Chiana the linguist

[PilotAeryn157]

OK, I am watching family ties. Dargo swears in Luxan at Rygel, and Chiana understands some of what he is saying. Sikouzu understands languages true, but does Chiana know Luxan? If she does, how would she have picked that up, unless she's like me and knows how to swear in different languages for the fun of it. Any ideas?

[DenAstrogeek]

My thoughts? The writer(s) was careless. If you want to explain it, I'd go with the knowing how to swear in other languages for fun idea.

[waltersgirl]

they were dating for quite a while. you pick that kind of stuff up.

[katyaz]

Yes, but they weren't really dating at that point, were they? This was in Family Ties -- D'Argo was just beginning to tolerate Chiana by that point.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Chiana couldn't have dated some other Luxan in the past. She really does seem to know quite a lot about Luxan culture, after all. Well, maybe not a *lot*, but there was that missing scene from Mind the Baby where she shows that she knows how to take care of D'Argo's instrument (wow, that sounds vaguely dirty, doesn't it? ;) I didn't mean it to be...). And I don't remember any scene where D'Argo ever had to explain any of his customs to her...

[Revolos55]

Yeah, and then there's always the loophole where if everyone has translator microbes, shouldn't it look like a a bad Japanese movie with everyone's lips moving intheir own language, but English words being heard. Unless translator microbes frell with your eyes as well as your ears.....


Food for thought

[PilotAeryn157]

But microbes didn't work for that phrase cause no one else except CHiana understood. Unless of course everyone but John understood. Maybe it's some sort of phrase used regularly that doesn't translate right. Like the french for standing some one up has something to do with a rabbit.

Bet the writer was just hoping we'd make up soemthing to cover their butt's :)

[katyaz]

There have been lots of inconsistencies about the way Translator Microbes work. I am beginning to suspect that how they work depends on each person. TMs are symbiotic, after all -- it's entirely possible that they change the way they work to fit their host, so that some phrases (like swear words, for example) might be translated for some people, and not for others.

That said, I still think it's entirely possible that Chiana knew someone before she came on board Moya that taught her some Luxan phrases.