Language Barrier Question

[ANewMe23]

What is the best way to overcome two societies meeting that speak completely different languages?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Steerpike]

You can have a translator. You can also employ magic to ensure that the two can understand each other despite the language barrier. Also, you can write it so that they do not have help and explore ways in which people who can't talk directly to each other can communicate through images, expressions, gestures, emotions, and so on (the latter could become tedious if not handled well).

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

The first question is what does the story gain by these two societies meeting?

 

[Ankari]

The first question is what does the story gain by these two societies meeting?

For me, the world gains from it. The Black Company is a great example of language barriers and how they dealt with it. Language barriers add to the tension, comedic or mortal misunderstandings, and growth of the two parties.

 

[ANewMe23]

The first question is what does the story gain by these two societies meeting?

The story is a Sci Fi/Fantasy crossover alien beings coming in contact with fantasy beings.

I do like the idea that Steerpike mentioned about using magic. That could be very useful with the idea I have for a wizard character.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

The story is a Sci Fi/Fantasy crossover alien beings coming in contact with fantasy beings.

Okay, so are they in conflict with each other from the start or is there some cooperation? It's difficult to say what types of communication are possible without knowing how they initially interact.

 

[ANewMe23]

I'm still brainstorming but I'd think they would have good relations with some but with certain prejudices towards things that are different, they will also run into problems with natives

 

[Mindfire]

I used to have that issue. But then I realized that there's no rule to prevent everyone from speaking the same language.

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

I used to have that issue. But then I realized that there's no rule to prevent everyone from speaking the same language.

Piggybacking off of Mindfire:

If you have an alien race capable of intergalactic travel. Chances are good they would be able to learn the local languages if they chose to. They may have already done so.

 

[ANewMe23]

I think I've come up with a way for it to work. What do you think?

The alien race is a shapeshifting race that can only speak a local language if they change their look to look like a race of people on the planet. Then they can speak the language. But in order to change their look they have to touch the member of that race.

 

[Mindfire]

I think I've come up with a way for it to work. What do you think?

The alien race is a shapeshifting race that can only speak a local language if they change their look to look like a race of people on the planet. Then they can speak the language. But in order to change their look they have to touch the member of that race.

That could work. Or you could steal the Transformers explanation and have them absorb knowledge of all our languages through the internet.

 

[ANewMe23]

Unfortunately the world they crash on is not well known by their race of being. By that I mean that they know it exists but that's about it.

 

[Griffin]

You could always have a "Daniel Jackson" character. From the sci-fi series Stargate: SG-1, the group went from world to world where various cultures thrive. Most of these cultures feature humans were taken from planet earth centuries earlier. So, they speak variant of the original language (Arabic, Russian, etc.) Daniel Jackson was an archeologist and knew multiple languages. So he basically was a human translator.

You can easily have a character who loves to study culture and knows both languages. Or you can have a neutral group who acts as a liaison between the two societies. Just a thought.