Will they ever learn?
People still say Star "Trak"
- Thread starter Nerdius Maximus
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Will they ever learn?
Nope. Human beings have a habit of compartmentalizing unusual words with the nearest word they already know. People who've never had a reason to read an article on the show, watch the opening credits or write down the word are likely to mishear the name as "Star Track" the first time, and it just sticks.
Similarly "Doctor Spock", "O'hura" and "the Startrek Enterprise".
It's not because it's how the vowel sounds, it's that "trek" (an adventurous journey) is an unfamiliar term, so they misremember, or assume they were supposed to hear and say, "track" (a pathway for safely moving from one place to another).
Which is why I always thought it was a odd name to begin with.
Play it again, Sam!
And why Zephram Cochrane's line in First Contact ("You're all astronauts... on some kind of... star trek") sounded horribly contrived.
I don't know how long it's been since I've heard anyone say "Star Track," but in the 1970s I used to hear it all the time. Don't think I ever heard anyone talking about Star Worse, though...
Ah... I see. It's not to do with the fact that Americans can't speak properly, it's because they're thick.
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It called a souther accent. I do the same thing. Also, i tend to call all sodas "Coke".
Please get the stick out of your ass.
Please get the stick out of your ass.
I think so, too. I had to do some classes on NRP (non-regional received pronunciation) phonetics and phonology- that's "BBC English", and the Americans among us always had trouble distinguishing the vowels in <bet> and <bat>, although they are the one element that distinguishes meaning in both words.
So that might explain why many might mix up <trek> and <track>. Because to them, the distinguishing feature in pronunciation is the length of the vowel, not the quality.
But I'm no expert in Standard American phonology, so.... I might be mistaken.
Oh, and the "beam me up Scotty" bit drives me up the wall, as well.
I think the "Trek" bit is a direct result of pitching the series to the networks and audience as a "western in space" Literally, the "Wagon train to the stars."
I believe that at the time the word Trek was pretty much associated with wagon trains and other pioneer-era difficult journeys full of danger and adventure.
Star Trek fans themselves have perpetuated that one, though. Still, he's gotten very close to it. I saw a TOS ep the other day where Kirk said, "Scotty, beam me up!"
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