Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra

The other day I caught an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation that I remember seeing long before the day I decided subreferencing TV was my thing. Star Trek, in all of its incarnations, is of course very subreferenceable most of the time, but this episode tickled the little linguistic subreference bone that I have somewhere deep in me.This episode, entitled Darmok, began with an encounter between Picard and another captain from an alien race who's language had been labeled "unintelligible". The translators could translate the words and names into English, but as we find out later the aliens speak in metaphor, using local myth and historical analogy to describe events and feelings. Much like if I were trying to convey that someone was crazy I would say "Tom Cruise on The Oprah Winfrey Show". Consequently if you do not know the local history and myths then to you this language would indeed be a bit unintelligible, even if you knew that the aliens were speaking in metaphor.This happens all the time actually. How many times have you been sitting around with some friends and someone will quote a show you haven't seen, or a book you haven't read? I do it all the time, and so does my brother. It would actually be quite efficient if you think about it, given a large enough body of shared culture and history. I think it could also convey ideas much more completely as well, since that is what we use regular metaphors as in real life. Of course, to make a whole language out of metaphors you would need all of those historical and mythical themes to be shared universally, as they are a bit too specific to be implied from context unless, like Picard, you actually ARE being hunted by a beast and your companion or wife actually says "Darmok and Jalad at Tanagra". It wouldn't really work out of that physical and temporal context. So, to sum up my day in a Tamarianesque sort of way...All those people in the Old Navy commercials. Arnold Frost sideburns circa 1975. Joanie and Bill at Kevin's house. Jack Bauer at the end of each show.