# A Star Trek species name nit **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 25, 2003, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974 "2003-12-25T05:40:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/21 "2003-12-26T12:55:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Pushkin \* > **I think that would just be like languages on Earth that can’t always be fully translated into other languages, either because of differences in grammar or nouns that noone has a comparison for.** Yeah, but “Today is a good day to die,” can be translated quite easily, except when they think it’ll be cooler to have Worf translate from Klingon. I vote for the vB code theory 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/22 "2003-12-26T15:13:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hlanelee \* > \*\*Where did the Horta get their name? \*\* Hortarget. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/23 "2003-12-26T15:55:35Z")
No, silly, they got it from the Horta-culture. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![kasuo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8c91f0/32.png) [@kasuo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kasuo)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/24 "2003-12-26T16:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\*vB code, of course > > IT’s the basis for all future Trek technology \*\* As long as nobody mentions any apostrophes, the whole society won’t collapse due to parsing errors. 😛 > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by hlanelee \* > **Where did the Horta get their name?** From their oldest profession: pimping. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/25 "2003-12-26T16:16:18Z")
Well, I thought the UT (based on IT) would fix that for me. You can lead a horta-culture, but you can’t make her swallow. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/26 "2003-12-26T16:50:08Z")
I thought that an accepted piece of ‘Trek-lore’ (no not anything to do with Data or his evil twin) was that Vulcans don’t refer to their planet as Vulcan or to themselves as Vulcans. They only go along with it because their language was too difficult for us Humans to pronounce. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/27 "2003-12-26T16:58:29Z")
In very early TOS scrpits, and at least one ep, Vulcan was Vulcanis and Vulcans were Vulcanians. Not important, just fyi trivia ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/28 "2003-12-26T17:25:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoClueBoy \* > \*\* > You can lead a horta-culture, but you can’t make her swallow. \*\* Until now I had never believed mixing metaphors to be a capital offense. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/29 "2003-12-26T20:38:00Z")
::Sings:: [So, if you’re a filthy Horta, Data’s your bestest bet… 'Cuz he’s fully functional, and anatomically correct!](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/The-Sexy-Data-Tango-lyrics-Voltaire/527F42FD89452DC148256DAA0025B8E4) (Sorry…reflex reaction to hearing the word Horta.) ---
**Author:** ![joshmaker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a587f6/32.png) [@joshmaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joshmaker)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/30 "2003-12-26T20:56:07Z")
I believe the Klingon homeworld was originally called “Kling” until someone noticed how silly that sounded. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/31 "2003-12-26T22:17:28Z")
Right. In a first or second season episode of TNG (I used to know all the titles and what seasons they were in, but not anymore), some Klingon warriors come on the Enterprise and one causes trouble and dies. The other(s) stand over the body and give a sort of death howl, and one announces to the inhabitants of the netherworld that a “warrior of Kling” is coming to them, or something like that. The writers now state that Kling is a specific locality on the Klingon homeworld, so that they can ignore it and call the homeworld Kronos, which I think sounds just as silly, being the name of a Greek god and all. ---
**Author:** ![Monstre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@Monstre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monstre)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2003, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/32 "2003-12-26T22:54:21Z")
> [@](#): > > from _NoClueBoy_ > Humans are from Huma? > > NO! They’re from Earth, silly. Well, residents of Huma aren’t “Humans”, they are “Humects”. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/33 "2003-12-27T00:33:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alan Smithee \* > \*\*so that they can ignore it and call the homeworld Kronos, which I think sounds just as silly, being the name of a Greek god and all. \*\* Qo’noS actually, and its the name of a respected member on this board too so shhh! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/34 "2004-01-03T18:45:36Z")
I’m really late to this conversation but as the resident pointy eared fanboy, I wanted to nitpick something. The Romulan homeworld, Romulus, is ch’Rihan in the Rihannsu (Romulan) tongue and Romii/Remus is ch’Havran. I don’t know what Vulcan is called but looking at the names that we, as humans, gave them, it’s obvious that we were using our usual methodology when it came to naming planets - naming them after Greco-Roman gods. Also, I’ve always preferred the name Terran to Human and Terra to Earth when referring to ourselves in the Star Trek universe. It’s much more fitting. ---
**Author:** ![Red\_Matrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/34f0e0/32.png) [@Red\_Matrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Red_Matrix)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/35 "2004-01-03T20:46:02Z")
**Aesiron** , in spanish, _Tierra_ means dirt. earth = dirt, literally. And since Spanish wasn’t concieved until after Latin, I feel _Terra_ means dirt too. (Terra Cotta?) So, in essence, we ARE called earthans or similar. I agree tho, Terran is much better than Hu-Man (like ferrengi say). **NoClueBoy** , perhaps we would be called Solans from Solan III. Oh, and I always thought Cardassia Prime was their homewolrd, while Cardassia ß (or whatever) was a secondary world, not necessarily their order from the star. **Tengu** , Ezri was da bomb! Seen her in the movie [Cube](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0123755/) yet? Very cute! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/36 "2004-01-03T21:49:14Z")
Bad news about her in Cube, Dude. Just as the “Mid East” is midway to the East only for Europeans, I think it quite logical (sorry) that Terrans would name races after the name given their star or planet. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/37 "2004-01-03T22:13:43Z")
I wonder if it’s all handled by computer, now? A little naming subrouting built into the universal translator? Alien Ambassador: We come from Lands under Sunshine, where the Mighty Herd Beasts Roam and the Roots of the People Grow Deep and Strong Under the Beneficient Tutelage of Our Totem-Diety. Universal Translator: “We come from Antares.” ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2004, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974/38 "2004-01-04T01:18:04Z")
Red - I have not seen Cube yet. Keep meaning to. Didn’t realise de Boer was in it… I’ll have to put that up higher on my To See list. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-star-trek-species-name-nit/220974.md?page=1)