hear of those reference points in the first place, which would be impossible if the only language used was about them after the fact. In other words, nothing new could be said or described if the language consists of old references only.
Related:Movie Scenes That Became Viral Memes
That being said, when such a language exists as a secondary one to a primary language, or an extension of it, then it obviouslycanwork. It’s here that we realize that all of us in the modern worldwho use or are exposed to memesactually communicate through them. Internet memes are essentially also references to culture, though usually dosed with humorous aspects.
Memes possess a similar linguistic nature to Tamarian, since they exist as allegories to other reference points that allow for their humorous meanings to be understood through pictures or other visual representations like GIFs.
Even though they often have text that accompanies them, that text is usually a reference to some other aspects of our cultures we instantly recognize, thus enabling us to understand the humor behind it.
Memetics and Tamarian
A meme in a scientific sense refers to a cultural element or some other type of behavior passed from one generation to another by non-genetic means. The study of these traits is known as “memetics,” and is essentially an inquiry into information based on an analogyfrom Darwinian evolution.
It views ideas almost as a type of living organism that can evolve without necessarily conforming to logic or truth, where the most successful ideas “survive” and birth new ideas.
Internet memes work in exactly the same way, since they act as allegories that convey meaning in reference to something funny. This is why you can take one glance at the famous memes below and immediately know the kind of humor, feeling, or type of joke they’re referencing without any other context provided.
In fact, it’s not even that difficult to understand how you might communicate with someone by saying during a conversation, for instance, “Homer backing into the bushes” to convey to someone the feeling of stepping awkwardly away from a situation. Not that anyone speaks this way — but it’spossible.
Tamarian Explained
Given the fame and analysis that the “Darmok” episode ofNext Generationsparked, an anthology story was made that explored the Tamarians in more detail and provided an explanation for how they could learn a language without ever having heard the stories of the original reference points first.
The story posited that they have a different brain from most humanoids, and like how human children alsolearn some aspects of language, they learn the stories behind the metaphors through visual enactments and repetition. They were also done using subtle vocal cues, and other forms of gesturing. Meanwhile, complex tasks like those needed for engineering were communicated using a musical language that could be interpreted into precise equations.
Despite this, it was the metaphorical language that fans and academics have always found to be the most fascinating. Here’s a list of some Tamarian phrases and what they mean.
Memes Do the Same Thing
Since the mid ’90s, memes have begun creating an analog that has essentially grown into a modern day extension of language, just as text spelling and acronyms like “LOL” have also become embedded in society. The great part about them is that they actually help communication grow, rather than stifling or butchering good language as many people believe.
The fact that two people from different countries may not be able to speak each other’s language but could probably still communicate their thoughts or feelings through emojis, or even memes, allows for effective communication where none might have been possible without them. It’s a unifying and universal language that transcends normal word-usage.
To ponder it all more deeply, here’s a great video where one commentator explains other links between real language and Tamarian:
