"The" or not

[theblitz]

I have noticed over time that certain ST ships have "the" tacked on the front of their name whereas others (other) don't.

We refer to The Enterprise, The Defiant etc but not The Voyager (except in one book which I found super annoying).
Of course, we don't say The Deep Space Nine.

So, why the inconsistencies.

 

[Shawnster]

The radio vs.. the television.

I heard that song on the radio. We never say I heard that song on radio.

I saw that actor on television. We don't really (ever?) say the television.

Same principle?

 

[The Old Mixer]

Brits say "the telly," don't they?

 

[Lord Garth]

It all comes down to what sounds better.

 

[MacLeod]

Perhaps it's down to which sounds better when spoken. To me The Voyager sounds weird but The Victor

Brits say "the telly," don't they?

Or the TV.

 

[m.lp.ql.m]

In Southern California, Interstate freeways are prefixed with "the"-- as in "the 10," "the 405."

When I first moved there, I wasn't used to that convention-- everywhere else in the US, we refer to them just by their number, like "90" or "95". I was giving someone directions, "take 10 west to 405..." The person stopped me and said, "No, you don't understand, the 10 and the 405 are freeways..."

 

[Vger23]

I will always say THE in front of a ship name.

You don't hear anyone talking like that except on post-DS9 Berman era shows. It's annoying

 

[Tosk]

There is no rule to it. Don't TOS and ENT use both The Enterprise and Enterprise?

And the thread title really should have been, "THE or not to THE" no?

 

[alensatemybuick1]

I recall reading the novelization of TMP back in the day and thinking it odd how it was that the ship was often referred to as Enterprise (no "the").

 

[JonnyQuest037]

AFAIK, they always used "the" for ship names before VOY. After that, the writers got into the habit of not using articles before ship names and started just calling the ship "Enterprise" on ENT. It sounded really weird.

So yeah, I prefer "the" before ship names.

 

[Timo]

In earliest VOY, it's "the Voyager"; the usage then erodes. But it's still "the Enterprise" post-VOY, in ST:Nemesis. That is, the heroes consistently say "the"; the villains use both forms. DSC uses both forms for its ships, too.

Seeing a preference or a practice to it all is a bit futile. Perhaps we could claim that articles were atypical for the ENT era, but elsewhere it's just up to random factors, not even a consistent personal preference in the usual case.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

In "Parallax" Paris says about 'the Voyager' when they see the ship on screen and for some reason it just doesn't sound right, compared to the Enterprise, the Lexington, the Defiant, etc. Maybe the PTB realised that something about the sound of the 'the' before the ship was unnecessary so they had it dropped from scripts from then on, but who knows.

 

[Timo]

...Is it even a script thing? Or is it up to the actor to use or lose the definite article?

Timo Saloniemni

 

[The Old Mixer]

It's had so many incarnations, Enterprise should use an indefinite article.

 

[Myko]

...Is it even a script thing? Or is it up to the actor to use or lose the definite article?

Timo Saloniemni

The scripts would have it or not, but a director will most likely not stop a scene because an actor adds or remove the article.

 

[Forbin]

Brits also say "In hospital" where Americans say "in the hospital."

Do we have any real navy vets in the group? What's actual proper usage in the actual Navy? I have a coworker who was on a DD for 8 years and calls it "The Preble."

 

[Forbin]

Brits also say "In hospital" where Americans say "in the hospital."

Do we have any real navy vets in the group? What's actual proper usage in the actual Navy? I have a coworker who was on a DD for 8 years and calls it "The Preble."

I just asked my coworker, and he said they even had a bumper sticker that said "The Preble" (followed by its motto) (that was DD46, btw).

 

[1001001]

Brits also say "In hospital" where Americans say "in the hospital."

Well, that's what it is....

 

[Prax]

I'm pretty sure they've used both on all of the shows. It probably comes down to what sounds better in context.

And yeah, "Look, it's the Voyager!" sounds bad. It feels like if someone said "It's the Janeway."
However, it is okay to say "It's the Sisko."

 

[Bry_Sinclair]

Brits also say "In hospital" where Americans say "in the hospital."

As a Brit I have used both forms at various points in my life.