Trope Workshop:Omni Translation

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Oh no! You're a Fish Out of Water and cannot understand what anybody is saying. Fear not, thanks to a mystical force that's able to translate any language, the natives are now able to understand you vice versa.

This trope is useful to create an illusion of greater immersion into the foreign setting, without having to deal with those pesky language barriers.

This power may be convenient, but it doesn't always translate written text. When it does, it can be used as justification for making the protagonist an overpowered magician, as magical textbooks are automatically translated for him.

Examples of Omni Translation include:

Anime and Manga

• The Familiar of Zero: As an effect of being summoned, Saito is able to understand the Halkeginian language since it is magically translated for him. The trope became even more evident when he tried to learn reading and writing.
• Isekai Ojisan: When Takafumi's uncle, Yousuke Shibazaki, first entered the other world, he could not communicate with anyone, and due to his ugly appearance everybody mistook him for an orc. Out of desperation, he gained language aquisition as a superpower, allowing him to communicate with his assailants though with little luck yet. He also used this power to become an overpowered spirit sorceror, since his superpower allowed him to communicate directly with the spirits.
• Murim Login: When South Korean Taekyung first enters the game, he wakes up next to Wolhwa who speaks exclusively in Chinese. At first confused, he is so shocked by the sudden appearance of a augmented reality game screen, that he accidentally installs the translation package, allowing him to understand the language used in the world of murim and communicate with his Chinese bed companion.
• Overlord (Light novels): Momonga notes how he hears the inhabitants of the new world speak Japanese, yet that their lips does not move in sync to it, indicating that some kind of force is translating for him. However, it does not translate text, so he has to use a pair of translating glasses.
• The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent: Sei and Aira understood the language of Slantania instantly, as they speak it fluently and any foreign text gets automatically translated into Japanese. Something which is especially convenient in the face of Ancient Script used in magic books.
• That Time I Got Reincarnated as A Slime: Masayuki could not understand anyone since the language sounded like gibberish, until his unique skill triggered, though he still struggles with reading and writing. That said, since the world is no stranger to Otherworlders, translators for many different languages exist.
• Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!: Averted with Kazuhiro, since he spent time learning the language of the other world during his 20 years visiting, meanwhile when Marie comes to Japan, she is unable to communicate with people since she does not speak Japanese.

Mythology

• The Bible: Jesus' disciples are blessed with a new power that allows anyone to hear them to hear it in their own mother tongue. This power allowed the disciples to spread Jesus' teachings far and wide.

Film

• Avatar: The Way of Water: Lampshaded by Jake Sully who claims that he's grown so familiar with the Na'vi language, "that it might as well be English." Subsequently, the children who we saw speak Na'vi now exclusively speak English, though this is just an illusion. This is to conveniently remove language barriers and allow the audience to follow along with the story.