Why Can't Uhura Speak Klingon in Star Trek VI; Is She a Diffrent Person After Nomad

[Timo]

There are fine bits of rationalization in many of the TOS movie novelizations - and in some of those, they don't actually weigh down the story, either! (I especially enjoyed the Klingon add-ons to ST5:TFF.)

Brilliant linguists don't seem to be a sought-after commodity in a TV show that basically only thrice acknowledges the existence of language at all: by stating that the locals speak English ("Bread and Circuses"), by noting that another Earth language besides English is being spoken (apparently natively) by one of the characters, this being a major and even unwelcome exception to norm ("Man Trap", "Changeling"), and by noting that the local primitives speak some bits of their English in a mangled form ("Omega Glory"). Perhaps Kirk should embark brilliant English majors instead?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nerys Myk]

There are fine bits of rationalization in many of the TOS movie novelizations - and in some of those, they don't actually weigh down the story, either! (I especially enjoyed the Klingon add-ons to ST5:TFF.)

Brilliant linguists don't seem to be a sought-after commodity in a TV show that basically only thrice acknowledges the existence of language at all: by stating that the locals speak English ("Bread and Circuses"), by noting that another Earth language besides English is being spoken (apparently natively) by one of the characters, this being a major and even unwelcome exception to norm ("Man Trap", "Changeling"), and by noting that the local primitives speak some bits of their English in a mangled form ("Omega Glory"). Perhaps Kirk should embark brilliant English majors instead?

Timo Saloniemi

Finally a use for the degree!

 

[Greg Cox]

Swahili, so at least two.

Good catch!

Although I'm not sure being fluent in English AND your native tongue necessarily means that you must know Klingon as well . . .

 

[Nerys Myk]

Good catch!

Although I'm not sure being fluent in English AND your native tongue necessarily means that you must know Klingon as well . . .

Someday there will be a lost colony or parallel Earth where our heroes will need a Swahili speaker!

 

[jaime]

Swahili, so at least two.

To be fair, her name is swahili. That's not the same thing, otherwise Kirk would be fluent in Hebrew, and Bones would speak Italian or Latin.

 

[Timo]

That she speaks Swahili is established in "The Changeling" (Chapel nearly slaps her for that). That she understands Swahili is established in "Man Trap" (or then she pretends to, in hopes of scoring with that charming dark stranger).

That Chekov would speak or understand Russian isn't established until ST:GEN, I think...

Timo saloniemi

 

[jaime]

...It's not as if Sulu's or Chekov's duties would involve more than the pushing of buttons, either. But jobs that today would be handled by noncoms and ratings (and in Trek still occasionally are - see Chief DiFalco), and tomorrow would be totally automated, for some reason call for Lieutenants in the 2260s.

The ship does have various science departments. One of those probably studies alien languages. But if the UT doing realtime translations is implausible, then a linguist somehow divining an alien language whilst it is being spoken would be truly absurd, consider how vastly inferior humans would be in such purely number-crunching, nanosecond-burning tasks. Xenolinguistics probably delivers its report to Kirk on one of those PADDs a day or two after the weekly adventure.

Timo Saloniemi

Sulu is a Pilot (which in these terms sort of doubles up a bit with navigator) or helmsman. Space works in 3 dimensions and doesn't have GPS.
The model for starfaring is seafaring, back when it was still a fiddly endeavour. The 1940s at the latest, and more closely modelled on the maritime adventures of the 19th century.

 

[jaime]

That she speaks Swahili is established in "The Changeling" (Chapel nearly slaps her for that). That she understands Swahili is established in "Man Trap" (or then she pretends to, in hopes of scoring with that charming dark stranger).

That Chekov would speak or understand Russian isn't established until ST:GEN, I think...

Timo saloniemi

Fair enough, I had no recollection of those. Geordi LaForge is West African isn't he? I wonder if Ben Sisko speaks creole or French.

 

[jaime]

That she speaks Swahili is established in "The Changeling" (Chapel nearly slaps her for that). That she understands Swahili is established in "Man Trap" (or then she pretends to, in hopes of scoring with that charming dark stranger).

That Chekov would speak or understand Russian isn't established until ST:GEN, I think...

Timo saloniemi

Oh...Worf probably speaks Russian too. Missed opportunity not having him and Chekov bump into each other.

 

[Timo]

Sulu is a Pilot (which in these terms sort of doubles up a bit with navigator) or helmsman. Space works in 3 dimensions and doesn't have GPS.

Sea works in three dimensions, too, quite heavily at times! It took quite a bit of strength and experience to cope with that back when there was no GPS and no propulsion independent of wind. It didn't take rank, though...

It's curious, then, that Kirk's helmsman would be an officer. But if he is, then Kirk's communications technician has every right to be, too.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Nerys Myk]

To be fair, her name is swahili. That's not the same thing, otherwise Kirk would be fluent in Hebrew, and Bones would speak Italian or Latin.

IIRC she spoke Swahili in two episodes.

Kirk's last name is Scottish not Jewish. McCoy's is also Scottish.

 

[jaime]

IIRC she spoke Swahili in two episodes.

Kirk's last name is Scottish not Jewish. McCoy's is also Scottish.

I stand corrected on Uhura, but in terms of the chaps I was thinking of their first names. Though Kirk is more generically British (few remaining celtic words after the Romans came here as 'peacekeepers')

 

[Timo]

Geordi LaForge is West African isn't he? I wonder if Ben Sisko speaks creole or French.

LaForge's national roots were never established, save for him being an "army brat" type of traveler as a kid. If one freeze-frames, though, one can pretend to be able to read a computer readout in "Conundrum" giving his birthplace as Somalia, which in the 24th century is part of "the African Confederation". Was that where he has his roots (no, no pun intended, despite the repetition)? Or was that just where his parents were deployed at that point of their Starfleet wanderings? LaForge speaks native Californian as far as we can tell - but of course we really can't.

Ben Sisko's father speaks English with him in private. Then again, Worf speaks English with his Klingon father figure in private. The Universal Translators in our TV sets really take the fun out of language in Trek. Or then add a lot of it!

Timo Saloniemi

 

[jaime]

LaForge's national roots were never established, save for him being an "army brat" type of traveler as a kid. If one freeze-frames, though, one can pretend to be able to read a computer readout in "Conundrum" giving his birthplace as Somalia, which in the 24th century is part of "the African Confederation". Was that where he has his roots (no, no pun intended, despite the repetition)? Or was that just where his parents were deployed at that point of their Starfleet wanderings? LaForge speaks native Californian as far as we can tell - but of course we really can't.

Ben Sisko's father speaks English with him in private. Then again, Worf speaks English with his Klingon father figure in private. The Universal Translators in our TV sets really take the fun out of language in Trek. Or then add a lot of it!

Timo Saloniemi

That much is true. I like to imagine Picard being more English than French is either a result of EU success or failure...Either the 'transmarchant' thing happened, or England/Britain ended up in charge of large swathes of France again after Ww3 took out the EU as a superpower. It certainly explains trying to work out which side his family was on at Waterloo. (or was it Trafalgar)
Either that or all us Europeans sound the same to American TV producers.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I stand corrected on Uhura, but in terms of the chaps I was thinking of their first names. Though Kirk is more generically British (few remaining celtic words after the Romans came here as 'peacekeepers')

It's a long road from Yaʻaqov to James. You have to stop in Greece, Rome and France to get to England. Leonard is traced to German of all things. At least that's what wiki said.
I was under the impression Brythonic Celtic remained dominate in Britian until the Anglo-Saxons showed up and brought their Germanic tongue to the island.

 

[jaime]

It's a long road from Yaʻaqov to James. You have to stop in Greece, Rome and France to get to England. Leonard is traced to German of all things. At least that's what wiki said.
I was under the impression Brythonic Celtic remained dominate in Britian until the Anglo-Saxons showed up and brought their Germanic tongue to the island.

The anglo-saxons mostly finished off the job, before getting what was then English (and still pretty much is) shoved into third place for three hundred years or thereabouts (behind Norman French and Latin.) There's a fascinating book by Melvyn Bragg of all people, with a just as interesting documentary series, on the subject 'the story of English'.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I've read and seen the Story of English a couple of times. One of my favorite nonfiction books.

 

[Shawnster]

That Chekov would speak or understand Russian isn't established until ST:GEN, I think...

Timo saloniemi

Chekov's first use of Russian is in Star Trek III when the computer alerts them of the security breach in Spock's quarters. After Kirk departs, Chekov turns to Scotty and says something in Russian.

 

[Timewalker]

That she speaks Swahili is established in "The Changeling" (Chapel nearly slaps her for that). That she understands Swahili is established in "Man Trap" (or then she pretends to, in hopes of scoring with that charming dark stranger).

That Chekov would speak or understand Russian isn't established until ST:GEN, I think...

Timo saloniemi

Since Chekov has a Russian accent in the TOS episodes (the 23rd equivalent, as I understand Walter Koenig's accent wasn't quite authentic), we should infer that he does in fact speak Russian.

The anglo-saxons mostly finished off the job, before getting what was then English (and still pretty much is) shoved into third place for three hundred years or thereabouts (behind Norman French and Latin.) There's a fascinating book by Melvyn Bragg of all people, with a just as interesting documentary series, on the subject 'the story of English'.

I used to listen to The Story of English quite a bit (made my own VHS copy). It was one of the tapes I'd listen to when working on a long, involved needlework project for a client. I always enjoyed the episode where Mary Tamm (Romana I in Doctor Who) was being taught how to correctly pronounce the words when she was taping an audio version of The Canterbury Tales.

I don't have the tape anymore, but The Story of English is available online.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Chekov's first use of Russian is in Star Trek III when the computer alerts them of the security breach in Spock's quarters. After Kirk departs, Chekov turns to Scotty and says something in Russian.

Can anyone translate what Chekov is saying in that scene?