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Naming Conventions

^ I guess I fucked it all up in Disavowed with Choska Ves Fel-A. Unless someone wants to concoct a possible meaning for "Ves" that fits the character's role in the story (researcher and applied scientist/engineer on a top-secret project).
 
^ I guess I fucked it all up in Disavowed with Choska Ves Fel-A. Unless someone wants to concoct a possible meaning for "Ves" that fits the character's role in the story (researcher and applied scientist/engineer on a top-secret project).

Don't quote me on the meanings just yet! ;) I'm only beginning to catalogue them, and I might be way off here. I can't speak for Cyfa, who seems to be ahead of me, but I don't think it's all very clear yet. Anyway, who knows how Tzenkethi categorise things and where they make distinctions between various functions and identities? Other than Alizome's names and "Rej", I don't think any of these have been explicitly defined yet, it's just speculation...
 
Ooh, interesting update. In Takedown, the Tzenkethi representative has an additional name: She's Pikatha Tor Nim Gar-C. I read that, based on what we have so far, as "Representative/special agent of the Autarch aide, grade C". Perhaps they can't decide whether she's a Tor or a Nim and she's taken both, at least for this mission? I'm assuming, actually, and partly because it's funny this way, that she's a Nim, a Nim Gar-C (that has "lackey" or "flunky" all over it :lol:) but that in a half-hearted effort to show some interest in proceedings - "yes, yes, we take this Conference of Eight business serious--YAWN--seriously", she's been given a 'Tor' as well. SHE SPEAKS FOR THE AUTARCH, no really! She's important, honest! Oh, never mind.

That fits the overall manner in which the conference is being approached by all the players.
 
Okay, here goes. I got several things wrong last time.

Toward a Typology of Social Stratification Among the Tzenkethi

By Neta Efheny. Plagiarized by Deranged Nasat

Position

Ank - One Corliad Ank Zon-B was an astronomer. Ank = something scientific or mathematical? Research? Archivist-scholar?

Bel - Korzenten's two aides, often present when he is, are Velenez Bel Gar-A and Zelent Bel Gar-A. "Gar" is a government policy specialist (explicitly confirmed). These two are called "advisors" to Korzenten but whatever role they play it is not of the Tzel. Extra-governmental, then, with these two however linked to the government. These two are a pair of whatever-Bels-are that serve the Autarch as aides and "advisors". Bodyguards? Military police? Bel is possibly "Goon in Dark Glasses", then.

Dop – Security? A Dop Yov was one of Alizome’s aides when she was serving in the guise of a trade representative on Romulus. Since the other aide was a Nim Gar like Alizome, that leaves this one to be, perhaps, the security agent? Or is Dop something to do with commerce, the gritty economic realities and not the negotiations?

Nim - Trade representative. Explicitly confirmed. When Alizome is serving in her guise as a representative to the Romulans, she and one of her aides are Nim Gar.

Nok - A servant of the Autarch, who seems to announce visitors (the secretary, then) is a Nok Ren-A. Open to speculation what Nok is, but Ren seems easier to define.

Rej - Autarch (or suitable candidate). Note that the Rej is not of the Tzel. (S)he transcends the government.

Ret - Receives and obeys orders from Ter so that tasks are performed. Simple worker, essentially.

Siv - A Siv Vel-A was commanding a Tzenkethi ship. The Federation translated or interpreted Siv as a title-function, so maybe general "Officer"? A Vel might tell us what exactly his officerdom entails. Alternatively, military command, with Vel telling us what he commands?

Tek - Likely one of the science fields. The Tzenkethi running the original wormhole generating station were Tek Lom-As. Possibly physics?

Ter - Leader/order-giver. A Ter Mak is a police commander, a Ter Ata is a maintenance unit leader, etc.

Tor - Special agent to the Autarch.

Tzel - Government.

Ves - One of the scientific fields; possibly military science? See Choska Ves Fel-A, a problem-solver of this scientific category. The wormhole project has passed from Tek Loms to Ves Fels; make of this what you will (though the "Fel" part is easy to understand - she's here to fix the problems they came up against)

Vik - Speaker/negotiator for the Autarch.


Echelon

Ata – Maintenance.

Fel - “Problem solver”. The Tzenkethi have a whole category of people within any given profession who work through problems.

Gar – Government policy specialist. Explicitly confirmed.

Kre – Administrator.

Lom - The Tzenkethi running the original wormhole generating station were Tek Lom-As.

Mak – Enforcer. Da Police.

Ren - A servant of the Autarch, who seems to announce visitors (the secretary, then) is a Nok Ren-A.

Tov - Governing class; government leaders. Members of the Autarch’s advisory body, the Tzelnira, carry the name components “Tzel Tov”.

Vel – See “Siv”.

Yai – Scientist involved with biology; we know that the Yai scientists oversee genetics and breeding matters, so either “biologist” or possibly “geneticist” – it might well require its own category given the importance Tzenkethi place on it.

Yov – see Dop.

Zon - Astronomy, apparently.
 
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I can add one more -- in Typhon Pact: The Struggle Within, I featured a Tzenkethi agent named Dezinor Nen Fel-A. I did explicitly refer to her as a "Fel-echelon problem-solver," so I guess I must've borrowed that from Rough Beasts of Empire. But I guess I made up "Nen" myself. Dezinor was a secret infiltrator, IIRC, so I guess "Nen" is a similar post to "Tor," but maybe more clandestine.
 
How about the Miradorn? 90% of their population is made of telepathically-linked twins, who share paired names.
Ah-Kel and Ro-Kel
Em-Lin and Or-Lin
Sil-Vo and Qua-Vo
Ven-Sa and Chi-Sa
Saf-Lig and Gre-Lig
Boz-Nu and Yet-Nu
Zhik-Wu and Pre-Wu
Brag-Ret and Sog-Ret
Ti-Lat
Or-Tal
 
^ (Former) Second Officer Or-Tal interests me. The Miradorn government may be making a big deal out of being Federation-friendly, but the Miradorn people are resentful. I wonder what reaction a Miradorn in Starfleet gets, from his own people and from the Federation? Also, where's his twin? Is he pugla yort, and maybe a bit of an outcast anyway, did his twin die, or is his twin posted to another ship? Would Miradorn try to insist on being assigned together ("but you let the Bynars do it! Discriminatory standards!")?
 
Sudden speculation that struck me. With the introduction of one Kulef nd'Orelag in Uncertain Logic, we now have two Arkenites whose second name carries a "nd" prefix, suggesting that this is a convention. I'm now wondering if the "nd" is in fact of Andorian origin. We know from Bashir's new name-component in The Poisoned Chalice that there are prefixes other than those of the four genders, at least for offworlders who are in some way now defined by their relationship to the Andorian clans (and of course aliens can't fit into a reproductive scheme anyway, so gender identification is useless even disregarding the fact that the sexes - and number of such - are different). So there exists a means by which non-Andorians can be granted a status in Andorian culture that does not define them by the four sexes. The Arkenites are, historically, an Andorian subject population. Are the Arkenites carrying the remnant of some identification as Andorian affiliates?

Is the "nd" Andorii and not Arkenzu?
 
I'm now wondering if the "nd" is in fact of Andorian origin. We know from Bashir's new name-component in The Poisoned Chalice that there are prefixes other than those of the four genders...

Way back in 1982, Captain Therin needed a fanfic Dad, so Senator Therin ae Shefareth was created. Long before Treklit started assigning prefixes to Andorians, and long before his participation in the fanfilm "Starship Exeter: The Savage Empire".
 
Sengar Hesh in Seekers doesn't use a "nd". Since his second name is not his Sia Lenthar name (that would be Taldan), that means that both Kulef nd'Orelag and Eviku nd'Ashelef could potentially be of the same Sia Lenthar, and its a convention of theirs, though given how the Sia Lenthar are organized it seems unlikely. Maybe they're from the same clan or region of Arken. I like to speculate, though, that the "nd" is a classification used by the Andorian Empire; that is, if Sengar Hesh had lived during the pre-Federation era his Imperial Name would have been Sengar nd'Hesh. Obviously by the 23rd Century many Arkenites like him have dropped that convention, but others like Eviku continue to use it into the 24th, it presumably having become an accepted part of Arkenite culture?
 
How significant of species are you wanting to record the naming conventions of? Because the Bader and Dorset from A Time to Love/Hate had pretty well-established conventions for species that only appeared in those two novels.
 
How significant of species are you wanting to record the naming conventions of? Because the Bader and Dorset from A Time to Love/Hate had pretty well-established conventions for species that only appeared in those two novels.

Actually, a Dorset - complete with name - showed up in Articles of the Federation. It wandered into a room and walked out again, and that was it, but it was there. ;) So they have graduated from their introductory books. You're right, though, that a generally alien-of-the-week population might not be as noteworthy here even when they are part of the mainstream novel 'verse.

By all means, though, list them. This isn't an official project or anything, it's just for fun.

So: Dorset names feature a family name and a given name, the family name brackets the given name, enclosing the individual within the family, one assumes. E.g. Man Dolog Man, Wal Candar Wal. Bader names feature place of origin, e.g Seer of Annan, with the place also indicating status, as some origin points are more prestigious than others.
 
I haven't included the Choblik, whose names are "Doodah Dee-Dum-Do". The first name is used in most situations, both casual and formal, so the second is perhaps an identifier or simply conveys some additional detail rather than being truly considered part of the core name. "Bu" appears to be the favoured first component on the second name; I wonder what it means. "Of", "from", "who", as in "(s)he who..."?
 
^Actually my intent was that the latter three bits of a Choblik name are a numerical designation in the Choblik language.
 
^Actually my intent was that the latter three bits of a Choblik name are a numerical designation in the Choblik language.

Aha! A little nod to their cyborg nature? Given that it's a convention in its own right to have mechanical and computerized peoples identified by numeral?
 
Well, that and their knack for engineering. When I originally conceived them for my own SF ages ago, I envisioned them as great engineers and technologists. I don't recall how much that comes through in the Trek version.
 
I realize this thread is clinically dead but @KRAD how are the apostrophe-filled names from A Singular Destiny pronounced? e.g Q'o'l'r't'r'e'z'a'k and friends
 
I realize this thread is clinically dead but @KRAD how are the apostrophe-filled names from A Singular Destiny pronounced? e.g Q'o'l'r't'r'e'z'a'k and friends

I imagine maybe it's something like Japanese, where the syllables are always pronounced distinctly even when it's so fast that they seem to be blended together. For instance, we say "Keiko" as two syllables, "Kay-ko," but in Japanese, if you listen carefully, it's actually "Keh-ee-ko." It's even clearer in song, when syllables are sung as separate notes, so that a word like "dan" could sound like "dah-nnn" with the stress on the N if it's at the end of a line, say. When Japanese people draw out a word for clarity or effect, instead of saying it slowly like English speakers would, they pronounce each syllable distinctly with pauses between them.
 
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