The Linguistic Downgrading of the Romulans

Discussion in 'Star Trek - The Original & Animated Series' started by Bubbles McGee, Oct 7, 2012.

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  1. Albertese

    Albertese Commodore Commodore

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    I guess I always heard it wrong, but to my ear it sure sounds like he answers "A portion, Commander. 'Tis obedience."

    Which would mean his answer is that they have indeed lost a portion of comrades in this manner. But that comes with the territory of obeying the Praetor's orders.

    --Alex
     
  2. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^ Nope, it's definitely "our portion"
     
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  3. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Lenard, or Warburton?
     
  4. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    ^ It was Lenard's line, no?
     
  5. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Lenard played the Commander; Warburton played the Centurion. I thought the topic under discussion at the moment was how to interpret the Centurion's line.
     
  6. T'Bonz

    T'Bonz Romulan Curmudgeon Administrator

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    "Our portion [in life], Commander, is obedience."

    Pretty straightforward to me. Kind of like saying, "Our lot in life, Commander, is obedience."

     
  7. Grant

    Grant Commodore Commodore

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    I kinda always got the implication that he meant 'our lot..', but it always did sound awkward to me anyway.

    I also agree that the two situations are vastly different. A lot more dialogue needed to be said in 'Incident' and if they had been talking so formally it would have got bogged down.
     
  8. A beaker full of death

    A beaker full of death Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Ah, my mistake. I didn't realize it was the Centurion's line. Been a while.
     
  9. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    I sorta agree with your point though, if I understand it. If the Centurion had stopped at "Our portion," then he would have meant something else. So, it does sorta play like maybe he was about to be disrespectful, but then catches himself and declares his obedience by extending his original statement, if that's what you mean. I always got that effect from it too; that's the actor giving it an extra and effective twist.
     
  10. UnknownSample

    UnknownSample Commodore Commodore

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    I can't remember, but I think I always think at first that he's saying they've lost "their portion" of ships, as in quite a few, and then, no, he doesn't mean that after all. Confusing, but "our portion" still can be figured out from the context. I'm not sure it shows extra "formality" to use an unusual or possibly old-fashioned expression like this, or that it's some sort of language "upgrade". Some people are just better and more creative about expressing themselves.
     
  11. 47of74

    47of74 Lieutenant Junior Grade Red Shirt

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    Of course since they were speaking Romulan and there was translation convention going on here it might have been poorly translated into English.
     
  12. StarCruiser

    StarCruiser Commodore Commodore

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    Keep in mind that the English of Shakespeare's time was full - true - English. What we speak today is colloquial English (in it's many variants).
     
  13. 1001001

    1001001 Serial Canon Violator Moderator

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    Please take some time to review the rules of posting here, pinned at the top of this forum.

    This thread has been dead for nearly 9 years.

    Let’s let it Rest In Peace, shall we?
     
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