Re: another explination attempt
Rob Zook 
Wed, 25 Mar 1998 09:16:54 -0600

At 12:49 PM 3/24/98 PST, Sorik of Vulcan wrote:
<snicker-snack
>The following could be used for sentient names.
>ek - as in Vul. "Sarek"
>ok -     "      "Tuvok"
>ik -     "      "Vorik" and "Sorik"
>el -     "      "T'Pel"
>ella -   "      "T'Pella" this one sounds far too Spanish, so maybe this 
>one should not be.
>
>The preceding would indicate you are saying someone's name as opposed to 
>just saying a word.  This is something japanese lacks.
>
>The following states that a sentient name is either feminine or 
>masculine.
>
>S  -     "      Surakian masculine  (Surak)
>T' -     "         "     feminine  (T'Pau)
>
>The femimine names also are Surakian.  The context for the word 
>"Surakian" is referring to the way Surak, and people of the time (that 
>we know of) spelled and pronounced their names.  Vorick, Tuvok, Saavik, 
>Torik, Valeris, and many others do not follow these rules, so they are 
>not considered to be absolute.  Those who choose not to have a <S> or 
><T'> at the start of their name just are starting a new trend that's 
>all.  I mean, look at it this way.  There are only so many combinations 
>of sounds that can follow these guidelines before becoming very long, so 
>many will come up with new styles.  That's natural.  Either way, a name 
>should "sound Vulcan".  Whatever that means.  I wonder if a name 
>generator could be put into the word generator?

So far as I can tell, we have an incredible small sample of names
from Vulcan only about 17: T'Pel, Selar, Saavik, T'Pau, T'Pal, T'Pan,
Valeris, Sakketh, Sarek, Savar, Setok, Stonn, Spock, Sarek, Tuvok, 
Vorick, and Torik. I call this a small sample since the poplulation
of Vulcan lies in the tens of billions. Seventeen names out of many
billions has no statistical significance.

Trying to form a rule from a statistically insignifigant sample
does not seem very useful then. The fact that all Vulcan names seem
similar, calls into question the creativity of Star Trek writers, rather 
than the idea some alien species would use a very restricted set of 
letters with which to form names.


Rob Z.


Rob Z.
--------------------------------------------------------
"..,That no government, so called, can reasonably be
trusted for a moment, or reasonably be supposed to have 
honest purposes in view, any longer than it depends wholly 
upon voluntary support."
--- Lysander Spooner, 
    No Treason: the Constitution of No Authority