The Language Barrier

[Chaos Saiyajin]

This has probably been mentioned or asked a thousand times, but am I the only one who thinks it's strange that every being in the Universe can understand each other in the Dragon Ball universe?

I know, I know, it's just a kid's show, I shouldn't be thinking that much into it, but we know for a fact from the show that there are different languages, because we've got their alphabets displayed at different times on the show, not to mention Mr. Popo teaching Bulma how to speak Namekkian before she and the others went to Namek.

So yeah, why is it that everyone seems to speak the same language? The Scouters display some kind of language, and we've seen Namekkian spoken by both Kami and Ma Junior at the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai, so what gives?

I guess what I'm really asking is if Toriyama ever really addressed this.

Thanks in advance, guys.

[Jerseymilk]

Hey maybe it's like Star Trek where they have "universal translator devices"?

[Terra-jin]

There's two answers to that.

Dragonball is sadly not of such scope as to include complete languages (as does Lord of the Rings, for example). To make the story flow, the challenges of language barriers are left out from it. If everyone wouldn't speak the same language, much of the dialogue in the story would've been impossible.
There's many SF / fantasy works that lack language barriers for the exact same reason - Stargate, Star Trek, Star Wars etc. There are traces of alien languages, but it's simply not practical, story-wise.
The only work I can think of that overcame this obstacle is Lord of the Rings. It'd have to be of the same depth as LotR to include language barriers in a universe with multiple races / people.

In-universe, you might say that Freeza, with all his technology, had some kind of nanotechnological implant or the like that instantly decyphers languages and allows the user to speak them. Babidi and other aliens might also have a technology like it; perhaps it's even something that advanced space-faring species take for granted.

@Jerseymilk: Yeah, that

Of course, Freeza asks the Namekians to speak 'normal tongue' which seems to indicate that Mr. Toriyama went for the first reason and never bothered to explain it. Other than that little dialogue, the lack of a language barrier is never even questioned in the manga (I think).

Also, check this thread out.

[SaiyaMel]

The Scouters display some kind of language

I believe it's the language of Freeza's race, chaos.

And curious - where in the manga does Freeza demand they speak "normal language". which volume?

[Tyro]

Dragonball Z volume 5.

[Rocketman]

My guess: Freeza's empire was so large and powerful that its language spread to all spacefaring races. If you're spacefaring, you're gonna have to deal with Freeza, and if you deal with Freeza, you better speak his language.

'Course, this doesn't account for why Earth speaks that language....

[SaiyaMel]

Perhaps the Kais or Kaios have something to do with this "normal tongue" being so widespread in the DB Universe..

[Chibi Mystic Gohan]

Seeing as how it's not our Earth, maybe humans have had contact with aliens in the Dragon World? Kami understood Earth's language (Japanese? ) when he came to Earth, as do other Namekians, so...

[Tyro]

Did you ever notice how Porunga could only understand Namekian when being spoken to, but could reply back in Japanese (or English, or [insert whatever language you speak here])?

[FindKenshi]

I had an in-universe theory to explain this, once. Some like it, others find it unlikely.

Ok, basically you have to accept that Freeza's clan established a "standard language" that basically all people in the galaxy knew about. Now how, you wonder, would Earth know this language, if they never went to other worlds yet and met other civilizations?

Think back to the origin of planet Namek. We know before the cataclysm wiped out nearly all Namekians, they used to be an advanced, spacefaring race. We know this because Kami came to Earth on a Namekian SPACESHIP...and that Bulma and her father marveled over how incredibly advanced this ship was, and how far beyond Earthman technology it was. There is also the fact that Saichoro knew who the Saiyans were, even knew the legend of the Super Saiyan.

The Saiyans also recognized the Namekians as well, as when Nappa pointed out that Piccolo was one.

So it must stand to reason that at one point, the Namekians stumbled on other civilizations, and learned the standard galactic toung, although they kept their own language too, and became bilingual.

So, how does this explain humanity on Earth knowing the language? Simple. Kami.

Kami's origin story, retold by Mr. Popo, declares that there was a note in his "house" which beckoned him to wait for his parents. This leads me to believe that unlike humans, Namekians are born fully sentient, capapble of reading and understanding, and speaking language.

This is also slighlty hinted at, in that don't we see Ma Juinor talking when he first hatched from Piccolo Daimao's egg?

So Kami is born speaking the galactic standard language, not even knowing thats what it is, as well as Namekian language too.

Anyway, Kami becomes a big dog ont he planet Earth, having much adventures, and building his own status up to epic proportions, until finally he reaches the highest peak, consideration for the throne of Kami.

But along this path, he obviously must have spread a LOT of influence to the Earthlings, including this language, which they probably adapted as their own in very ancient times.

Thus, thousands of years later, Raditz shows up on Earth, and boom, they're already speaking the standard language anyway.

What do you guys think?

[Rocketman]

Thus, thousands of years later, Raditz shows up on Earth, and boom, they're already speaking the standard language anyway.

What do you guys think?

English and German have totally split in only 1500 years with just a small sea between them. Earth's galactic isolation would mean its language would veer way off in thousands of years.

[Xyex]

Perhaps the Kais or Kaios have something to do with this "normal tongue" being so widespread in the DB Universe..

That's always been my thoughts. The Kais created the 'standard language' and through their very natures spread and maintained the language in the entire universe. Having this one standard language would make things a lot easier for them, especially when dealing with mortals. They wouldn't have to know all 500,000 gazillion languages, just one.

[Kaboom]

Perhaps the Kais or Kaios have something to do with this "normal tongue" being so widespread in the DB Universe..

That's always been my thoughts. The Kais created the 'standard language' and through their very natures spread and maintained the language in the entire universe. Having this one standard language would make things a lot easier for them, especially when dealing with mortals. They wouldn't have to know all 500,000 gazillion languages, just one.

As if the modern Kaios needed any further excuse to be lazy.

[Vegeta-Wrath]

I have pondered on this very question myself and we all know how in say a "Gaming" system the characters all learn a "Common" tongue. This could very well be the same. However I'm not stating that this is how it was done, but it stands to reason. Granted, there were at least four times I can account for that had different languages within the series. The first would be that of the Japanese....yes, the normal. Then there's the fact that there was the inscription of Kakarrot's name and the numerics on the scouter upon Planet Vegeta, then Frieza speaking his own language. On top of that you had Dende speaking Namekian while summoning Purunga on Earth and Namek. The fourth time would be in Hell where you see that of the normal language and then it translated underneath (Japanese again very possibly).

Also if listening to that of Vegeta later on in the DBZ series where granted he is still proud, he should have lost that manner a while back, instead its more accented, perhaps with the Saiyan accent. Conclusion would draw that they simply learned a "Common" or "Universal" language that everyone could understand, but it had to be learned, and not born with it. This Universal tongue would have been understandable by others that encountered them.

Sound possible? Let me know!

[B-kun]

then Freeza speaking his own language

If that's the scene I'm thinking of, that was dub-only. He was laughing in Japanese.

[SaiyaMel]

Your theory makes sense to me, FindKenshin. i like it. it may also explain why Saiyas and humans are so closely related that they're able to hybridize with no problems...

Vegeta-Wrath:

Also if listening to that of Vegeta later on in the DBZ series where granted he is still proud, he should have lost that manner a while back, instead its more accented, perhaps with the Saiyan accent. Conclusion would draw that they simply learned a "Common" or "Universal" language that everyone could understand, but it had to be learned, and not born with it. This Universal tongue would have been understandable by others that encountered them.

About Vegeta starting to talk with an "accent" - you're referring to the dub, correct? if so it would therefore hold as much ground as Freeza's added "native language" line.. i agree that the Saiyas wouldn't be like the Namekians in that who's knowledge and language

In the Japanese version, ever notice how Nappa has a tendency to roll his Rs a bit,, perhaps his accent is remnant of some Saiyan dialect spoken by whatever ancestral tribe he's from.

[VegettoEX]

In the Japanese version, ever notice how Nappa has a tendency to roll his Rs a bit,, perhaps his accent is remnant of some Saiyan dialect spoken by whatever ancestral tribe he's from.

I think that's taking it a bit too far. I've always read that as simply being the stereotypical Japanese "punk" (heading into yakuza territory) accent. If you want to read into that a little bit, you could read that perhaps Nappa wasn't the most educated of the bunch, but had enough power that he somehow managed to get himself up the ranks a bit, and is much more brutish than his surrounding royalty.

[SaiyaMel]

I think that's taking it a bit too far. I've always read that as simply being the stereotypical Japanese "punk" (heading into yakuza territory) accent.

Oh, i didn't realize that.

[Vegeta-Wrath]

I have seen the Japanese versions as well, and have a good majority of them, but I have noticed in both the English AND the Japanese, that Vegeta definately speaks with an accent (sounds more proud than foreign) and so does Nappa in the Japanese. We're so used to thinking inside the box that maybe that is their accent? Proud, strong, they are the traits of the Saiyan Race and therefore wouldn't it make sense to have an accent that also touched on this as well?

[Jerseymilk]

I have seen the Japanese versions as well, and have a good majority of them, but I have noticed in both the English AND the Japanese, that Vegeta definately speaks with an accent (sounds more proud than foreign) and so does Nappa in the Japanese. We're so used to thinking inside the box that maybe that is their accent? Proud, strong, they are the traits of the Saiyan Race and therefore wouldn't it make sense to have an accent that also touched on this as well?

In my opinion, unless you're fluent in a language and culture, you just don't have the knowledge nor proper perspective to make that kind of assumption. Like Mike(VegettoEX) said, that rolling of "R"s that Nappa does is a very, and I mean very, common trait of punk-type or Yakuza-type characters in anime. Watch any anime series from the shonen genre and trust me, at some point there'll be the appearance of street punk #548 talking that same way before Yuusuke/Ichigo/Kazuma/"insert-spunky-shonen-protagonist-here", shows them "what-for".

Sure I agree with you that Vegeta's original and dub voice actors definitely make their voices sound haughty and authoritative since he's a prince, but that's not an accent. They did it to help make his haughty personality come across better. It's simply a characteristic outcome of one's voice, similar to how someone who have grew up attending really top private schools may speak with very good diction. It's a result of their upbringing, environment, character, etc.