# Did this conversation ever happen in the Star Trek universe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [February 26, 2024, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094 "2024-02-26T09:28:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/81 "2024-02-29T08:31:44Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > As an American I can say the OED is inaccurate. I’m English and I find the OED a little too prescriptive at times. Oxford English is its own thing really. ---
**Author:** ![Ulysses](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulysses/32/16083_2.png) [@Ulysses](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulysses)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/82 "2024-02-29T12:21:23Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > I didn’t mean all along. I meant in those flashbacks at his home that **Atamasama** mentioned. On TV, you can’t really assume that someone is speaking English just because we hear it in English. Just like when we saw all those episodes where Klingons or Romulans were speaking amongst themselves. They were certainly not speaking English, but that’s what we heard. > > Likewise, if we see a flashback of Picard in France talking to his family, I assume that they are speaking French. Sorry, my misunderstanding. That makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2024, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/83 "2024-02-29T13:01:09Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > **SC** : Well, I suppose it does mean that, yes, but… > > **A** : Why’d you name your planet ‘Mud’? > > **SC** : **EARTH**! > > **A** : Earth, yes, sorry. If the SC has as much moxie as Captain Kirk, I imagine the conversation may continue something like this: **SC** : Well, I suppose it does mean that, yes, but… **A** : Why’d you name your planet ‘Mud’? **SC** : **EARTH**! **A** : Earth, yes, sorry. **SC** : If you continue to poke fun and _soil_ my planet’s reputation, I’m going to turn you into _ground_ alien meat, and enjoy your _earthy_ flavor, you _dirty_ Blehassolian! If all your people are as rude as you, I suggest you rename your planet: _Asshole_. How do you like them apples, Assy McAssface, the Blehassolian from planet Asshole!? ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/84 "2024-03-01T05:09:47Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Well, oceanianians, which part is most important? Do you live in the water, or on land? > > Really, we should call our planet Air. Earth isn’t just what we live on, it’s where a good portion of our food comes from, and it affects what can be grown in any given area. It can vary quite a bit, even over short distances, and can make the difference between liveable and non-liveable areas It is also synonymous with land, which is often used in the sense of an area where people live. Air, while also necessary for life, is fairly consistent. (Honestly, I think that other planetary languages would understand that words have multiple meanings) ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/85 "2024-03-01T06:51:39Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > As an American I can say the OED is inaccurate. Well, as I noted, three other dictionaries agree with the OED. Are there any that agree with your pronunciation? And as another American, I have never heard your pronunciation. So dueling anecdotes don’t really resolve anything. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/86 "2024-03-01T07:11:02Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Well, as I noted, three other dictionaries agree with the OED. Are there any that agree with your pronunciation? Well, there’s the fact that it’s a Latin word and pronounced that way in Latin. Also, Wiktionary suggests that “soul/sole” is a homophone in the US. [https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sol](https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/Sol) > [@markn\_1](#): > > And as another American, I have never heard your pronunciation. So dueling anecdotes don’t really resolve anything. And this Reddit thread has many people who see “Sol” rhyming with “sole”. [https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/lxqoux/i\_need\_a\_consensus\_how\_would\_you\_pronounce\_sol/](https://www.reddit.com/r/namenerds/comments/lxqoux/i_need_a_consensus_how_would_you_pronounce_sol/) It’s simply inaccurate to say it’s not pronounced that way in American English when Americans speaking English pronounce it that way. Do some pronounce it like “Saul”? I guess there must be some who do. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/87 "2024-03-01T08:49:53Z")
‘here’s how we pronounce it’ cannot really be refuted with ‘well, I’ve never heard of that’ ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/88 "2024-03-01T10:09:29Z")
I’ve always pronounced it as if it were the nickname for Solomon. _Sahl,_ I guess. Now that I’ve spoken, I hope that settles things. BTW, I’m an American _and_ a Latin scholar (3 years of Latin in high school—yep, 3). Strict Latin pronunciations are a lost cause, at least in American English. Seriously, though, I have never been sure how it’s pronounced. Gonna rewatch _The Martian_ and go with whatever Matt Damon says. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/89 "2024-03-01T10:14:58Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > ‘here’s how we pronounce it’ cannot really be refuted with ‘well, I’ve never heard of that’ Perhaps not definitively, but surely it’s a reasonable refutation to “that’s how I’ve always heard it.” ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/90 "2024-03-01T10:21:06Z")
The idea that you can refute details of someone else’s dialectical pronunciation is prescriptivist nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/91 "2024-03-01T10:25:31Z")
Sorry maybe this is a sore point for me. I’ve had a lot of people tell me I’m pronouncing stuff wrong when they just apparently think their version is the only right one. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/92 "2024-03-01T10:37:21Z")
Yeah, that is annoying. I have never corrected anyone’s pronunciation, except maybe my son when he was very young. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/93 "2024-03-01T15:27:29Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > As an American I can say the OED is inaccurate. > > Never heard it pronounced that way in my life, Speaking of those wacky OED brits, in UFO they commonly refer to the alien craft speeds as percentages of the speed of light, so we hear “Sahl decimal three”, for the written “Sol .3”. I, as a wacky American, would say “.3 soul”. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/94 "2024-03-01T16:54:06Z")
Does anyone pronounce “solar” with a short O? I’ve always heard “solar” with a long O, so I pronounce “Sol” with a long O. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/95 "2024-03-01T17:24:36Z")
Or the people who refer to them as “[sohwah panels](https://youtu.be/aVYUPmjJ9bU)”. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/96 "2024-03-01T18:07:18Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I’ve always heard “solar” with a long O, so I pronounce “Sol” with a long O. I also wonder if there’s a Spanish influence. I remember the Honda del Sol car back in the day, and I see a number of businesses with “Sol” in the name that references the Spanish name for the Sun. Given the [increasing influence of the Spanish language on the US](https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-10-01/spanglish-and-beyond-the-evolution-of-spanish-influenced-dialects-in-the-us.html), perhaps that is changing how some people pronounce the word, and might somewhat explain regional variations. Maybe it was an unusual pronunciation in the US in the past but it is changing and some dictionaries haven’t caught up to include the variation. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/97 "2024-03-01T18:42:11Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Speaking of those wacky OED brits, in UFO they commonly refer to the alien craft speeds as percentages of the speed of light, so we hear “Sahl decimal three”, for the written “Sol .3”. Er, no? “Light” = lux. So “tres decimae celeritatis lucis” in Federation Standard. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/98 "2024-03-01T18:51:59Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I also wonder if there’s a Spanish influence. Could be. I live in a border state. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/99 "2024-03-01T20:50:02Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > > > Speaking of those wacky OED brits, in UFO they commonly refer to the alien craft speeds as percentages of the speed of light, so we hear “Sahl decimal three”, for the written “Sol .3”. > > Er, no? “Light” = lux. So “tres decimae celeritatis lucis” in Federation Standard. No, that’s an acronym S.O.L. = Speed Of Light ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2024, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094/100 "2024-03-01T21:04:20Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > I’ve always heard “solar” with a long O, so I pronounce “Sol” with a long O. A perfectly reasonable approach. But certain words, when abbreviated to a syllable, get pronounced phonetically the way they appear, not as they were articulated in the full word. For football fans, “Patriots” versus “Pats,” as an example. I think sol, as it appears and divorced from its parent, would be pronounced “sahl” if it followed this convention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-this-conversation-ever-happen-in-the-star-trek-universe/998094.md?page=6)