Lt. Uhura

[Scott Kellogg]

I was thinking about the various nationalities in the original Star Trek.

They wanted to give it an international flavor, so we've got Scottsmen, and Russians, and a Japanese American and... well, the question isn't answered out loud in the canon show, but what nationality was Uhura?

The name is a feminized version of the Swahili word for Freedom. And, she does speak a few words of (well, at least they call it Swahili) in "Mantrap" and "The Changling" so we kind of assume she's a native Swahili speaker, but in looking it up this morning, I saw stuff claim that she's Bantu. I have no idea where that was supposed to come from.

To me, like Sulu being American of Japanese ancestroy, I always assumed she was American of African ancestry. At least that's what her accent sounds like.

I wonder what makes them say Bantu?

 

[Maurice]

If one listens to recordings of black American public speakers 150 years ago you wouldn't recognize them as black because that Black Vernacular Accent has changed radically. For all we know the characters on Star Trek are speaking with the 23rd century equivalent of the mid-Atlantic accent, Chekov, Bones and Scotty notwithstanding.

 

[The Old Mixer]

And, she does speak a few words of (well, at least they call it Swahili) in "Mantrap" and "The Changling" so we kind of assume she's a native Swahili speaker

In addition to falling back into Swahili while she was being reeducated and having trouble with English in "The Changeling," she also heard the Melkotian buoy (if I'm recalling the right episode) in Swahili, so they were clearly indicating in TOS that it was her native tongue.

 

[Scott Kellogg]

Do you suppose, that, if she had spoken with an accent, the audience might have viewed her as more of a racist stereotype and less intelligent?

 

[TREK_GOD_1]

Do you suppose, that, if she had spoken with an accent, the audience might have viewed her as more of a racist stereotype and less intelligent?

No. As a matter of fact, a few black actors guest-starred on I Spy as people from African or countries other than the U.S., and used an accent, yet I've never heard anyone saying they sounded less intelligent or were a racist stereotype. One example would be actress Janet MacLachlan (TOS' Lt. Charlene Masters from "The Alternative Factor") in the episode "Laya" (1967). Although her take on an accent was not perfect, it was not offensive in the slightest, so I doubt anyone would have found fault in Uhura speaking with an accent.

 

[Scott Kellogg]

Good.
That reminds me. I got the I Spy DVDs recently, I gotta watch 'em!

 

[The Old Mixer]

FWIW, you can catch a bit of NIchelle as a native African here, in a Tarzan two-parter (contemporaneous with TOS Season 1) that was later released theatrically. She doesn't seem to have been doing much of an accent.

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[Scott Kellogg]

I remember that one. H&I were running "Tarzan" for a while a couple years back. Unfortunately, I don't think she had much to do or say on that show.

 

[Henoch]

In addition to falling back into Swahili while she was being reeducated and having trouble with English in "The Changeling," she also heard the Melkotian buoy (if I'm recalling the right episode) in Swahili, so they were clearly indicating in TOS that it was her native tongue.

FWIW, you can catch a bit of NIchelle as a native African here, in a Tarzan two-parter (contemporaneous with TOS Season 1) that was later released theatrically. She doesn't seem to have been doing much of an accent.

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It's confirmed, she's from Tarzania, oops, I mean Tanzania.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania According to Wiki, Tanzania is one of few countries where Swahili is still spoken as a first language and only for about 10% of its population. Perhaps over the next three hundred years, Swahili has a revival in the region.

 

[matthunter]

It's confirmed, she's from Tarzania, oops, I mean Tanzania.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanzania According to Wiki, Tanzania is one of few countries where Swahili is still spoken as a first language and only for about 10% of its population. Perhaps over the next three hundred years, Swahili has a revival in the region.

You missed this bit though:

and up to 90 per cent speak it as a second language

That's a HELL of a percentage for a 2nd language. And it's the one used for parliamentary and court business, plus primary education.

 

[Tomalak]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the United States of Africa from the TOS writers' guide.

The clear intention was that she was of East African heritage without specifying a 1960s nation-state. That was probably a good idea.

There was a line cut from The Corbomite Maneuver script that indicated English was a language she'd learned later, which aligns with The Changeling, so I don't think there's any suggestion that she's African-American.

 

[scotpens]

. . . They wanted to give it an international flavor, so we've got Scotsmen, and Russians, and a Japanese American and...

Originally, Sulu was supposed to be of mixed Asian ancestry. His nationality and birthplace weren't specified. (The name Sulu actually comes from the Sulu Sea in the Philippines.) Later "fanon" gave him the first name Hikaru and established his birthplace as San Francisco.

In addition to falling back into Swahili while she was being reeducated and having trouble with English in "The Changeling," she also heard the Melkotian buoy (if I'm recalling the right episode) in Swahili, so they were clearly indicating in TOS that it was her native tongue.

And in "The Man Trap," the Salt Vampire appeared to Uhura in the guise of a handsome black crewman who spoke to her in Swahili -- and she spoke Swahili back to him.

It's confirmed, she's from Tarzania, oops, I mean Tanzania.

Or maybe Tarzana, California?

 

[Markonian]

Most recently, the 2021 TOS novel "Forgotten Memories", which addresses the consequences of Uhura's permanent memory-wipe by Nomad, deals with her origin in eastern Africa, part of the aforementioned United States of Africa.

The KEL one-shot comic about Uhura's family in the Kelvin timeline has Africa on the cover.

 

[Maurice]

Depending on who you believe, Sulu may be named after Herb Solow.

 

[Ssosmcin]

I could have sworn Uhura was referred to as "Bantu" in the Blish novelizations. Sadly, I don't have them anymore so I can't check.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Depending on who you believe, Sulu may be named after Herb Solow.

I never heard that one. I always assumed Roddenberry was casting about (pre-Internet era) for an Asian-sounding name, and he literally closed his eyes and stuck a pin in a map. GR should have asked George Takei or or Kellam de Forest for common Japanese surnames.

When the show was dubbed for broadcast in Japan, Sulu's name was changed to Kato. And apparently they made up their own stories, and Kato was the boss.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I never heard that one. I always assumed Roddenberry was casting about (pre-Internet era) for an Asian-sounding name, and he literally closed his eyes and stuck a pin in a map. GR should have asked George Takei or or Kellam de Forest for common Japanese surnames.

When the show was dubbed for broadcast in Japan, Sulu's name was changed to Kato. And apparently they made up their own stories, and Kato was the boss.

As mentioned above, Sulu was intended to be pan-Asian, so Japanese name wouldn't be required. There has been speculation that the Sulu Sea appeared on maps Roddenberry used as a pilot and the name stuck in his head

Sulu/Kato as boss must have required some clever editing and rewriting.

 

[Scott Kellogg]

You're right. I sometimes need to be reminded of how difficult research was before the internet.
Heck, if you wanted a picture of something obscure, you had to find it in a library, or if it was on TV, wait a year to watch the rerun.

When the show was dubbed for broadcast in Japan, Sulu's name was changed to Kato. And apparently they made up their own stories, and Kato was the boss.

Now That Would be interesting...!

 

[Ssosmcin]

I never heard that one.

It was in Justman and Solow's book "Inside Sar Trek: The Real Story" IIRC

 

[Kor]

...The name is a feminized version of the Swahili word for Freedom. And, she does speak a few words of (well, at least they call it Swahili) in "Mantrap" and "The Changling" so we kind of assume she's a native Swahili speaker, but in looking it up this morning, I saw stuff claim that she's Bantu. I have no idea where that was supposed to come from.

...

I wonder what makes them say Bantu?

She is both by definition. Swahili is classed in the family of "Bantu languages," along with hundreds of other languages. And Bantu peoples are those many ethnic groups who speak Bantu languages.

Edit: fixed a messed-up quote.

Kor