If you find an alien how will you communicate?

Want to talk about a difficult science project? I’ve got one for you – a universal language translator. One of the most complex parts of our existence is language.From the time you are a baby your parents try and teach you how to speak, what to say and the correct way to say it. By the time you are an adult you are fairly proficient in your own mother tongue.

Now what happens if you meet someone from another country who does not speak the language you do? Naturally there will be some common signs that you can use to communicate with another human being. For instance you will open you mouth and point inside if you are hungry. Or you will smile and nod to agree with something they try to tell you. It may be difficult but you will get by.

Now imagine if you have to communicate with an alien life form what will you do? For the signs to work you need to have a fairly similar anatomy. Not going to happen with a little green man who has three legs and one large eye is it? So how would you make a universal translator to help you understand what your alien visitor is saying?

To translate a language you need to be aware of words in both languages that are being used. Its highly unlikely that you would know alien speak and so how do you translate words that hold no meaning for you? And that is where lies the challenge in building a universal language translator. Here is a not so challenging science project.