first contacts
Opening diplomatic encounters
First contacts are initial encounters between previously unconnected groups—most often in science fiction, the moment when humans meet an alien civilization for the first time.
The term also applies to historical encounters between isolated peoples: the first contacts between Europeans and Pacific Islanders.
In business or diplomacy, a first contact is simply the initial point of communication with a new party.
Mutual incomprehension across tongues
- interpreterOne who conveys meaning between languages
- translatorOne who renders between languages
- gestureCommunicative body movement
- nonverbalNot using speech
pidgin · lingua franca · sign language · pictogram · greeting · misunderstanding · body language · tone
Official foreign representative
- envoyAccredited diplomatic representative
- treatyBinding pact between nations
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
- protocolPrescribed conduct rules
summit · delegation · emissary · interpreter · diplomatic mission · peace offering · trade agreement · foreign relations
Act of finding something
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- encounterUnexpected meeting or confrontation
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
- ColumbusOhio's seat of government
conquistadors · Magellan · indigenous peoples · landing · natives · shore party · trading post · interpreter
Non-native being
- UFOUnidentified aerial craft
- SETIQuest for cosmic signals
- RoswellNew Mexico city, UFO-famous
- Area 51Classified Nevada test facility
arrival · spacecraft · interstellar · cosmic · radio telescope · Arecibo · Drake equation · Fermi paradox
Systematic study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- ethnocentrismBelief one's culture superior
- indigenousOriginating in a region
- tribeSocial group sharing ancestry
informant · rapport · acculturation · Amazon · missionaries · colonialism · assimilation · kinship
language barrier
Mutual incomprehension across tongues
- interpreterOne who conveys meaning between languages
- translatorOne who renders between languages
- gestureCommunicative body movement
nonverbal · pidgin · lingua franca · sign language · pictogram · greeting · misunderstanding · body language · tone · protocol
ambassador
Official foreign representative
- envoyAccredited diplomatic representative
- treatyBinding pact between nations
- negotiationDiscussion seeking mutual accord
protocol · summit · delegation · emissary · interpreter · diplomatic mission · peace offering · trade agreement · foreign relations · consul
discovery
Act of finding something
- expeditionOrganized exploratory journey
- encounterUnexpected meeting or confrontation
- New WorldWestern Hemisphere landmasses
Columbus · conquistadors · Magellan · indigenous peoples · landing · natives · shore party · trading post · interpreter · Pocahontas
alien
Non-native being
Area 51 · arrival · spacecraft · interstellar · cosmic · radio telescope · Arecibo · Drake equation · Fermi paradox · biosignature
ethnography
Systematic study of peoples
- fieldworkResearch conducted on location
- ethnocentrismBelief one's culture superior
- indigenousOriginating in a region
tribe · informant · rapport · acculturation · Amazon · missionaries · colonialism · assimilation · kinship · rituals
first contactsbreakups
Endings of romantic relationships
endings · partings · severances · estrangements · dissolutions
first contactsold friends
Long-term close acquaintances
intimate relationships · familiar faces · kindred spirits · bosom buddies · inner circle
first contactscommunication blackout
Total loss of contact
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