Tamarian language The Tamarian language was the spoken language of the Tamarian s . The Tamarians spoke entirely by allegory , referencing mythological and historical people and events from their culture . As a result , Federation universal translator s – although they could successfully translate the individual words and sentence structure – were unable to convey the symbolic meaning they represented . Without prior knowledge of the Tamarians ' history and legends , a word - by - word translation was of no use to someone attempting to communicate with them . This language barrier led to isolation of the Tamarian people after all attempts at communication had failed . For example , instead of asking for cooperation , they would use a phrase such as " and Jalad at " , because their culture ' s stories include a tale of two Tamarians , Darmok and Jalad , who were brought together while fighting a common foe on an island called Tanagra . The problem with communicating in this fashion is that without understanding the meaning of the reference , the metaphor becomes meaningless . While explaining the structure of the language , Counselor Deanna Troi gave the example that " Juliet on her balcony " could be used to describe a romantic situation , but it is impossible to understand if the listener does not know who Juliet is , or why she was on the balcony . ( ) Some examples of the Tamarian language : These phrases and idioms were often attenuated in conversation : " Shaka , when the walls fell " was heard shortened to " Shaka " ; others followed a similar pattern . Dathon also used " " Callimas at Bahar " " after experiencing pain in his shoulder , signalling to Picard with a hand wave associated with " stay back " , or perhaps meaning " I feel better now " or " the pain is gone " . Appendices . Background information . In one scene where Picard attempts to treat a wounded Dathon , the Tamarian says " " Kiazi ' s children , their faces wet " " . It is unclear what Dathon means by this , although ( since Dathon is trying to shoo Picard away from caring for his injuries at the time ) it may allude to children crying for no reason ; the Tamarian may be saying that Picard should not worry or feel sad , as nothing could be done . It might also mean that Dathon knew he was dying , as Kiazi ' s children apparently knew , since Picard was trying to find out the extent of Dathon ' s injuries at the time . Apocrypha . The Tamarian language is explored further in the short story " Friends with the Sparrows " from the TNG anthology " The Sky ' s the Limit " . In the story , it is explained that Tamarians have a fundamentally different brain structure to most humanoids , and as such experience concepts such as time and self differently . The story explains that Tamarian children learn the stories behind the metaphors , and thus their meanings , through enactment and repetition . Variations of meaning in metaphors were conveyed through subtle vocal and gestural cues that the universal translator had previously missed . In fields such as engineering and programming , a musical language was used to convey precise equations , numbers and instructions ; thus explaining how Tamarians could effectively operate starships . The " Voyager " relaunch novels also introduce the Tamarian Dr . Sharak who speaks Tamarian with Samantha Wildman who has been learning the langauge , adding several new phrases to the known vocabulary .