Okay so I have this story and there's aliens, and everyone speaks English. I don't really have a problem with that, because the other MC is a human from the USA, but I realized two seconds ago that I have no reasonable explination for why these aliens all use English as a common language, especially because in this story humans never got around to space travel. Does anyone have any ideas how this could be possible?
Why would an alien speak English?
- Thread starter godzillachild
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Because - science!
I'm kidding. Kind of. Anyway, I wouldn't spend too much time on that. It would help to know a little more about your world. Are the aliens coming to Earth? In that case, they studied us for years in advance of their arrival and learned English from watching Star Wars (true story, a dear friend of mine learned English this way). Is the Earthling headed out into space? Maybe the aliens are so advanced they can translate based on a short sample and piece together the language. Perhaps some kind of technology implanted in their brains. Do they have a hive mind? They could solve the language puzzle so much faster that way and all be speaking it in no time.
I'm kidding. Kind of. Anyway, I wouldn't spend too much time on that. It would help to know a little more about your world. Are the aliens coming to Earth? In that case, they studied us for years in advance of their arrival and learned English from watching Star Wars (true story, a dear friend of mine learned English this way). Is the Earthling headed out into space? Maybe the aliens are so advanced they can translate based on a short sample and piece together the language. Perhaps some kind of technology implanted in their brains. Do they have a hive mind? They could solve the language puzzle so much faster that way and all be speaking it in no time.
If they're speaking amongst themselves, it's an author translation of whatever alien language they speak. No dramas. If they're speaking actual English to humans, they've either got good translator technology or they're quick learners.
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Implanted translator tech that "auto-corrects" their speech and language in the appropriate areas of their brain? Sort of a mechanical version of what happens in John Carter of Mars series?
Or you could even go the whole biological rout with some sort of ingestible doing the trick.
Or you could even go the whole biological rout with some sort of ingestible doing the trick.
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Yeah, the biologics are usually more reliable that the electronics... One of my characters got involved in quite a bit of trouble due to translator failure.
Either can be a helpful plot device though... either by working in an unpredictable and glitchy manner, or being a little too reliable.
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I can't really help with ideas--with all due respect, it's your book--but often the easiest way to deal with this kind of thing is just to not mention.
You control what information trickles into the narrative. If language isn't especially relevant to the story, just don't mention it. Don't draw attention to something that's only going to end up looking contrived.
You control what information trickles into the narrative. If language isn't especially relevant to the story, just don't mention it. Don't draw attention to something that's only going to end up looking contrived.
I agree. In my story aliens haven't made contact with humans. But everyone speaks English, even the creators of the universe. I say don't worry about it.
It's the Tardis translation matrix 
Seriously though, any civilisation advanced enough for interstellar travel probably is probably a bit beyond Google translate in terms of crossing linguistic barriers. They'd speak English coz they can and the poor primitive American can't speak Alienese. I don't really see the need to explain it in-story though, trying to create a feasible-sounding technological (or bio-technological or whatever) explanation will be more trouble than it's worth.
Seriously though, any civilisation advanced enough for interstellar travel probably is probably a bit beyond Google translate in terms of crossing linguistic barriers. They'd speak English coz they can and the poor primitive American can't speak Alienese. I don't really see the need to explain it in-story though, trying to create a feasible-sounding technological (or bio-technological or whatever) explanation will be more trouble than it's worth.
*has the idea that you can identify the aliens from Alpha Centauri because they're always talking in eight year old memes*
Public service ad:
Does anyone you know talk like this?
“Like, far out, man! That is so rad!”
They might be... Invaders From Another World! Or an old hippy. Either way, be safe! Report them to your neighborhood Alien Watch.
Does anyone you know talk like this?
“Like, far out, man! That is so rad!”
They might be... Invaders From Another World! Or an old hippy. Either way, be safe! Report them to your neighborhood Alien Watch.
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This would certainly explain people that actually says "Lawl" in real world conversations when they are amused.
Someone needs to write a short about aliens coming to Earth to demand an explanation for the convoluted mess that is the modern English language.
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I'd rather see a story about aliens demanding an explanation for the convoluted mess that is the Human species...
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They haven't been watching us from afar and listening to our radio broadcasts? Or walking among us in human guise and gathering knowledge? Taking us up to their ship and probing us?
If they landed in France I'd expect them to speak fluent French; in China, fluent Cantonese and Mandarin; in Brazil, fluent Portuguese, etc. It just happens your MC speaks English so they are politely speaking English.
-Derek
And by the time they leave, the English language has stolen many of their words and concepts.
It's very efficient that way.Also, maybe your aliens have learned English from eavesdropping on transmissions, etc., and this is their first chance to practice on a live English-speaking human being. A chance to update their usage, get the subtext, etc.
Not only will we steal their words, we'll turn their nouns into verbs and their adjectives into nouns.And by the time they leave, the English language has stolen many of their words and concepts.
I worry that the first earthling they encounter will be an Australian tradie or truck driver on the side of a lonely outback road somewhere, and their subsequent communications will all be, um, colourfully seasoned.
PEOPLE OF EARTH, ATTENTION PLEASE, YA C**TS.
Some fun things to think about:
Most ESL speakers learn the language from media. There's that old trope of learning how to speak by watching cartoons and reading comics, giving the character a pretty wacky vocabulary and syntax. You can go with that.
You could have the aliens studying, and believing they've mastered, English. But we all know English makes zero sense. It's full of contradictory rules. Depending on the style of your aliens, a haughty "I follow logic and understand all rules" type ET would THINK they understand it, and would refer to deer plural as "deers" and argue about it because that's what makes sense given the "rules" of English.
The universal translator trope is a trope, but a useful one. Depending on where the focus of your story is, you may WANT to focus on the language barrier. If you just need to get past it to get to the actual plot, you can use the nanites/microbes/braincomputer/telepathic power trope that lets people understand each other so you can get on to the meat. I think deciding if you want to make this a part of the human/alien interactions, or whether you can do without it, will help inform your decision.
Most ESL speakers learn the language from media. There's that old trope of learning how to speak by watching cartoons and reading comics, giving the character a pretty wacky vocabulary and syntax. You can go with that.
You could have the aliens studying, and believing they've mastered, English. But we all know English makes zero sense. It's full of contradictory rules. Depending on the style of your aliens, a haughty "I follow logic and understand all rules" type ET would THINK they understand it, and would refer to deer plural as "deers" and argue about it because that's what makes sense given the "rules" of English.
The universal translator trope is a trope, but a useful one. Depending on where the focus of your story is, you may WANT to focus on the language barrier. If you just need to get past it to get to the actual plot, you can use the nanites/microbes/braincomputer/telepathic power trope that lets people understand each other so you can get on to the meat. I think deciding if you want to make this a part of the human/alien interactions, or whether you can do without it, will help inform your decision.
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What if these aliens studied English based on old-fashioned texts, so they all speak Shakespearean?
What if they studied 1990 English? They wouldn't know how to communicate in memes!
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I think it would be reasonable for the aliens to study humans, including their language, or at least one language, before exploring. It's the same way we learn all we can about sharks or snakes before we walk into a pit full of them. The aliens need to know when they're being threatened verses welcomed...if that's for your story at all, that is.