History Main / TranslatorMicrobes

* ''WesternAnimation/RazzberryJazzberryJam'': In "Music Is Universal", Krupa gives Buddy the Talk Translator, a handheld device which can translate spoken language. Ironically for how such a device is usually used, the Talk Translator, being made on Earth, can't translate the Alien Castanets' speech (though this doesn't stop Buddy from pointing it at them and hoping it'll work ''this'' time.) [[spoiler:At the end of the episode, the aliens upgrade it to be compatible with their language, allowing them to give the "thank you" that starts the EveryEpisodeEnding.]]
* {{Lampshade|Hanging}}d and played with in the first "Peabody's Improbable History" episode from ''WesternAnimation/RockyAndBullwinkle''. When Peabody first invents the WABAC, he and Sherman take it back to ancient Rome, where the meet a man speaking in Latin (and ignoring them). Peabody adjusts the machine, so that now they can hear the Roman speaking English; turns out he's a used chariot salesman (who is still ignoring them). Peabody makes one final adjustment, so that the historical characters they meet will interact with them. As Peabody puts it, "Not history as it was, but as it ''should have been''."

* ''WesternAnimation/JonnyQuestTheRealAdventures'' has Dr. Quest's "Language Translator" device, which Jessie uses in "Ice Will Burn."
* These exist in ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'', and they are used by rainicorns (who all apparently speak Korean) to speak English. (Jake had one, but threw it away because the only english voice sounded like an old man and, understandably, he didn't enjoy his girlfriend soundling like that).
* ''WesternAnimation/ElliottFromEarth'' has a version of this as a rather notable part of the story and setting. On the Centrium, a multi-species city of refugees from across space, universal translation is provided by a substance in the air--"translation gas"--which is produced by special frog-like animals called babbledrogs. These animals (and the translation gas) aren't just a background piece of worldbuilding; they later play an important role in setting up the overarching plot events of the season.
* The Book from ''WesternAnimation/TimeWarpTrio'' works like this, translating the main characters' English into whatever language it is the people in the time period/place they travel to speak. In one episode the translator function breaks down and they almost get killed due to not being able to speak Japanese and thus explain to the angry samurai what they're doing in his house.

* In ''WesternAnimation/GreenLanternTheAnimatedSeries'', one of the lantern ring's abilities is a universal translator. It continues to function as long as the ring has power, even when the rings are otherwise disabled. This leads to a hilarious scene in "Babel", where Hal, Kilowog, and eventually Razer's rings are all completely drained, forcing the trio to spend about half the episode speaking three different languages. Even the viewer is left without subtitles.
* When the ''WesternAnimation/RainbowBrite'' characters meet an alien he has a hat with a translator installed in it.
* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Trollhunters}}'', normally written in Troll-language, the incantation etched in the Amulet translates itself into English for Jim. Later on, the light emitted translates Troll-language into English and vice versa whenever Jim needs it.
* ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'': In "Close Encounters Of The Absurd Kind," DM and Penfold are taken captive by an alien craft whose captain DM thinks is his enemy Baron Greenback. The alien captain speaks an alien language (DM: "I speak 47 languages fluently, but gibberish isn't one of them."), so it punches some buttons on a console and through it speaks normal English, or in his words, our more "primitive mode of speech."
* ''WesternAnimation/TamagotchiVideoAdventures'' starts with the Tamagotchis speaking an alien language before Mimitchi turns on a translation machine.
* The Octilans in ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw'' have a translator embedded in their collars. The default setting is for food, so glitching causes words to be substituted with "eat," "devour," "buffet," etc.
* ''WesternAnimation/XavierRiddleAndTheSecretMuseum'': Xavier's hoodie has a dial and antennae that translates for the group when they meet a non-English speaking historical figure.

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': All Andalites in the military have translator chips implanted into their brains that can translate any language after a brief exposure to it. In addition, their "thought speak" can be understood by any sentient being, because it communicates concepts in addition to specific words. The translator chip also shown having limitations: in ''The Andalite Chronicles'' Elfangor and Arboron are baffled when Loren refers to to a [[TheGreys Skrit Na]] as "Twinkie"; and in ''The Hork-Bajir Chronicles'' an Andalite only gets it to work by pointing to a tree and saying 'tree' and then having the Hork-Bajir call it their word. The ridiculously convenient nature of thought-speak is eventually explained by a backstory novel where we learn the Ellimist took his extremely high-tech "communications system" with him when he took the form of a prehistoric Andalite; presumably the genes or literal translator microbes or whatever he was using got passed on to his descendants.

* The live action ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' film gives the first attempt in the series why the robots are capable of speaking English just fine, their minds access the internet and are able to assimilate personality quirks appropriate to them, such as Jazz talking and acting like a hip black guy (itself based on the G1 character, voiced by renowned black musician Scatman Crothers), and 'Bee implicitly being a ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' fan. Both Megatron and Frenzy speak in both English and mumble in what seems to be a Cybertronian language.

* In the 1980s Australian science show ''Towards 2000'', an episode about translator software had a skit in which various international businessmen (all [[WigDressAccent played by the host]]) tried to negotiate a deal but got stymied by the too-literal translation of what they were saying. Eventually the computer blows up when called upon to translate [[UsefulNotes/AustralianSlang the most incomprehensible language in the world]].

* ''Series/{{The Twilight Zone|1959}}'': In "[[Recap/TheTwilightZoneS1E25PeopleAreAlikeAllOver People Are Alike All Over]]", Sam Conrad believes that the [[AliensSpeakingEnglish Martians are speaking English]] but he is told that he is speaking their language as a result of unconscious transference, a type of hypnosis.

* The ''Literature/PhulesCompany'' novels have translator software that can even work when making FirstContact with aliens who "speak" in telepathic imagery. (Well, more or less. The alien captain is amazed at how infallible the translator is, until he refers to Phule as "Captain Clown" and Phule corrects him "That's Captain ''Clown''."

* ''Franchise/XMen'': Doug "Cypher" Ramsey has the mutant ability to translate languages, both human and computer.
* It's implied that the kids' costumes in ''ComicBook/PowerPack'' have universal translators built in.
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':

** ''ComicBook/LegendsOfTheDeadEarth'': In ''[[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Superman: The Man of Steel]]'' Annual #5, Kaleb is given a translator ear-plug so that he can communicate with the other rebels.

* In the ''Literature/AlcatrazSeries'', a pair of magical glasses that grant this power is considered one of the most dangerous objects in the world, on the basis that knowledge is power.
** More specifically, these glasses give the ability to read the Forgotten Language. The Incarna, who wrote in this language, had access to magic and technology several orders of magnitude beyond that of the heroes or villains, but Alcatraz Smedry the First "broke" their language, rendering it utterly incomprehensible to anything short of the Translator's Lenses.
* In ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'', all Andalites in the military have translator chips implanted into their brains that can translate any language after a brief exposure to it. In addition, their "thought speak" can be understood by any sentient being, because it communicates concepts in addition to specific words. The translator chip also shown having limitations: in ''The Andalite Chronicles'' Elfangor and Arboron are baffled when Loren refers to to a [[TheGreys Skrit Na]] as "Twinkie"; and in ''The Hork-Bajir Chronicles'' an Andalite only gets it to work by pointing to a tree and saying 'tree' and then having the Hork-Bajir call it their word.
** The ridiculously convenient nature of thought-speak is eventually explained by a backstory novel where we learn the Ellimist took his extremely high-tech "communications system" with him when he took the form of a prehistoric Andalite; presumably the genes or literal translator microbes or whatever he was using got passed on to his descendants.
* A primitive version that isn't too far-fetched in ''Literature/{{Armada}}''. The wrist-mounted devices detect (human) spoken languages and provide a slightly-delayed text translation. Translations appear to be pretty close to what's intended, implying better computing technology and linguistic algorithms. In fact, only one important character speaks almost no English, being from China, but the devices allow everyone else to understand him.
* Fairies in ''Literature/ArtemisFowl'' have the ability to communicate in and understand any language. In the early books, it was claimed that fairies were the first race to develop language and every other language (including animal languages, such as dog and dolphin) is an adaptation of Gnomish, but it was later {{Ret Con}}ned to being one of the benefits of having inherent magical talent.

* In ''Literature/TheFantasticFlyingJourney'', Great-Uncle Perceval's grey powder provides the users with the ability to communicate fluently with {{animal|Talk}}s.
* In the ''Franchise/FlashGordon'' novel ''The Lion Men Of Mongo'', Hans Zarkov invented a lingual-translator that implanted in himself, Flash and Dale that let them understand, read and speak any language.

* The ''Literature/HarryPotter'' books introduce a few {{Starfish Language}}s that are normally unintelligible to human ears but can be understood via this trope. Submersion in water allows humans to communicate with merfolk in Mermish, and a rare hereditary trait allows certain humans to communicate with snakes in Parseltongue. It should also be noted that some humans can manage to understand and/or speak these languages without the use of translator microbes. For example, Albus Dumbledore learned to decipher Mermish and Parseltongue through study, and Ron Weasley manages to mimic the Parseltongue password to the Chamber of Secrets at one point (though his imitation of the password just sounds like unintelligible hissing to Harry).

* In Creator/ElliotSMaggin's ''Superman'' novel ''Literature/LastSonOfKrypton'', Lex Luthor is being held by a group of aliens and they call him an "Earthling". He comments that he prefers the term "Terran" and the aliens explain that their translator returns the best word to the being hearing the translation, based on his/hers/its own perceptions. Thereafter, he hears the word "Terran".

* ''Film/{{Anon}}'': A policeman questions a maid in English and she responds [[EthnicMenialLabor in her own language]], with Minds Eye providing simultaneous translation for both parties.

* In the ''Literature/{{Spaceforce}}'' universe, everyone wears (or has implanted) a piece of micro-technology which provides real-time translation of speech, though not necessarily of written language. It’s not perfect, however. Earther translators seem to render speech as somewhat stilted, while Taysan translators are more effective.

* Tails from ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2'' can speak perfect English but has to use a translator to repeat what he says in Siberian though it gives offensive MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels translations.

* ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/14073644/1/ The Echo Ranger]]'' has a limited example. After the Echo Morpher activates, Izuku finds he is fluent in English, spoken and written, and has a southern California accent, not a Japanese accent.

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': The two aliens Rhino meets in "The Spaceship" [[AliensSpeakingEnglish are able to speak English]] using translation collars. Or at least eventually, anyway -- they first try Croatian and Filipino, misunderstanding the hamster when he tries to speak what he believes to be outer-space language. The collars prove faulty and provide a lot of [[{{Malaproper}} malapropisms]], though, because they were purchased on the cheap.

* In the ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'' fic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11021904/1/White White]]'', it is eventually revealed that in spiritual realms like Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and Yhwach's realm, everyone hears speech in their native language, though certain terms like honorifics remain unchanged. While explaining this to [[spoiler:Yuzu]], Bambietta comments that while the former is hearing everything in Japanese, she is hearing everything in German.

* An issue of ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' focuses on how [[TheFantasticFaux the First Family]]'s use of these creates problems: namely, while their "translation field" does affect those in close proximity, it doesn't go through recordings or broadcasts. This means that the Zirr Empire can easily manipulate footage of the Family for propaganda purposes, since almost nobody in the Empire speaks English. The spotlight character of the issue, an alien boy who learned the language through a chance encounter, watches a propaganda broadcast that proclaims the Family was defeated before being graciously and mercifully exiled by their Emperor despite their unprovoked attack, when in reality, the Zirr attacked the Family and the Family crushed their army in retaliation before leaving once they had what they needed.

** Mok Shaiz from ''Series/TheBookOfBobaFett'' is similar to ''Film/StarTrekBeyond'' where you hear his alien gurgling and a computerised voice speaking English a split second later. He's better than most ''Star Wars'' examples where at best there'll be a TranslatorBuddy robot repeating everything.

* In ''LightNovel/TheFamiliarOfZero'', the Halkeginian language is magically translated into Japanese and vice-versa for the benefit of Saito and his interlocuters, an effect he apparently received as part of his summoning. The limitations of this form of translation became apparent in later volumes when Saito tried to learn the Halkeginian script and realized that he was reading the words as if they were translated idiomatically, which is not a problem if he just want to understand the overall meaning of the text but becomes a problem if he wanted to understand it literally.

* In Creator/JacekDukaj's "Irrehaare", all the people trapped in the titular VirtualReality can communicate with each other freely. They don't really talk to each other; they just communicate directly via thoughts, and the controlling computer creates the sensation of hearing spoken words (along with the vague impression of hearing a specific language or accent).

* Explicitly used in ''VideoGame/HighOnLife'', where the game starts out with your stolen [[EquippableAlly living alien gun]] spitting these onto you so that you can understand him and all other aliens in the game. Said microbes are also highly contagious, allowing everyone to understand each other within a few minutes of exposure. These translators are especially effective, being able to translate not only expressions and idioms but even translate alien celebrities and media into their Earth counterparts, allowing aliens to make pop-culture references. They explicitly state that you are hearing a different name and quote than the one they are saying, but the translator is able to cover it so that you get the same idea.