To 'The', or not to 'The'?

[AJBryant]

Technically, you're not supposed to use an article in front of ship's names. You wouldn't say, "The Robert is on his way." You'd say, "Robert is on his way." So it is with a ship. So, while VOY and ENT were breaking with Trek tradition by calling their ships simply Voyager and Enterprise, they were actually using correct grammar.

I frequently (usually?) hear the article -- at least in normal press and common usage.

Just as an experiment:

"The Ark Royal" - 24,400 hits
"The Akagi" - 13,100 hits
"The Sovereign of the Seas" - 14,200
"The Great Harry" - 30,700
"The Redoubtable" ship - 65,600

It should be pointed out that the usage of the article is just like in other languages.

"La Santissima Trinidad," "La Nina," "Le Bonhomme Richard," etc.

Tony

 

[EnsignRicky]

That's a question that travels all through Science fiction.

The Millenium Falcon
The Galactica
The Nebuchadnezzar
The NSEA Protector
The Nostromo
The Palomino

Though I don't recall anyone ever saying 'The Slave I' or 'The Lexx', and I distinctly remember Zoey actually correcting someone when they said 'The Serenity'. It's an interesting topic, I guess it's pretty much optional; Unless of course, your told otherwise by a no nonsense woman carrying a very big gun.

 

[TigerOfDarkness]

Sounds like a bunch of wrongly imprisoned star fleet officers.

 

[Lindley]

I distinctly remember Zoey actually correcting someone when they said 'The Serenity'.

Inara, actually.

Perhaps it's because Enterprise and Defiant are concepts, while Voyager is normally applied to a person. Defiant could also be used in reference to a person, so it works either way.

 

[EnsignRicky]

I distinctly remember Zoey actually correcting someone when they said 'The Serenity'.

Inara, actually.

Doh, I knew somebody said it. As penence I shall watch them all again until I get it right.

 

[AJBryant]

As penence I shall watch them all again until I get it right.

Somehow, I can't feel any sympathy.


Tony

 

[Kegek]

I use 'the' in all cases except Voyager; which is yes, because that's how the shows did it. The principal exception is that I still use 'the Enterprise' for all varieties of the ship, though, while just 'Enterprise' was used on ENT.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

No "the."

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Sulu referred to his ship as Excelsior and not the Excelsior in The Undiscovered Country.

 

[Zeppster]

The Enterprise is always going to be THE ship. So it has the "The" in front of it. Most of the other ships don't sound right with "the" although you hear it in front of a few of them. Defiant sounds good with The in front of it.

 

[EnsignRicky]

Just as long as they don't call it Teh Enterprise; God, I hope that sillyness dies out by the 23rd century; If not much, much sooner.

 

[Forbin]

Friend of mine's father was aNYC tugboat crewman. He insists "the" is required. A ship is a thing, not a person.

Personally, I don't care either way. Whichever sounds cooler in context.

 

[drasche]

Isn't it naval tradition to treat a ship as a woman? Therefore, the "the" should be avoided

 

[Philo]

I always found this topic to be interesting myself. When it comes down to it, I don't give a shit about tradition or grammar, just what sounds best. And I'm assuming that was the criteria they used on the shows as well. Notice that the one use of 'the Voyager' comes from the second episode of the series. It just didn't work.

 

[Nebusj]

Somehow, "The Deep Space Nine" doesn't have a nice ring to it, either.

Hey, The Deep Space Nine were railroaded by a corrupt justice system and libelled by a lazy and scandal-prone media. They didn't deserve the sentences they got, and they deserve their full pardons!

 

[Timo]

Sooo... How about the gender issue?

Has the "she" thing been dropped as sexist, or do our heroes just prefer to consider their ships the inanimate objects they really are? Were there too many arguments about whether it should be "she" in Anglo-French-Germanic style, or "he" in Russo-Chinese style?

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Forbin]

Kirk: "Now I know why they call it 'Sheee.'"

 

[Timo]

(Because it costs fortunes to keep her in paint and 'powder?)

Do we ever hear the feminine form of address in Trek? Apart from the "Treat her like a lady" thing, that is, because that's something of a special case. Did Scotty speak like that elsewhere in Trek, too?

Timo Saloniemi