Talk:Covenant (Halo)/Grunt Discussion

Grunts
Despite their obvious cowardice and stupidity Grunts aren't really stupid, are they? They're just weak, and it is implied that they were enslaved by the Covenant when a Prophet talks about an Arbitor quelling the Grunt rebellion. Plus, in Halo 1, they were the only Covies who had learned to speak English. --OGoncho 21:19, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * I thought it was more that they were the only ones CAPABLE of speaking English. The Elites have tetrapartite mouths, meaning it would be incredibly hard to produce anything resembling English.  As for Hunters?  We never even see their faces, ja?  And Jackals... like Elites, they have funky mouths. --Dazuro
 * But, in Halo 2, the Elites speak English - even when you're not playing as the Arbiter. You could argue that Bungie through it in for... clarity... or that they just decided to do it for fun. It could go either way... LockeShocke 03:03, Nov 25, 2004 (UTC)
 * Could it be the new armor translating the Elites? Do the marines ever interact with the Elites based on their dialog? --OGoncho 23:56, 8 Dec 2004 (UTC)
 * Obviously, the Elites are speaking their native tongue; the game is translating this in order to further the plot and so you can understand what is going on. The Grunts are still the only ones capable of speaking real English, but the Jackals speak English also, it's just played backwards.--Zxcvbnm 13:04, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)
 * Actually, I read somewhere that the Chief's suit is able to translate the covenant language, which explains why you hear english. Perhaps the jackals talking backwards is a mistake in the MJOLNIR programming. And the elites do talk in halo 1. besides saying "wort wort wort" they say "you must bow to me". Bonus Onus 15:58, Apr 9, 2005 (UTC)
 * The Grunts have never spoken English. It is simply the translator within the armor that is working. The upgraded armor in Halo 2 allows translation of Elite speak as well.-Fire 16:45, 29 January 2006 (UTC)
 * But the translator in the original Halo DID decipher Elite speak, it was just backwards! How hard could it be to fix that? That shows that Bungie probably did it for fun.--Zxcvbnm 21:03, 26 April 2006 (UTC)

In truth the grunts are the smartest out of all the races in the covenant but due to a rebellion and them being so weak. their dna was change so they would become idiots
 * No. That's a fanmade theory with no basis in official Halo canon. Peptuck 18:52, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

The English you hear being spoken by any Covenant is Cortana. I read somewhere (I think the first Halo book) that she intercepts speech and radio transmissions made by Covenant you're fighting, and translates it in real time. I've never noticed any backwards speech in Halo 1, and I've never concentrated on Covenant speaking while Cortana is outside the Chief's armour. Hope that helps. MrJammie 22:19, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
 * However the language is still translated when Cortana is outside of his body. It is likely that either Cortana was still connected with the armor to allow translation, or she downloaded the program into his system to allow translation when she isn't available. The only way to prove which it is that if you can understand their language in Halo 3 without Cortana. Cortana, however seems to still be able to communicate with him in the trailer, meaning that Cortana is still connected with the Chief one way or another. A theroy I have about how they possibly could stay in touch is that the transmissions are coming from the Covenant fleet, whom are probably still recieving communication from High Charity. --Eiyuu Kou 19:02, 16 November 2006 (UTC)