Lingotron

The Lingtotron is a device capable of providing instantenous two-way language translation. It is a small device that can be hand-carried, or attached to a landing jacket.
The Lingotron was developed at the University of New Tenochtitlan on Sapphire. It works by accessing an installed datacore of thousands of potential evolved language variants based on theoretical constructs of the three human base languages of the Commonwealth. (Pan-Anglish, Mandar, and Esperanto). When exposed to a new language, the Lingotron analyzes its vocabulary, syntax, and structure and finds the nearest match, or matches in its datacore. Using its lingistic algorithms, it develops the closest possible analog to the new language. It continues to refine its translation, gradually becoming more accurate as it is more exposed to the language.
Mistakes and lapses in translation are common during the early stages of the Lingotron learning cycle. This has had sometimes unfortunate, sometimes hilarious consequences, such as when the Commander of the Pathfinder Ship Ark Royal had his welcome message to the people of Dawn Tufra ("I hope this will be the beginning of a long and wonderful friendship"  was translated as "I will sing of turnip tractors into your grandmother's buttocks.")
Category:Technology