so i've been thinking about the universal translator as depicted in star trek. a UT has to do two things: help the wearer understand and be understood. it's easy to imagine how it helps the wearer understand -- it's embedded in people's minds somehow, so it messes with their language comprehension centers to give them the meaning of what they've just heard/seen. but how does it help the wearer be understood when they're talking to people who don't have the UT installed to help them understand? i can see two possible explanations:

option 1: the UT edits sound as it comes out of the wearer's mouth (or their motions if they're signing/writing)

option 2: the UT telepathically (?) goes into the AUDIENCE'S brain so that THEY understand. it doesn't change anything about how the wearer communicates.

cons of option 1: there are probably some languages whose sounds are impossible to make via human mouths (i think cardassian is supposed to be one of these languages).

cons of option 2: probably considered extremely invasive by some; wouldn't work for species that are psi-null; requires that the UT can figure out how to translate a new language AND a strange species' language centers all at the same time.

personally i lean towards option 1, but i'm curious what you guys think!

also because this is star trek there's a GOOD CHANCE this has been explained canonically and if so please let me know!