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universal translator. A device that translates languages, including those that have never previously been encountered. The universal translator often doesn't work perfectly, requiring manual assistance by an experienced linguist. ("Broken Bow" [ENT]). New languages typically take several seconds to be translated. ("Unexpected" [ENT]). The universal translator is the single most unrealistic piece of technology in Star Trek, surpassing the warp drive and even the transporter in its absurdity... but it is a neccessary absurdity. How the translator can build a translation matrix from less than a dozen words, as in "Unexpected" (ENT) utterly defies explanation. It is a reasonably plausible concept when it comes to preprogrammed languages, such as Vulcan or Rigelian, but quite improbably with new ones. "Metamorphosis" (TOS) establishes that the universal translator of the 2260s is at least partially psionic; perhaps the easiest explanation is that it is a remnant of an ancient race of hyper-advanced telepaths that was discovered by the Vulcans. One possibility is that the translator was found in a Slaver stasis box, as seen in "The Slaver Weapon" (TAS) and Larry Niven's "Known Space" novels.
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