What Earth-centric language would need to change...

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

To boldly be. Less emphasis on the where, more on the what.

 

[Nakita Akita]

Maybe, "Go somewhere."
Then play the intro song?
"Boldly" implies too much I think.
I think it offends me. I never want to be called 'bold'.

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

Yeah, only you can generally be pretty sure entities like the Q have been there. Also, often the 'going where no one has gone before' involves contact with a new alien species who could be offended the same way people are offended by the remark that Columbus discovered America ...

So perhaps the safest option would be to simply say to boldly go .... somewhere. Also much better covers the general spirit of the series, when they are ferrying diplomats from and to known worlds, once again.

The Columbus analogy is a good one, but in the case of space travel, I think it's safe to say go where no human has gone before. But even then, mixed ships might have species that have already gone certain places before us, so it remains sort of ambiguous unless it's just referring to humans.

 

[at Quark's]

I like the "Boldly be" slogan. Could even be used as parting wish between friends.

-"It's late, I'm going home"
- "Ok. Boldly be!"

Or in the Q/Picard dialog in All Good Things:

Q: Exactly. For that one fraction of a second, you were open to options you had never considered. That is the exploration that awaits you. Not mapping stars and studying nebulae, but charting the unknowable possibilities of existence.
PICARD: Q, what is it that you're trying to tell me?
(Q whispers in Picard's ear: "To boldly be"
Q: You'll find out what that means. In any case, I'll be watching. And if you're very lucky, I'll drop by to say hello from time to time. See you out there.

 

[XCV330]

Just use Toki Pona

 

[Kor]

But the whole premise is based on the fact that contemporary American English is the default language in Star Trek. Even if English were the dominant human language 300-400 years from now, it would likely have evolved into something that wouldn't sound so familiar to us.

It should be more like in Firefly, except even more so.

Kor

 

[uniderth]

If real-life Earth were to enter into an actual alliance with aliens, there's a good chance that we wouldn't be at the center of it.

Because of Trek's Earth-centric perspective, lots of words & phrases are used that wouldn't fly in an actual alliance. What Earth-centric lingo would need to change in an actual alliance? I have a few examples:
- "human rights" (as referring to non-humans)
- "humanoid"
- "Sector 001"
- "Alpha Quadrant"
- possibly the "24-hour" cycle
- If some species live in space phenomena other than planets, "United Federation of PLANETS" wouldn't work either.
- Words/titles/ranks/command structures taken from Earth's navies might not be used either.

What are some words or phrases that you think would probably need tweaking or tossed out?

Which is why I think the Federation in Star Trek is very much a human creation. Humans invented warp drive first and were able to use that technology to expand and spread their influence.

Even in the 23rd century the Federation is sometimes called the "Earth Federation"

 

[Prax]

Humans are the rulers of the star trek world, but their yoke is light.

 

[Tenacity]

To boldly be.

To boldly be ... what?

It should be more like in Firefly, except even more so.

In Firefly they usually only stepped away from English to use Chinese swear words.

Even in the 23rd century the Federation is sometimes called the "Earth Federation"

Well once.

I wonder if there's a United Federation of Planets, and separately a Earth Federation. Two distinct organizations that both employ the term federation.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

To boldly be ... what?

Exist.

 

[Prax]

I think in order to boldly, one must go or do.

 

[Tenacity]

To boldly ... exist?

Doesn't sound too awfully ambitious.

 

[at Quark's]

"These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission: to exist, and hope that other species aren't overly bothered or annoyed by its existence"

 

[Prax]

*viewers change channel, and watch Cheers instead

 

[Tenacity]

*viewers change channel, and watch Cheers instead

Or modern day The Orville.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

I think human rights would just turn into 'Sentient rights'.

I'm not sure things that treat Earth as the start of the numbering system would need to change, unless they were dealing with a friendly power their own size. You could also assume that everybody uses their own numbering system and the universal translators do the work.

It's true they probably table the sentient rights issue when negotiating with certain foreign powers like the Klingons they want as allies. It'd be interesting if they did an episode about humans on Earth protesting the Klingons' human rights abuses. One area where I will give credit to the Orville for touching a subject Trek never did.

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

I think human rights would just turn into 'Sentient rights'.

Our own concept of human rights has changed over the centuries and even in the past few decades, so whatever "human rights" means to us might mean something different to another species that might have a different set of rights for its own people based on their culture, their needs, etc. There would be lots of potential for misunderstanding if it wasn't expressed in a very clear way (unless everyone in the interplanetary alliance just happens to have the exact same rights for every one of its citizens).

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Yeah, but Federation worlds have accepted a minimum standard of rights. No slavery, caste based discrimination, etc.

 

[Markonian]

The word terraform is used in Star Trek but if you think about it, means "make like Earth". Earth is a nice example of an M-class world but there are plenty of others. It's revealed in Enterprise that M stands for Minshara (a Vulcan word), so much more appropriate in-universe would be Minsharaform, or M-form (for short).

In the Star Trek: Typhon Pact novel "Fire", the Gorn use the term ecosculpting.

 

[NewHeavensNewEarth]

Yeah, but Federation worlds have accepted a minimum standard of rights. No slavery, caste based discrimination, etc.

Ideally, yes. If it were the Federation of Star Trek, yes. But nothing is a given in the real world, and there have been tons of alliances around the world (present-day as well) that involve widely differing concepts of rights, but still allied together. Even some of those basics which you mentioned wouldn't necessarily be a given. But again, ideally everyone would be on the same page.